Cath and Rob/Karen and David The £100k House: Tricks of the Trade

Homes across Britain don't fit our needs...

We're going to feel like sardines in a can.

..or our dreams...

-This is what's known as miserable.

-RUBBLE CLATTERS

I'm Piers Taylor and I've handpicked a team of experts

to transform everyday houses...

If you feel that, it doesn't feel like you think it would.

From bold changes...

Your room, as it is, would disappear.

..to stunning interior ideas...

I think it looks amazing now.

..and finishing touches...

It's a bit of a focal point.

We'll use every trick of the trade...

You want to give a bit of a wow factor.

..to prove a limit on your funds...

This stuff's free.

..does not mean a limit on your imagination.

This is amazing, I mean, really amazing.

This time, the family home that's cramped and chaotic...

It's just a bit of a hellhole out there, to be honest with you.

..and ingenious ideas that will transform any room...

The floor runs all the way underneath it, so this floats.

How to take your forgotten basement to another level...

SO many options, so many choices!

But...will a DIY approach backfire?

That wasn't like that!

I think I'll ring my builder and let him know

that my house is falling down!

Back in 1998,

Rob bought this three-bed ex-council house in Warwick.

I grew up in the area

and shortly before my father died 21 years ago,

he made me promise

that I would plough the inheritance that I got off him into a house.

Two years later, he got together with Cath

and the couple now have three children. CHILDREN CHATTER

The house that once worked for Rob as a single man

is bursting at the seams now they're a family of five.

Breakfast is normally chaotic. We haven't really got enough space

and there's a lot of us in a small room.

I don't actually get to sit down, I get to eat on the go.

The first problem is the layout of the ground floor.

The family are struggling with a small kitchen,

a dark living room,

and a cramped hallway.

This is a real bane of our lives trying to get shoes on,

and the toilet's there, it's the thoroughfare.

It's just a really,

it's a real pinchpoint of our lives this little spot here.

-GIRL:

-And it's a really tiny house!

-HE LAUGHS

Upstairs, the kids have the bigger bedrooms

and Cath and Rob have been relegated to the smallest one for the last five years.

This is my wardrobe!

A big pile of clothes and I kind of have to shimmy down the bed to get into it.

We just feel compromised and would really like to stop camping.

It would be really nice to have more space.

The family have borrowed £55,000.

They want to build a two-storey extension,

which they hope will solve all their problems.

It's not very enjoyable the way it is.

We can't carry on living like this. It is starting to do our heads in.

I'm on my way to Warwick to meet Cath and Rob.

Their house has a huge number of problems.

The trick will be to find the thing

that makes the biggest difference for them and their family.

-Hello, Piers. Hi!

-How are you doing?

-Good.

-BOTH: Nice to meet you.

-Come on in.

Busy time of the day for you guys?

-Yes. It's...

-Hello, how are you doing?

-Piers, how are you doing? Nice to meet you.

How you doing? Hello. How are you doing?

Do you spend most of your time together in here?

-Or just at mealtimes.

-Yeah, just at mealtimes.

Then we're in and out cos there's not enough room.

Did you see me trying to get to the microwave? It's like shuffling past.

-And the fridge here, as well, will nearly always...

-Smash people on the head.

'The kitchen is clearly too small for their needs

'and the poorly designed layout results in dark, miserable rooms.'

It's a sunny, summer day, but there's no sun in here

and it just feels a bit...underused and underloved.

'And like many homes across the country,

'this house has had a conservatory added on the back.'

So this is interesting,

cos it's the best position in the house in some ways.

It's overlooking the garden, it's got the aspect,

got the light, all that stuff,

and yet it's kind of unusable, isn't it?

We do get a lot of sun in here, and it's just so hot all the time

apart from the winter when it's completely, bitterly cold.

Conservatories cut out the natural light

and ventilation to the rest of the house.

They just don't work very well.

'With so much stuff dumped in this room,

'lack of storage is clearly a problem, too.'

So this is where we sleep.

Yes, I can see that this is...

about as basic as a bedroom gets.

Everything is conspiring to make you feel oppressed

by the size of these spaces.

Is there anything up here in the loft?

-More junk!

-THEY LAUGH

The easy option to our prayers would be just to go up in the loft,

but unfortunately, we don't have the head height so...

we're stuck with what we've got.

At the moment, a loft conversion is being discounted by Cath and Rob

because there just isn't the space upstairs.

But I really want to find a way to go up,

because I think you get the view, you get the space

for relatively little cost.

But...

quite how we'll do it yet, I'm just not sure.

'The planned two-storey extension on the back

'will give them more bedrooms,

'but I don't think this is the answer.'

-In an ideal world...

-Yeah...

..one would start again completely.

BUT I think there is something else that we could do... ROB CHUCKLES

..and I think it's touch-and-go whether it could work.

Fundamentally, though,

the key to this is finding a way to use the loft

and the loft - at the moment - can't be used

because there's only about 1,600 mil of head height.

The key to getting it to work

is through the middle of the building...

just dropping the floor of the loft

-and reconfiguring the stairs so that...

-Sounds expensive.

Well...It's a lot less expensive than spending 50 grand

on an extension you don't want.

Then you could build the kind of coolest dormer in the world

with amazing bed platform in it.

So let's just deal with the ground floor.

I think you should be doing a ground-floor extension

and then I think, critically,

add a big roof light over the middle of that.

That change there just opens up the options just amazingly.

