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"   The living room fireplace is original to the house, while the sofa, armchair and ottoman are from Sofa.com   It all began with a magazine article that revealed the last location in London\u2014just 15 minutes from the West End by train\u2014where a terraced house could be found for less than $573,000. Simon Boyley, 31, and his partner Adrian McKeen, 36, were living in East Dulwich, south London, at the time, but knew it was impossible to buy a house there with their budget. &amp;#039;We decided to focus our efforts on the area highlighted in the article\u2014Hither Green,&amp;#039; says Adrian. &amp;#039;When we found this house, we snapped it up straightaway for just $51,000.&amp;#039;   Before  The couple could see past the property&amp;#039;s 1960s uPVC windows, woodchip wallpaper and orange wall tiles. Underneath the dated facade, the two-bedroom Victorian terraced house still had its original cornices, fireplaces, floorboards and doors. And by making the most of the south-facing garden and opening up the boxy rooms, Adrian and Simon knew they could flood the house with light and return it to its former glory. They decided to avoid some of the disruption by taking a short break in France while the floorboards were being sanded and varnished. &amp;#039;We should have waited until after the building work before having them done,&amp;#039; says Adrian. &amp;#039;But we weren&amp;#039;t sure at that point whether we were going to knock down the wall between the dining and living rooms. When it did come down, we protected the floors with polypropylene sheeting,&amp;#039; adds Simon. Phase one of the project was to paint the bedrooms and make the upstairs habitable, so they could plan the rest of the house from there.   Grey grouting was used with Retro Metro walltiles, from Tons of Tiles, for a modern edge.The Shaker units are from Devol Kitchens  Interior design blogs, property websites, and magazines provided ideas. &amp;#039;Simon did lots of Googling. Basically, the internet built our house,&amp;#039; laughs Adrian. Simon project-managed the work and found the builder, joiner, and other subcontractors through a website. For the second phase\u2014removing the old kitchen, knocking down the wall between the reception rooms, taking out the chimney breast and windows on two floors, and putting in the French doors at the back\u2014the couple moved out for three weeks, trusting their builder to complete the work without being overseen. For two keen cooks, the kitchen was a really important part of the renovation. Installing French doors transformed what was a dark, dingy room. &amp;#039;We wanted to bring the outside in,&amp;#039; says Adrian. Once the decorating was completed, work began on the garden with a new lawn, decking and fencing. This wasn&amp;#039;t as simple as it sounds, due to the unseasonal weather. &amp;#039;We were laying the lawn in the snow!&amp;#039; says Adrian. &amp;#039;It was a crazy time.&amp;#039; Finished by the spring, the renovation had completely changed the property, letting in light and revealing the original charm of the space. &amp;#039;The house has such character, and we enjoy having friends round,&amp;#039; says Adrian. &amp;#039;But we also love being able to get into town in just 15 minutes. It&amp;#039;s the best of both worlds.&amp;#039;  It&amp;#039;s All In The Design Simon&amp;#039;s tips on planning a new kitchen   Think about how you will use each area, then plan worktop space, power sockets, and storage accordingly. We have one area where we prepare most of our meals, which is within easy access of the stove and fridge. There is also an area for making coffee, which is right next to the sink for water and above the trashbin for waste.    Consider creative ways to disguise appliances.To keep the look streamlined, we built a small laundry cupboard at the end of the kitchen that hides away the washing machine, boiler, and microwave. Include a cupboard that you can put the bins in.    List the things you want in your kitchen and find ways to store them using less space. Use this to identify how many drawers and cupboards you need. Drawers are a good place to store plates, pans, and plastic containers.    Use open shelves for frequently used items and to display some of your favourite things.     Don&amp;#039;t limit your ideas to the existing layout. Change the layout to get a more efficient use of the space. Our kitchen had three small sets of cupboards and worktops that were all separate and in a U-shape. Changing to a galley layout has made the space a lot more user-friendly, which also saves on time.    Adrian and Simon used mybuilder.com to find their builder, Building Style (info@buildingstyle.co.uk), and joiner, JB Carpentry (0790 315 7526; jbcarpentryalcoves.co.uk)  Words: Melanie Elliott Photography: David Giles   This piece originally appeared on Housebeautiful.co.uk  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.elledecor.com/home-remodeling-renovating/home-makeovers/a5963/65000-renovation-hbuk/>