Pennod 7 04 Wal

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-Tonight, we revisit

-Lois Prys's house in Caernarfon.

-What was a shell of a house

-a year ago has now been transformed.

-We'll see Ann Hughes's

-latest venture in Aberdyfi...

-..which includes a shop

-and a guest house.

-Finally, we'll visit Maggie and Ifan

-Roberts's three houses in Dolgellau.

-Scaffold covered the front

-of Lois Prys's house a year ago...

-..and workmen scurried

-in and out of the front door.

-Things have changed

-for the better since then.

-Welcome to 04Wal.

-It took longer than planned

-but I think that always happens.

-It took much longer than anticipated

-but it didn't go badly over budget.

-We moved in...

-..when the kitchen, one bedroom

-and the bathroom were half-ready!

-We thought we'd do more work because

-we'd be here in the evenings...

-..but it slowed down because

-we coped with things, as they were.

-You were keen to keep the wallpaper

-and I see you managed to do that.

-That's a feather in your cap.

-Yes. It was a tall order.

-I moved wallpaper

-from an area that wasn't visible...

-..and I trimmed the seams.

-I pasted it, gave it time to soak,

-put it up and prayed it would stick!

-It's still there!

-You have an eclectic mixture

-of furniture in this house.

-Yes, there are some modern pieces

-and some family heirlooms.

-We've also bought three or four

-things from a local antiques shop.

-We tried not to make

-any of the rooms too modern...

-..or too old-fashioned.

-We mixed all the styles together.

-Where do you

-spend most of your time?

-In the kitchen and the front room.

-You did well to keep this handrail

-throughout the whole house.

-It took a lot of cleaning.

-It was covered in paint splashes

-and it was dirty.

-We went through tons of wire wool

-but we got there, in the end.

-This room

-has the best view in the house...

-..thanks to these long windows.

-Yes, it has the best view

-and it's a really light room, too.

-We enjoy sitting in here.

-Is the wallpaper on the ceiling

-original?

-No, it isn't original.

-It's part

-of a period range of wallpapers.

-I like having detail on the ceiling.

-It's pleasing on the eye.

-I think it's a subtle touch.

-You don't necessarily notice it.

-It certainly fits in with

-one of the periods of this house.

-Yes, you're probably right.

-You've made clever use of lighting

-in here.

-The main light fitting is a feature,

-without being too intrusive.

-Yes.

-I fell in love with its simplicity.

-It appealed to me when I saw it.

-It's really lovely.

-Do you spend a lot of time

-enjoying the view?

-Yes.

-Is the door open or is it shut?

-Well, a bit of both.

-It closes to here

-but it also closes to there.

-That's the toilet.

-This is the bathroom.

-There's a jug and a bowl

-on this washing table.

-This basin was already in the house

-but it was moved from another room.

-The tiles on the floor

-look just like slate...

-..but they aren't made of slate.

-That is definitely a slab of slate.

-Boy, oh boy, what a slab of slate!

-It's Blaenau Ffestiniog slate.

-Isn't that wonderful?

-A shower tray made of slate.

-That's the bathroom

-and this is the first floor lounge.

-There are two rooms

-on each floor of this house...

-..separated by

-this central staircase.

-The staircase goes all the way up

-from the cellar to the attic.

-We're now on the third floor...

-..and we're about see

-the master bedroom.

-Grant and Lois

-sleep in this plain, simple room.

-Everything's tucked away

-in these cupboards.

-Isn't this wallpaper amazing?

-This feature wall

-certainly creates an impact.

-Like all the rooms in the front...

-..there are amazing views

-of the river and the castle.

-Had Lois lived here in 1969,

-she could have been in bed...

-..and seen the Queen

-and Prince Charles...

-..without lifting her head

-off the pillow!

-If you include the cellar,

-this is the fifth floor.

-The iron grill

-and the window above it...

-..light up the stairs,

-from top to bottom.

-Have you been bitten

-by the house renovation bug?

-We're likely to buy a house in poor

-condition and renovate it again...

-..but we want time to enjoy

-this house before we consider it.

-We enjoy this house

-so yes, it was worth it.

-Ann Hughes, the interior designer,

-has appeared on 04Wal several times.

-We visited the family home...

-..and we saw her work at the

-Harbourmaster Hotel, in Aberaeron.

-Ann has taken on another project.

-She plans to transform an old hotel

-in Aberdyfi into a luxurious haven.