You really do have, well, better living spaces.

It's like looking at a different house to what we were a few minutes ago.

'And I've one final suggestion I want them to consider.

'A modern porch.'

What it would give you is something beautiful to look at

which changed the front of the building,

cupboard space and a way into the building

that protected you from the weather.

It's just a nicer way to arrive at your house.

-Oh, that's much better.

-Absolutely.

-To be able to cover that off in the whole of this scheme would be incredible.

-It would.

And, whilst getting some more badly needed space would be fantastic.

'My plan is all about squeezing much more

'out of the existing space in the house.

'Dropping the middle section of the floor in the loft

'and adding a dormer window would give Cath and Rob

'the additional head height needed to turn this space

'into a much-needed fourth bedroom.

'On the ground floor, getting rid of the old conservatory

'and replacing it with a single-storey extension lit from above by a roof light

'will solve the problem of a dark middle area of the house.

'Removing internal walls will then create a new, large open-plan

'family living and dining area.

'My final suggestion is that they add a porch

'to improve the look of the house

'and it would also give the family some much-needed storage.'

There's still a lot of ifs in terms of construction

and in terms of cost.

If all those "if"s come good,

then this can be pulled off.

'It's a really bold plan

'that could totally transform Cath and Rob's home,

'but they're going to have to work out what's possible on their budget.'

Over in Ipswich,

another couple are struggling with lack of space in their home.

Church of England reverend David and his wife Karen

have just bought their first house together

after 25 years living in church accommodation.

All they could afford is a tiny two-bed Victorian terrace

and it's a big change from the spacious vicarages they're used to.

It is small. The rooms are tiny.

I've always thought it's one room short.

It needs one bigger room downstairs.

Karen and David are used to big rooms in big homes.

They long for one area to cook, eat and work from.

But their new dining room is on a different level

to the cramped kitchen, which spills out into the cellar

on the level below.

I like baking, but I can't fit everything in my kitchen

because there's just not enough space.

So I have to bake in the cellar.

I'm always up and down...

I've made it my little kitchen extension.

And this small, gloomy cellar

also doubles as David's home office.

And so I'm always putting stuff on Dave's desk.

The flour, the currants

and all sort of things will suddenly land on my desk.

Karen and David want to extend their cramped kitchen,

doubling the space.

And becoming a homeowner in his 50s,

David has finally been unleashed to do his own DIY.

We've already been researching how to load a wheelbarrow.

-There's an exciting one for you!

-Yes.

'But they've got just £10,000

'to try and transform their small home.'

It's been two and a half years of saving that

and I don't want to waste what we've got.

'For Karen and David, this is about much more

'than mere bricks and mortar.'

It's just something, almost the first time,

that feels like it's ours.

It's Dave and Karen's house, not the vicarage.

And I'm really quite emotional about that.

Sorry.

It means a lot.

Helping me transform these homes

is my hand-picked team of architects.

And taking on the challenge of David and Karen's house

is Cheryl Pilliner-Reeves.

The fact that they've lived in a really large vicarages

changes their perception of what they expect of this small property.

They don't have that space that they previously had

and we're going to need to use every single inch

to deliver what they want from it.

Finding more space in this tiny house is a huge challenge

and Cheryl needs to understand how Karen and David want to live in it.

Round here is our dining room.

So what's the issue here?

It's really too small...

When all our family and our friends come round, it is really difficult.

We love socialising, we love having people round,

but it is, it's really a squeeze.

And down these stairs...

is our very...

tiny kitchen.

-So it's a really...tight space.

-Yes.

The couple are desperate to knock down the outhouse in the back garden

to extend the kitchen out further.

Many homes across the country have additions like this.

They block light out from the main house,

making them gloomy and feel smaller.

We'd love to be able to extend out because it gives a kitchen-diner,

it makes great use of wonderful space, sunshine,

and it connects that garden to the house.

Karen and David may miss their old vicarages,

but there's one thing they love about here.

There are some wonderful rooftops and chimneys

and the sunsets are incredible here.

It's something we just can't enjoy at the moment.

So how much do you have to do the project?

We have got, actually, £10,000...

-OK. That's quite a tall order.

-It is.

I know it's a big ask.

We believe in a miracle!

Bringing rooms situated on three different levels together

could be complicated

and easily cost tens of thousands of pounds.

Cheryl has worked on multi-million pound schemes

right down to small, clever alterations to existing buildings...

In this apartment, she created split-level areas

to increase the sense of space

and furnished inexpensively with reclaimed items.

Her biggest challenge here is to find a way to connect an extension

to the other spaces that are separated by different levels...

So I know you are keen to knock out your storage shed and build there.

-Yup.

-Yes.

My issue with that is that I think you're going to end up

with a very narrow, long kitchen.

What I'd like to propose is that we go sideways

to extend into your garden.

As well as extending sideways,

Cheryl wants to lower the kitchen floor

and bring it to the same level as the new extension,

creating one large kitchen-diner.

I like the playfulness and the connectedness

of how we are trying to connect it.

New staircases will be the key move linking all the spaces together,

including the dining room that becomes David's new office

and the basement which becomes a snug.

We'll have a small flight of stairs down to the kitchen

and then we'll bring the staircase down to the basement this side...

It's a bold move with one major drawback -

sinking the kitchen floor means Karen could lose

her beautiful views.

-I think in my head...

-SHE SNIFFS

..I had thought I'd see the sunset

and I won't see that.

