Harrogate house for sale with a hint of the Highlands

Renovating a Victorian terrace house can be fraught with design and decor disasters but Kirsty Mckenzie and her husband Andrew managed to avoid them all. The result is a cosy and characterful home with just the right blend of old and new, along with a few surprises. The property on Skipton Street, Harrogate, is now for sale for £255,000 with Dacre,Son & Hartley.

The couple did everything right, from saving for investment buys to taking time to consider what would work. One of the best decisions was painting the front door a vibrant pink. It never fails to raise a smile and gives visitors a dose of feel-good factor even before they’ve stepped over the threshold.

“That was my idea,” says Kirsty, who ran an art shop in Pateley Bridge before embarking on training to become a paralegal. “I always wanted a bright pink door. Andrew wasn’t convinced but when he’d finished painting it, he agreed it worked.”

She and Andrew bought the house, close to King’s Road, in 2011 and their first job was to do the basics, including new electrics and plumbing. The next was turning the third bedroom into an office where Kirsty could study for her law exams.

The bathroom and master bedroom were big projects, as was the kitchen. The final touch was treating the hall to panelling and Voyage Maison wallpaper. They saved for Farrow & Ball paint and invested in two wood-burning stoves and a sofa from Sofa Workshop.

Their love of vintage and salvage is clear. The kitchen and pantry feature shelves made from scaffolding boards and the bookcase in the sitting room was made from benches from a school science classroom.

Outside, what was a concrete yard is now a gorgeous courtyard, with planting, decking and an outdoor kitchen. The old coal shed has been turned into a utility room and the outside loo into a storage shed.

The decor is loosely based on a Scottish Highland theme. Says Kirsty: “It reflects my love of the countryside and that’s why we are selling. We want to move to the country, though I’ll miss living here. The King’s Road area is a great place. It feels like a village but it’s in walking distance of the town centre.”

The property has a hall, sitting room, dining room, kitchen and larder, three bedrooms and a bathroom and loft rooms ripe for conversion. Contact: Dacre, Son and Hartley, tel: 01423 877200, www.dacres.co.uk

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