-Ann was up to her eyeballs in work

-when we visited Llety Bodfor.

-We've started

-doing a tiny bit of work.

-The summer came

-and we decided to open, as we were.

-We're now closed and we're

-ready for the builders to come in.

-What's the first step?

-The first step

-is for us to move out.

-We've bought a house.

-The builders will come in

-and start from the top.

-They'll clear the mess

-and knock down walls.

-Have you done any work in here?

-Yes, we've prepared the room

-that will become the shop.

-We used it as a family living room.

-The ground floor flat

-has also been completed.

-It's a self-catering flat

-and it works well.

-What will you sell in the shop?

-What will you sell in the shop?

-

-Items linked with interiors.

-We'll sell those home and garden

-items which I use in the hotel.

-Whatever takes my fancy!

-Will you adopt this style

-in the rest of the house?

-Yes. I must make the rooms

-feel light and airy.

-I'll simplify the design.

-I'll also use elements

-from the location of the hotel.

-This is a seaside town.

-Beautiful views and pretty colours.

-I have too many ideas,

-at the moment.

-It's typical of the design process.

-As time passes,

-I'll discard some ideas.

-The design must have a focus

-and some sort of continuity.

-There are 16 bedrooms here,

-at the moment...

-..but we'll reduce that

-to eight bedrooms.

-There will be two,

-front-facing windows in each room...

-..with an en suite bathroom

-to the rear of the building.

-This hotel was last decorated

-in the 1970s...

-..and people's needs in 2004 have

-changed dramatically in 30 years.

-I feel the rooms are far too small,

-as things stand.

-They don't offer the luxury

-demanded by modern holidaymakers.

-Let's take a look

-at the first floor.

-There's a brown basin

-in that bathroom.

-If the devil had a loo,

-it would look like this!

-This is room number 4.

-The horizontal hold has gone

-on that television!

-You don't see those radios

-anywhere today.

-The children's bedrooms

-are on the second floor.

-This is the third floor

-and we're in the roof.

-Ho, ho, ho, ho!

-The full monty!

-A brown bath, a brown toilet

-and a brown basin.

-A real gem!

-Why get rid of it?!

-We'll take this as a typical example

-of the rooms on this floor.

-This is room 15 and it looks

-sorry for itself, at the moment.

-It will be transformed...

-..when they divide this floor

-into just two bedrooms.

-Each front-facing room in this hotel

-has a breathtaking view.

-You'll be making big changes.

-What will happen to this room?

-What will happen to this room?

-

-Everything will go from this room.

-The ceiling, the walls behind us,

-the wallpaper and the floor.

-There will be a door

-where the window now stands.

-This room will be unrecognisable.

-What will this room be?

-What will this room be?

-

-The reception area

-and the breakfast room.

-What will this room be?

-Guests can also have a drink here.

-Guests can also have a drink here.

-Your clientele will change,

-once all the changes have been made.

-Is that a fair comment?

-The price of staying here

-will change.

-It's going from a 16-room hotel

-to an 8-room hotel.

-Price rises are inevitable.

-We had positive feedback from people

-who stayed here last summer.

-Many of them said they'd come back.

-We're itching

-to get the builders in...

-..to turn our dream into a reality.

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-There were no stairs here...

-..when Ifan and Maggie Roberts

-bought this house.

-They've since bought

-two other houses in this area.

-Ifan, Maggie and Lydia, their

-daughter, live here, in Springfield.

-It's a substantial house that

-stands in the middle of Dolgellau.

-How did you hear about this house?

-How did you hear about this house?

-

-We came here

-to have a snoop in the garden.

-It was overgrown.

-We peeked through the window

-and saw two old ladies having tea.

-We beat a hasty retreat!

-That was the first time we saw it

-and we fell in love with it.

-Tell me about its history.

-We don't know much

-about its history.

-We haven't had time

-to do any research.

-The architect thinks this house

-belonged to a slate owner.

-It was quite a grand house,

-in its day.

-How did you become its new owners?

-There was a fire

-when the two old ladies lived here.

-They had to move out

-and the house was sold to a builder.

-The builder tackled

-some of the restoration work...

-..but he decided to sell it

-and we bought it from him.

-There was dry rot, wet rot

-and everything else imaginable here.

-Windows had fallen out

-and floors had collapsed.

-We heard that the furniture

-of the furthest bedroom...

-..had fallen all the way down

-to the cellar.

-Ivy had grown

-all over the whole house.

-This is a three-storey house.