This isn't going to be that little pokey window you have there now.

This window is going to be bigger.

You'll be able to see through this window to that same view.

The couple have a strong connection to the house

and big changes can be scary.

I just need to get my head round...

Because it's quite a big change to where we were thinking of going.

Because I'm managing all the finances,

there's a part of me, kind of, a bit worried...

Cheryl's plan is asking a lot of two amateurs

with no experience of renovation.

But the couple are brave enough to go for it.

They start by preparing the ground for new foundations.

This is a whacker that will, once we have got the hard-core on,

it will push the hard-core down.

MACHINE WHIRRS

Karen and David have hired a builder

and a structural engineer for advice on this journey.

But they must be careful not to overstretch themselves

if they're to avoid any nasty surprises.

We don't know what we're doing, really.

-Not brilliant, is it?

-No.

It's the fear that we won't do well or we'll make a big mistake

and something will fall down.

TOOLS TAP

In Warwick, Cath and Rob have started work on their plan

to transform their cramped, chaotic home.

I'm just really happy they're taking the conservatory down now.

I can't wait to see the nice big room we're going to have downstairs.

But before they build the new extension,

they need to think about how they'll make the most of the new space

or they risk ending up with a chaotic muddle once more...

How's it going with your build?

-OK.

-THEY LAUGH

Well, it's OK, but we're, kind of, coming to crunch time now,

really, with really making decisions.

So I've arranged exclusive access to a house in North London

that's full of architectural tricks

that make it feel larger than its footprint.

So this is the house I'm taking you to see.

Oh, wow, it's amazing!

I've brought you here, really, to show you how every square inch of a house

needs to work really hard

and actually be considered in terms of every detail.

-So let's go in and have a look.

-OK.

Oh, wow.

It's so bright and light in here, isn't it?

This house was originally built in the mid-'50s

and it's recently been extended and remodelled

to maximise the feeling of light and space in the building.

It's not actually that big, but it feels like it's really big.

-It gives a good sense of space, doesn't it?

-Absolutely.

Glass with frosted film allows natural light to fill the hallway

and the space is clutter-free,

thanks to built-in storage down one wall.

In the spirit of every square inch being used effectively,

this is really clever.

So a mirror that actually is a cupboard.

-So having your...

-Absolutely.

-..coat and your hat and all that,

just being able to put it there

and have a mirror that's flush with the wall is really nice.

If you build in storage rather than add cupboards or coat hooks,

it becomes part of the architecture and doesn't dominate the space.

It's a great trick for a clutter-free home.

This door head is flush, it's actually wider than normal.

This is a pair of doors, full height.

-Being so wide and so high really gives you the sense of space, doesn't it? It's wonderful.

-It does.

You can see just how important something like that is.

And then, when it comes down to the floor, there's no skirting,

there's just a shadow gap that runs around.

Keeping walls free of fussy finishes like coving and skirting

can save on the cost of materials.

They just don't have the clutter and the architraves of stuff

going right in your eyes

and using up precious bits and inches of space.

The architects Lipton Plant have designed the house

so you can see all the way from front to back,

which makes it feel larger,

as does the use of one type of flooring,

laid here on an angle.

This floor is great, the way it runs from there right the way through.

It brings your eye out to the garden as well, doesn't it?

It does, absolutely.

This is so great because it's a piece of furniture

that hangs off the wall on several metal brackets.

-It's, kind of, floating, isn't it?

-It does. Yes.

The nicest thing is that the floor runs all the way underneath it, so this floats

and there's none of that conventional...

150 black kickplate...

-Yes, which we have in our kitchen.

-Most kitchens have those.

Yes, exactly.

Raising furniture up and allowing the floor to run underneath

is a design trick that makes a room feel bigger

by drawing the eye to its full width.

You can do this with off-the-shelf kitchen units.

It's a great way you can make a small kitchen feel larger.

-It just adds to the airiness and the space.

-It does.

-These drawers are beautiful, as well. Look at this.

-Oh, yes.

There's a splash of colour inside.

So this is pink,

but you can't quite see the pink

-until you see the yellow interestingly.

-Yeah, yeah.

Here, sliding doors bring light into the whole of the rear of the house.

These high-end ones cost around 15K,

but cheaper ones are widely available.

This big opening is really nice, isn't it?

I mean, particularly this great colour.

I mean, yellow is a pretty bold choice for a window frame,

but here it's beautiful,

particularly because you see the yellow against the grey sky.

Making window or door frames yellow is a really useful design trick.

It gives the light a warm glow,

brightening the room even on a dull, grey day.

I would have thought having yellow doors would be awful,

but actually seeing them in real life,

they look great, they're a nice feature.

The aluminium frames were powder-coated during manufacture.

A cheaper way you can achieve the same effect

is to use yellow paint on the window reveals.

This room is great.

This is an adult living room

that you can effectively lock down and shut these doors.

And instead of having a place which is the family room,

the messy room where the kids go,

actually, this is the adult retreat.

I guess we need to think about where this happens in your house.

To have a little snug where we can retreat to in the evening

and have a sit and a cuddle on the sofa and a watch of the telly is great.

This may be very different from your house,

certainly in terms of the amount of the stuff -

and I suspect you have far more stuff...

But is it quite an eye-opener seeing how well-considered everything is here?

Everything's clean lines here, I like it.

In fact, there's no skirtings anywhere,

every single piece of square inch of the house

has been carefully thought through and works fantastically.

