Drastic cosmetic surgery

The brick and render skin has been replaced with stone, the roof has been raised and an extension is about to be added. The house, built in the 1960s, is practically a new home.

The only clue to the property’s past life is the front door that doesn’t quite match the rest of the building.

“That’s definitely going. We’re having a new one made,” says Brendan, who admits that the work they did was so drastic it might have been cheaper and easier to knock the bungalow down and start again. The couple, who have two children, Tilly, eight, and Manny, six, bought the house, in a village near Holmfirth, two years ago and vowed to live there while they carried out some cosmetic surgery.

“At first we thought we’d re-do the dormers and change the layout but the plans grew and we decided to raise the roof and extend to the side. We moved out for what was supposed to be six weeks but it turned into eight months. We practically re-built the house,” says Brendan.

The bungalow was stripped right back to its bones, the red brick was removed leaving a breeze block skeleton, which was insulated before being clad in reclaimed Yorkshire stone. The roof was raised to make room for four bedrooms and two bathrooms and what used to be two bedrooms and living rooms downstairs was completely reconfigured to create family space.

Although they hired Shepley-based builder Darryl Brook, Brendan and his father-in law, a retired builder, helped out.

Downstairs, a large open-plan kitchen/ dining room was created and the old sitting room was given a facelift and treated to a wood burning Hwan stove.

The uPVC windows and internal doors were replaced and work is set to start on an oak-framed garden room.

Only one area is untouched and that is the huge double garage, which was one of the property’s greatest selling points.

It makes the perfect workshop for Brendan, a sculptor.

Although based in Holmfirth at the Sculpture Lounge, a studio space he set up and shares with other sculptors, the workshop at home is invaluable.

“It means I can spend time with the family and then pop in here to finish something off if I need to rather than going back out,” he says.

Now 38, he has been a full-time maker since leaving Edinburgh College of Art and is best-known for his animal sculptures, which sell to individuals and to public bodies.

He has carved himself a successful career and his work is available in galleries, but he knows how difficult it is for artists and makers to show and sell their work.

That’s why he and his sister-in-law came up with the idea of the Art Markets, staged twice a year in Holmfirth. They attract hundreds of visitors who come to see the sensational variety of art and craft.

“Artists tend to be quite solitary and work alone. This is an affordable way to help them promote their work,” says Brendan, who is busy organising the latest markets, which take place tomorrow and the following Sunday.

His own home is full of work by other artists and makers. Samantha Bryan, who makes the fabulous Brains Fairies, is a favourite.

The pictures in the sitting room are by Victoria Ashworth who paints vivid interpretations of industrial scenes in Manchester and Liverpool.

The wirework fish above the wood burner was a swap with Thomas Hill for a pelican sculpture by Brendan.

The pieces give the new house character as do the old pieces of furniture they brought from their previous home, a commercial building they converted themselves.

“The dining table we’ve had for ages and that fits well but I think we need to buy some more contemporary furniture to suit this place. It seems to demand it,” says Brendan, who is still counting the cost of the renovation, which he thinks has totalled £100,000.

A sizeable slice of the budget went on the state-of-the-art kitchen bought from Mark Leigh in Lancaster, which was chosen by Rebecca, who is head of art at Shelley College.

“We designed the space around the kitchen rather than the other way round,” says Brendan, who jokes that the biggest ructions were caused by the cooker.

“We almost divorced over the oven,” he jokes.

“Rebecca wanted a Miele oven that cost £4,000, but there was no way I was going to spend that on an oven. I came down here after working away and there it was. I was definitely fighting a losing battle with that one.”

There are areas where they have saved, most notably the blinds, made by Rebecca’s mother Pam, a gifted seamstress. She made them in a day after the family moved back into the bungalow and realised there were no window dressings.

“We’ve almost finished everything now. There are just a few finishing touches and knocking through to the new garden room,” says Brendan, although he might have to add “until next time”.

Rebecca has inherited her parents’ love of renovation projects and is always on the look out for a new challenge.

Brendan’s work can be seen at www.hesmonmdhalghsculpture.co.uk and at The Sculpture Lounge, www.sculpturelounge.com, which also stages short courses. The Art Market is in Holmfirth tomorrow, November 6 and November 13.