-This is a three-storey house.

-

-Yes.

-You're lucky to have so much land

-with a house in the centre of town.

-Yes. It's lovely! We're very lucky.

-I yearn to live in an isolated house

-in the country but I'd be scared!

-I like living close to other people.

-This gives us

-the best of both worlds.

-Some of these details

-are copies of the original details.

-That's right. The architect

-found the foundry in Scotland...

-..where the original ironwork

-was done.

-They still had the moulds, so this

-is an exact copy of the original.

-That's amazing.

-I love living here!

-We had to climb a ladder to go

-upstairs, when we bought the house.

-It was like that

-for the first six months...

-..then we had the steps made.

-The staircase is new.

-The staircase is new.

-

-Yes, the whole interior is new.

-It feels like a great-aunt's house.

-It feels like a great-aunt's house.

-

-Yes, I see your point.

-I think it's the furniture.

-I think it's the furniture.

-

-Yes, there's a lot of stuff here.

-You obviously like

-old-fashioned furniture.

-Yes, I like antiques.

-I once ran an antiques shop and

-I collected items, over the years.

-Are any of these pieces

-family heirlooms?

-The dresser was given to us

-by Ifan's family.

-We bought the rest of the items.

-You've created a warm room

-that looks authentic.

-There's a lot of stuff in here.

-This house is anything but cramped.

-That could explain why there's

-a grand piano on the landing!

-They've certainly

-made the most of this house.

-The bedrooms are through here.

-Well,

-some

-of the bedrooms

-are through here.

-There are three windows in this room

-and you can see Cader Idris.

-You can see

-one side of the mountain.

-There's a lovely paisley bedspread

-over here.

-This is solid furniture.

-There's another one, over here.

-You could be in a chateau in France,

-rather than in central Dolgellau.

-It's a French ensemble.

-It's a muted colour scheme

-in a luxurious room.

-You both work hard at the bakery.

-How much time do you spend

-in your own kitchen, Maggie?

-Just enough time to cook

-and do a bit of tidying up!

-You have every trinket imaginable.

-What do you keep in those jars?

-My mother ran a shop

-in Blaenau Ffestiniog.

-There was a 50p deposit on each jar

-and I bought them from her.

-Where do you sit down and eat,

-as a family?

-In here.

-We eat in the dining room

-when our friends come to dinner.

-We also use the dining room

-at Christmas.

-You collect furniture,

-trinkets and plates.

-You name it, I collect it!

-You also collect houses!

-I wouldn't say that.

-You own two other houses,

-in the middle of Dolgellau.

-Yes, and we've been very lucky

-to get our hands on them.

-We're trying to create

-a small, tourist business.

-We want to attract visitors

-to the area.

-We let the houses during the summer

-and during the winter, too.

-Describe

-the house you've just completed.

-What's so special about it?

-This area is busy and noisy...

-..but there's a calmness

-about that house.

-An old lady called Miss Jones

-lived here.

-I still refer to it

-as "Miss Jones's house"!

-There's a cosy, warm atmosphere

-in this lounge.

-It's a holiday home...

-..but you can

-enjoy spending time here.

-The former owner of this house

-was a biology teacher.

-Maggie has had

-some of her biology posters framed.

-Her spirit is still here.

-Let's see the third house.

-It backs

-onto Springfield's garden...

-..and it needs a bit of work

-done to it!

-Come in to the palace!

-It has great potential.

-It needs a lot of work done to it

-but it'll be ready by next summer.

-Will you keep this as one room?

-Will you keep this as one room?

-

-Yes, that's the plan.

-We must seek permission from CADW

-and the National Park.

-We want to have the lounge,

-the kitchen and the dining area...

-..as one room.

-There are five bedrooms here.

-We want to create

-a house that sleeps seven.

-It's deceptively big.

-It's deceptively big.

-

-Yes.

-You'll be like Rachman!

-You'll own the whole town

-in ten years' time!

-I don't think so.

-How many times have you moved house

-in the past five years?

-We haven't moved house

-in the past five years.

-We've moved house 14 times

-since we got married.

-Every other year.

-17 is my lucky number,

-so I'm not sure if we'll reach that!

-You've lived here for five years,

-so it must be time to move house!

-No - never again.

-No - never again.

-

-Never again?

-I've said that 14 times before

-but it's true, this time!

-Are you planning on moving house?

-I'm not.

-I'm not.

-

-Neither am I.

-S4C subtitles by

-Eirlys A Jones