That's our challenge.

Back in Ipswich,

costs are already spiralling on David and Karen's build

and they've been hit with a bill of £1,200 to underpin the house.

So to try and stay on budget,

they're tackling as much of the work as they can.

This is some of the soil -

quite a bit of it - we dug out of the foundations.

We've carried 82 bags of cement through the house

and they are 25kg each bag.

In here is where we have put all the ballast.

We have carried, I think, about 16 bulk bags of ballast.

But while knocking bricks out for steels,

they hit another problem.

It's just becoming a bit loose here.

That wasn't like that.

It was quite tight, so I think I'll ring my builder

and let him know that my house is falling down!

Naivety now could end up costing even more in the long term.

Everything Karen and David touch must be checked

and rechecked by the builder, as well as building control.

Just to let you know, some of the bricks are dropping.

Can you just let me know that that's OK

or if there's anything you want me to do?

You can't question the couple's dedication,

but there's a chance they could burn out before this build is complete,

especially when David can't focus on the final vision.

I'm struggling with it.

That's a lovely room, so... Until we see it...

Cos, obviously you are just knocking everything down, so you can't tell what it's going to be...

So you're more aware of what you're losing than what you're gaining cos you can't see it yet.

We need to find a way to help them see what all their efforts could achieve

before the drudgery of the build makes them want to call it a day.

I'm massively worried about them,

because now they've started the project

and they're getting quite tired with the actual physical work required of them,

they might actually start to lose motivation.

It is really hard work physically to do this building.

It's really hard and also, in a way,

the big architectural idea of these interlinked spaces on different levels

is quite a difficult thing to understand.

I suspect if they could visualise all of this

and see what the endgame was, see what they were getting,

-then, actually, they may become remotivated and reinspired.

-Absolutely.

I've gained exclusive access to a house in Warwickshire

which I think shows how split-level living can work,

combined with inspirational lighting tricks.

Wow!

Amazing.

It's great.

I just like the hidden light.

It just shows the roof off.

I mean, it's really interesting that the space is lit,

rather than there being lots of lights.

This lighting is beautiful because it shows the shape of the roof.

-It does.

-Beautiful.

-It's very nice.

Concealed lighting is a great design trick

for making a room feel light and bright.

It can add a sense of drama,

illuminating key parts of the architecture of a building

or even allude to hidden spaces.

It doesn't need to cost a fortune.

You can create it using inexpensive fluorescent tubes.

The important thing is to plan it early on in a project,

so you can build in the recesses needed to hide the fittings.

-The stone...

-Yeah.

-..connects you to...the outside of the...

-It's the walls of the building.

-It is, absolutely.

Strict planning restrictions led the architects Baynes & Co

to design this clever retractable stone wall,

so the owners could insert larger windows.

It's beautiful from both sides

and allows light to sneak through gaps in stonework,

as well as views out.

It's amazing, in the tiny holes you can actually see outside.

Yeah, you just get glimpses, you get bits of green, bits of sky...

But you can see it... That's so clever.

You can achieve similar results through the use of acid-etched glass,

frosted glass or even stained glass.

But I think the other really exciting opportunity for you

in your house is the change in level.

And, in a way, it's a little bit like this, isn't it?

And these stairs are beautiful, aren't they?

'The oversized stairs are a destination in this house.'

These are places where you would linger and...

And you sit!

-It's another seating area, isn't it?

-It is, absolutely.

While this set is made of limestone tiles

and cost two grand to build,

you can create chunky steps using cheaper materials,

like concrete or even recycled railway sleepers.

-It's like being in an amphitheatre...

-It is, isn't it?

..watching.

Equivalently, when you come down here,

you can sort of be in three spaces at once.

In your house there's really a set of spaces

that are connected by a set of staircases.

And you're ending up with in-between spaces like these

that are really rich and interesting.

I think this house, like yours,

gives you unexpected glimpses of things as you move around...

-It does.

-..unexpected views into different areas,

but also unexpected views outside.

It's a house full of surprises, actually.

By taking in the principles found in the light, space

and stairs in this property,

Karen and David can make their multi-level home work.

Now we begin to see the space appear at home,

you begin to use your imagination.

This just lifts it.

You think, "Ah, could we use that?" without slavishly copying it.

In Warwick, the build is progressing.

The extension walls have gone up

and the builders have removed the old back wall

to create the new open-plan living and dining area.

I'm heading back to see Cath and Rob at this critical point of the build.

With the ground floor opened up,

my challenge now is to help them to find what it's for...

-Hi, guys. How are you doing?

-Hi.

-Nice to see you.

-Great to see you.

-Thanks for coming over again.

Look at this, it's amazing.

-It is.

-It's a big space, isn't it?

-It's huge!

-We're bit worried now about what we're going to do with it, actually!

-THEY LAUGH

'They've already got some ideas about how they want to use the room...'

It is a long table and it is going to go here.

Maybe even something here to draw the kitchen and the,

-you know, the dining area together.

-A big fridge going there.

Storage all the way along here.

I was thinking of hanging pendants or something over the table.

A kind of breakfast bar, islandy thing here...

My head is already spinning with the amount of different things

that you are going to cram in to these spaces.

How do you not let this just be a sea of chairs and stuff?

I think what we ought to just draw it on the wall.

Just plan it out, move this sofa...

I want them to remember the lessons from the London house

about clever storage and making the most of every inch of space.

