Victorian terraced houses are all very much alike. Inside the long narrow entrance hall is an arch, usually supported by two acanthus leaf corbels. The first room you come to is the sitting room, often called 'the front room' (below), behind which is a family room.
Downstairs is the kitchen and dining room, and upstairs are three or four bedrooms, bathrooms, etc. Half way down the stairs to the kitchen there is usually a door out to the 'garden'. They have high ceilings and big windows. They usually follow this pattern everywhere; or something very similar.
Now that the house we're living in has been finished, for the past couple of weeks we've been concentrating on the other bigger one.
Walls needed to be painted, holes filled, and doors fixed. Not a big job, but it all takes time. The whole house has now been painted, some repairs made, but we still have bathrooms and kitchens to replace, some new electrical wiring, and new carpets need to be laid. Give it another few weeks and it'll all be hunky-dory. These things don't take long; just some hard work, and a few quid!!
It's a nice 'family' house, which I bought back in about 1985. I didn't get to see much of the interior of the house before I bought it, as the previous owner had let rooms to foreign students; and there were people sleeping EVERYWHERE. Still, I think my decision was good. The road is an 'owner-occupier' road (not often the case in central Brighton), and as such very community minded and friendly.
The Railway Station is a leisurely five minutes walk away (1 hr to Victoria), and the sea about ten minutes. It's a quiet road with St Nicholas Church at the South end, and all major shops within easy reach. You couldn't get more central than that!
We're not certain yet as to its future, but we have ideas. Watch this space.
31 comments:
You wouldn't live in it yourselves. It sounds to be in the perfect position and a very nice neighbourhood. Not to mention St Nicks at the end of the road to keep your souls safe
I see you are keeping yourself busy down there in sunny Brighton with lots of house maintenance projects.
We're very happy where were are, it's much better suited to a couple of oldies. The other house is more of a family house on four floors.
This is the problem with old houses. I expect we'll find some work to do on the French house when we return. It never ends.
How good it is that you have several homes that you can choose where to live.
It's quite a burden too. We really need to simplify our lives a bit.
Just what I was thinking Cro.
Back in 1985, you probably bought the place for a song so it was a wise investment. I wonder what the song was? Maybe "This Old House" By Shakin' Stevens. Sing it Cro!
Yes....
"Burden"? Burden to have money in bricks and mortar? Spare a thought for the Royal Family. They must be positively breaking under the strain of flitting between the many palaces, country seats, vast swathes of land to be maintained. What hardship comes with ownership! Tragic.
U
It was 'Buddy can you spare a dime'.
Are you doing the work yourself or just supervising?
I'm doing some of it, Lady M too. But I think our work is now finished, and it's ready for the pro's to come in.
I love the high ceilings...gives you room to breathe and think.
Eight foot ceilings are horrible
With skilled and reliable tradespeople doing the work, everything gets done well. With 2 homes to upgrade in Brighton, you are a great customer. Both homes sound delightful.
It sound pretty near perfect for town living.
So it's a brothel?
What a beautiful room - wonderful that you are spending the time and money to bring it back up to a high standard. It sounds like a lovely area - I've only been to Brighton once - so you chose well all those years ago.
Good luck with getting it finished.
I really must watch what I write, with you about!
They make a room seem very airy. However, I do like low beamed ceilings as well for the cosiness.
We've had good use from both of them; I hope that continues.
Perfect for Dad who has to make the occasional visit to London, for Mum who enjoys shopping, and for the children who would have very good schools nearby.
It'll take a while to have it all done. My oldest son is in charge of hiring the tradesmen, and he's VERY particular!
I know how they feel.
Oh, I do love renovations. Before and after pictures would have been nice. ;)
It is a big job keeping up with houses. I never understand how people can just let them fall to wrack and ruin.
I get a lot of vicarious pleasure listening to the details of other people's renovation projects. When my husband and I started having a few of own own house renovations done, however, the process wasn't as pleasurable as I'd imagined. The end product was cheering though. I hope you'll post more "before and afters". Your built-in bookshelves are beautiful.
I'm afraid that's part of the rental game. If a property BELONGS to you, you tend to look after it. If it belongs to a nasty landlord, priorities tend to lie elsewhere. Such is life.
The Sitting Room is a lovely room. It used to be my studio, but I was slowly but surely removed. My work, sadly, came to a halt.
It sounds like you are fixing things up with a mind to selling the houses.
No, we're keeping them. They just needed renovating; as do most houses after a while.
I wonder if it could be made a nice place for renting to students and so put back into society. Clearly though they would not be poor students who could afford to live in such a location.
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