You were describing that actually you want your kitchen table along here

and it wants to be a BIG kitchen table...

It is a big kitchen table. We've bought it.

Extends to three metres ten.

So... It's that, kind of scale, isn't it?

What about building a bench or something around that space...?

That you could build in a beautiful place to sit,

so that this is a bench where, you know, you would sit there...

Do you see what I mean?

At a table that was there

and around you is storage.

There's no reason then

that you can't start to do something amazing with colour.

'Building in storage and a bench seat

'is a really efficient use of space

'and a great way to define the dining part of the room.

'My tip for doing this in your own home

'is to find a really good local joiner or carpenter.'

It's not something that we considered at all.

But that drawing there makes it look amazing, you can really visualise it.

It's functional, it looks great and it gives you exciting ideas

of how you can introduce colour and light.

OK, so what about materials?

I think it's really interesting that spaces are unified

by having one material that runs through.

-We're governed by costs...

-Yep.

..and so we've been looking at the obvious options of OSB or plywood.

Plywood is really cheap.

-I have a plywood floor because it is super cheap...

-Sure.

-..and it looks great.

It ages beautifully.

As it gets older, it looks great, as well.

'Plywood's a really cheap material for a floor

'and costs from around £11 a square metre.'

Running this beautiful grid of plywood through would be amazing.

Exactly. Would it be plywood overload

if we had the storage made out of plywood, as well?

I think that plywood on both could look amazing.

Back in Ipswich, unexpected costs are still mounting up.

Karen and David need ten steel beams to support the building

and it's costing them an additional £2,700.

They've already blown their 10K budget.

So far we've spent over 12,000.

It's kept us awake at night...

Yes.

Karen and David can continue with money borrowed from family,

but builder Ralph sees how the increasing costs

are taking their toll on the couple.

They have been stressed, yes.

I heard Karen on the phone in tears.

But this plucky couple aren't going to give up on their dream

and they push on with the plan,

opening up the basement to link up the rooms.

-I need to leave that wall.

-Yes.

And I don't what the ceiling falling on me...

The couple are now worried about David's new office.

Once the new extension is built,

it will no longer look out onto the garden and risks being dark.

Cheryl's back to find a solution to link the office

to the extended kitchen beyond.

We want to talk about this space here.

There's going to be a slit window at the top.

But it's also about this looking good from both sides.

So it's got to look good from the study side,

I'd like it to open.

As well as needing light in the room,

David also want some privacy while he works.

There could be an opportunity to enclose the room

through using a transparent or translucent glazing.

You could have frosted or acid-etched,

or you could even use glass blocks.

There's a bit of privacy provided by that.

Cheryl might have found a solution right under their noses...

It may be, if there was some way of using the glazing...

That might be interesting.

Karen's recycled stained-glass is a great way to let light in,

while retaining privacy.

It would also be an opportunity to add some character

to David's desk area.

So one thing I think that could act as a good separator

is just a half-height screen,

whereby you're able to not see past the screen when you're sitting,

and then, when you are standing, you can.

It would bring colour and light into this room.

I quite like that, it's a clever idea.

I like the idea that you are actually using the stained glass in here.

Cheryl's suggesting using a continuous piece of wood

to create David's desk.

Fitting it against the wall would save space.

What I really like is the framing of it.

Cheryl's given them the vision for the study window.

Now she wants to help them with the new staircases.

Karen and David only have £600 to spend on two new sets of stairs.

It's not a lot,

so she's taking Karen to a timber merchant.

-So many options...

-Yes.

-..so many choices.

There are places like this all around the country

and they stock a much wider range of timber

than can be found at DIY stores.

One way which we could achieve that really lovely chunky timber effect

could be in using sleepers.

Wow, they're definitely chunky!

The great thing about them is that they cost very little.

Planed - £32 plus VAT.

OK.

Sawn - £22 plus VAT.

Probably...for about 12m in length,

you are going to be looking at £260.

OK, it is like steps immediately, isn't it?

-It's like the instant staircase.

-Yes.

All stairs must be agreed with building control

and made professionally.

The cost of sawn sleepers would leave them with enough money

for their carpenter to build them.

I'm really hoping that with Tom's help, the carpenter,

we're going to be able to pull this budget together

and really deliver everything that Karen and David need for the staircase.

Back in Warwick, the builders are converting the loft

into Cath and Rob's new master bedroom.

This build is a massive project

and they've already spent nearly 40K of their 55 grand budget.

On the ground floor, the interior fit is underway.

The plywood floor has been laid

and the storage units are being constructed by their carpenter.

He made all the cabinets out of MDF because it was the cheapest thing to do

and created this lovely built-in storage for us.

I can't wait to see all the records up there.

Other places you can build in space-saving storage in a house or flat

include alcoves either side of a chimney breast,

under the stairs and in a bay window as a window seat.

Now Cath and Rob need to tackle the next stage of my plan

to transform their home - the porch.

We've spent a lot of time getting the interior ready

and really we haven't thought about the outside, so it's really important.

We are now concentrating on getting the porch built.

But we're not quite sure what covering,

what it's going to be made of.

'The advice of the local planning authority should be sought

'before undertaking external work to a property.

'I want to help Cath and Rob create something out of the ordinary.

'So I am taking them to a company

'that specialises in materials for the construction industry.

'There are trade warehouses like this all around the country

'and many welcome members of the public,

'but it's always worth calling ahead to check.'

-Hi, Cath. Hi, Rob.

-Hello.

How are you doing?

So I've brought you here to talk about your porch.

You need something that works beautifully,

but actually lifts the whole building.

You need a piece of architecture on the front of your house, don't you?

You don't need what everyone else does.

Making it different, quirky and just a real stand-out feature of the house

is something we're really hoping to achieve.

It's the white plastic that we need to get rid of

and it's white plastic that most people use.

And I think you need a material that's equally durable,

but actually is far more beautiful.

'I want them to consider products normally used

'by just the construction trade -

'high-performance cladding board.'

So, I guess, in a way this is like MDF, but an external grade of MDF,

made not out of wood, but out of cement.

Actually this is great material because it lasts indefinitely.

'Cladding board costs from around £35 per square metre

'and it doesn't just come in basic grey.'

I mean, I think you COULD use a bit of colour.

I think a bit of colour at your house would really lift it.

Actually, '60s buildings use colour really effectively.

-What do you think about an orange porch?

-Yes, I wouldn't rule it out.

-Wouldn't you?

-No.

-OK!

-Would you?

-I think...

I think I probably would rule it out, actually. Yeah...

There are more muted.

-I mean, this blue is nice.

-I really like that, it's lovely.

And dark grey looks really good with this orange.

You can see putting a darker colour next to it looks really good.

Yes, it does.

'Cladding board can be used inside or outside your house.

'It could work as a splashback or even in a wet room.

'These are all offcuts

'and I've arranged for Cath and Rob to take what's going spare.'

Yes, so the great thing about places like this is

they have all this fantastic stuff lying around

that is usually free.

-All this stuff here we could literally pick up and lift away?

-Yes.

So we can have a multicoloured, kaleidoscopic,

-psychedelic porch...

-If you wanted...!

-..if we really wanted to?

-Yes. Cos this is free, this is free material.

-OK.

'It's always worth approaching places

'to see if you can get building materials for nothing.'

I mean, I have always had in my mind

something that has a top that tapers...

I guess if we were to talk about colour now,

I think I've always liked the idea

of doing something very, very bright on the inside

and doing the rest of it in quite a subdued colour.

I mean, what do you think about doing that?

What I really like, Piers, is that it's an unusual shape.

It's got an angle porch and it is a porch inside a porch, if you like.

It's quite unusual.

I guess I'm a little bit more comfortable with the colour being...

-inside a bit rather than...

-Yes.

You know...

Beaming like a beacon in the rest of the street.

I've given them the vision,

but it's up to the couple to take things forward from here.

In Ipswich, three months into the build,

the shell of the extension is complete

and David and Karen and the builders

are pressing on with the interior fit.

They've now spent a whopping 18 grand,

but they're determined to at least finish the stairs...

Inspired by their trips to the Warwickshire house and the timber yard,

they're going for a chunky railway sleeper design.

That was the rail that went down,

the original rail going down into the cellar.

So it's really lovely to be recycling it.

They're also being as thrifty as possible with fixtures and fittings.

This is my beautiful Belfast sink

that I got off an auction site for £10.

They've also sourced the wood to make David's desk in the office for £175.

This is a bit of wood that Karen found,

reclamation yard.

I think it's an old bar, so we are going to sand it up a bit.

It needs a little bit of repair.

We are going to cut it into it so it will sit into the window.

But a lot of it, even though it is so long, a lot of it we're using.

The couple have pushed themselves to the limit

physically and financially in the hope of transforming their house.

I am really tired and we've just got quite a lot of work to do.

So have they managed to turn this tiny terrace into a connected, light-filled home?

Karen and David have had lots of unexpected costs on this project,

but five months after her first visit,

Cheryl has returned to see how far they've got.

The thing I'm really excited about seeing how they've resolved

is the transition as we go down those level changes

through the kitchen into that new area where the extension is

and then down into the new snug...

EVERYONE: Hello!

-Lovely to see you.

-How lovely to see you.

-Hello.

Lovely to see you.

Lovely to see you.

So how are you feeling? How's it been?

We are exhausted.

We are tired.

So I can't wait to see it.

Come on in, come and see it.

Before the house was a series of small rooms,

all cut off from each other.

The kitchen was tiny and impractical,

the basement cramped and David lacked a study.

Cheryl's plan was to extend the house sideways

and connect the spaces with a series of staircases.

So has this transformed the house?

This is fantastic!

What do you feel?

It's space. It's like, it's huge.

It just feels, like...!

It's real, I can breathe, it's big.

The extended kitchen is now a large, well-proportioned room.

Lowering the floor level has made the ceiling height more generous

and new windows have improved the connection with the outside.

-And the views out to your wonderful chimney pots!

-Yes.

I can see them now.

-Yes, and the rooftops.

-Yes. That's fantastic.

It's great.

Light also now pours in from above.

And here's this fantastic roof light, the extra addition

to be able to bring light further into the main part of the house.

And here - it's one of my favourite parts, where you're stood now,

is one of my favourite places, just to stand there.

They've cleverly placed their dining area in the best part of the room

making it the natural place for family to congregate when they visit.

This is a big space to have all my family.

They can all fit in here and I'm going to be a grandmother very soon.

-Congratulations.

-I know!

So I'm going to have grandchildren so it's perfect,

because when I am looking after them, we can all be here.

David and Karen have invested money in the big changes

and then saved by reusing parts of their old kitchen,

supplementing with recycled finds.

This is my £10 sink.

It came with taps, as well.

What a fantastic buy!

A carpenter made this for me

and then, yes, on an auction site,

I got this drainer for £30.

This kitchen hasn't cost me very much.

All these elements coming together

and they're a part of your story.

But the biggest success is how the different areas are now connected,

making the small home feel much bigger.

How does it feel now that you have all these different views through?

You get so many different angles. You can be sat on the sofa,

we were this morning, and you're looking out that way

and you're looking right the way through, which we couldn't do before.

And you can see it all. I'm amazed.

-Ah, this is fantastic.

-Ah, good.

What a great space you've made down here.

It's really lovely.

It's a great cosy snug.

With white walls and clever lighting,

the cellar feels bright, yet cosy.

Tying the levels together are bespoke chunky stairs,

which are still work in progress.

This is very similar to what we were talking about

when we went to the timber yard.

I liked the idea and I liked the solid thickness of it.

They're very solid, very chunky.

The two sets of stairs cost just £550 in total.

We still, obviously, need the balustrades in

and I'm having tension wire infills.

You've got your brick floor, your timber sleeper staircase.

Together it will all have a very, kind of, earthy feeling.

This is a world away from the old dark cellar

where David used to work.

But now he has a new office in the room above.

Oh, this is a lovely room.

So this is where you are sitting to study and work now.

Yes, it's a lovely space to be in.

You get the light coming through.

I really like the way from this view

you actually have this sense of being able to see straight out through that upper panel.

Yes, what I feared was I wouldn't get hardly any light in here at all.

Actually it's completely the opposite,

you get quite a lot of light.

I think this feature of using the stained glass that you had found is wonderful.

It's really decorative in the room.

And even though you only have a peek of it above the desk,

it's just a bit of colour and pattern...

and obviously below the desk, as well.

It really livens up this opening.

It does, it makes a feature out of it.

The reclaimed bar helps add a sense of quality and history.

I love the fact it's such a strong clear line

across from end to end of the wall

and there's no support.

It just makes it so much more generous.

So from being enclosed here and separate from the kitchen and dining space,

you can then open this window -

and that's great -

-and become part of the activity.

-Yeah.

-That's lovely.

Karen and David have worked tirelessly on this build

and have managed to pull off the miracle they were praying for.

I was worried about you taking on this project

because obviously there was a lot of building work involved

-and this is your first building project.

-BOTH: Yes.

It has been exhausting.

It's been enjoyable, as well,

because we've been learning new skills.

-We never thought we would do what we've done, did we?

-No.

And I know all the different types of concrete there is.

I love making concrete.

And I love cleaning bricks.

So you had a £10,000 budget and I'd like to know how you got on.

Well, we've gone way over the budget,

but I know... I know that the budget was unrealistic.

Um...

We have spent...£23,000...

£24,000...

That's everything.

We had saved £10,000

and then my sister

gave us a loan for another ten.

And then...

the rest has been my wages each month.

Just an extension alone could be between £25,000-£30,000.

The structural work for the basement,

that could have been another £10,000, £15,000, £20,000.

The savings you've made

and the amount you've journeyed to make this home yours is fantastic.

You feel part of this house,

it's part of you and your story.

I actually feel quite proud and emotional about it

-and it's something I feel privileged to invite people round to.

-Yeah.

I want to share it.

-Yes, we've already got people booked in for dinner.

-THEY ALL LAUGH

From a muddled and frustrating home,

Karen and David finally have their own spaces,

but also ones can enjoy together.

I haven't made a cake for ages.

-It's fantastic.

-Isn't it beautiful.

With the structural work complete,

it's the final push to complete the interior of Cath and Rob's house.

And having learnt design lessons, they're determined to avoid bog-standard finishes...

It's called Moroccan Flame,

but basically it's just bright orange.

This is completely outside our comfort zone.

We always go for magnolia or beige or something like that.

We want something different, we want to be a bit brave.

Now the builders have to tackle the part of the project

that will hopefully make the most impact - the porch...

As a result of our trip to the warehouse,

the couple have decided to construct it

from offcuts of laminated particle board,

but the builders are unfamiliar with this product.

I've never used this material before. It's quite unusual.

I, kind of, learn more about this stuff as we go on.

DRILL WHIRRS

Rob arrives back home to see what the builders are doing.

-There's a lot of layers of cladding and stuff, isn't there?

-Yeah.

I thought we were just going to have a simple timber frame

-with a bit of this shoved on the front.

-Yes.

The offcuts have cost Cath and Rob nothing,

but they've had to go with whatever colour the company had spare.

The new porch will dominate the front of the house,

so will their brave decision pay off?

With the colour, I'm sure I'll get used to it.

Yeah, it's quite a statement, really.

Eight months after my first visit, I'm back in Warwick.

Cath and Rob had issues with their home that I think many of us could recognise.

Because they'd been in it for such a long time,

their needs had changed with a growing family,

but their home hadn't.

With that, their home had become completely unloved.

Previously the outside of the house was dated and uninviting...

So has a new porch made all the difference?

-Hi, Cath. Hi, Rob.

-Hi, how are you?

-How are you doing?

-Look at this!

-I know.

-Amazing.

This big blue thing stuck to the front of our house!

Made out of a very bright colour.

It's beautiful, it's great, isn't it? BOTH: Yes.

'The porch has been made of free offcuts of laminated particle board.

'Labour and other materials came in at under £1,000.'

I think the colour with the brick is fantastic.

It's definitely going to stand out on the street.

It is...going to stand out.

And it's also solved another storage issue.

You did have a very narrow corridor.

Yes, and only a small shoe cupboard, as well.

And so we can chuck a load of it out here now.

So if you've done this on the outside,

I can't wait to see what you've done on the inside...

-Looking forward to showing you. Come on in!

-Let go and have a look.

Before, the family were struggling with a small kitchen,

a dark living room

and a cramped hallway.

The unloved conservatory had become a dumping ground.

Look at this! Wow! I can't believe it, it's amazing.

-It's much lighter, as well.

-It's so much lighter.

I mean, it really is a different house this, isn't it?

I really can't believe the difference, actually,

because here you've taken out a wall,

-taken away the conservatory...

-Yep.

..and used the same space,

but it feels like a completely different amount of space.

'The ground floor is now a generous space,

'flooded with light thanks to the roof light and bifold doors

'and it's zoned into places for cooking, eating and relaxing.'

Before, you used to have a very small kitchen table here, didn't you?

Now we've got a nice large area to eat around.

This looks so inviting.

-Yes, absolutely.

-I mean, it really is.

-Fantastic.

-And it's orange!

-THEY LAUGH

Here's the man that claims he doesn't like bright colours.

Well, you know, I'm open-minded!

Having a table this...further over towards it,

means it gives you a lot more space actually in the room.

So it's purely functional, as well,

-because that's all storage under there, as well.

-In here?

-Yep.

It where the naughty kids go.

Naughty kids! Or naughty grown-ups! THEY LAUGH

They can lock you in. That's fantastic.

-What a great use of space.

-Yeah, absolutely.

You know, every inch is being used of all this space.

But it's lovely the way it goes up to the ceiling,

because I think if you'd got something just from a flat pack supplier,

it just wouldn't fill the space and define this lovely bench.

'I'm so pleased Cath and Rob have learnt the lessons about using every inch of space.

All this joinery cost than £2,000

and the carpenter even added his own touches.

It looks like he's had some fun with these handles.

And that's just bits of ply glued together with a bit of varnish

and, again, totally bespoke - no-one else has got that anywhere.

'Having been inspired by the visit to the London house,

'Cath and Rob have managed to carve out some space for themselves

'and have built a bar.'

So this is great, isn't it, for you guys to have this.

I mean, I probably relinquished the sense

that I could ever have any adult space in my own house,

but you've really done the sensible thing and clawed some back.

Absolutely. Everyone that comes in loves it.

And, you know, this great big piece of wood here,

have a guess how much this, all this top cost.

-Why don't you tell me.

-Five pounds.

-Five pounds?

-Five pounds for a fantastic piece of timber...

-That's amazing!

..with great history behind it.

So I can see over here this great yellow in this reveal,

-which we talked about, didn't we?

-Yes.

We have banana yellow in our living room.

I never thought I'd say those words.

I mean, it does do something, doesn't it?

-It bounces a lovely warm light into the room.

-Yeah, absolutely.

We've carried on the idea of having some colour

into the recess here, where the lantern is.

Put a bit of blue.

Just the subtly of knowing that a little bit of colour

can make a big difference.

And the quality of the space,

the flat ceiling with the lovely step up into the lantern is beautiful.

The couple have invested £1,200 on the skylight.

This key move floods the previously dark central part of the house with light

and they've saved on the floor, using plywood at just £16 a sheet.

It's really light, really durable

and actually, running through this, makes it seem really spacious

without any threshold strips or anything like that.

'The loft conversion is still work in progress,

'but I want to see how they've squeezed three storeys

'into their two-storey house.'

-Let's go and have a look.

-OK.

So this is great.

This is a really interesting space.

What I like about this is that this is space that's stolen.

You've gained it by dropping the floor only by a foot

and I think it's really great the way you've squeezed

every inch out of this house.

Yes, yes, absolutely.

'There's still a way to go to finish this build,

'but Cath and Rob have achieved so much over the last few months.

'So how has their budget fared?'

You told me you had about 55,000 to do all of this work.

How much have you spent?

We're at the point of about...

65, something like that.

Do you think you have got good value in your house here?

Oh, I think it's transformed our lives, really.

Because it's a lot of money,

but actually every bit of the house has been reconfigured.

I mean EVERY SINGLE bit.

Do you think you've learnt through looking at design

and doing this house?

Maybe not everything you need to do has to be

what you see in magazines or in shops...

It doesn't cost a lot to introduce really interesting ideas to your home.

CHILDREN SHOUT

'Cath and Rob have embraced this whole process

'and their remodelled house is testament

'to their willingness to think differently about design, materials and interior finishes.

'They've ended up with a home that is now fit for them

'and their family and how they want to live.'

I'm so pleased now that they've got a house

that they really will grow into over the next 10 or 15 or 20 years

and hopefully stay in love with.

-Now I can see what you're cooking for tea!

-That's right.

More importantly, we'll be able to see what you're up to!

And I'll go up the ladder!

Next time, the owner of one of Britain's thinnest homes is desperate for help...

There you go, you won't get lost in this place.

But how do you make a lot out of a little?

-What do you think?

-It's amazing.

Meanwhile, a family of four have enormous dreams for their home...

I just love the grandeur.

..but bigger isn't always better...

This isn't architecture. This is just getting more space.