Pennod 16 04 Wal

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-In 04Wal this week, how Dorian Bowen

-gave a cottage a new lease of life.

-We meet Sarra Elgan.

-She's still working

-on a cowshed conversion.

-First, to Swansea Bay...

-..and a 1970s house brought

-very much into the 21st century.

-Welcome to 04Wal.

-Lesley Taylor Bottomley transformed

-this unremarkable 1970s house...

-..into a home with real wow factor.

-Lesley is an interior designer.

-She has appeared on programmes

-such as This Morning...

-..and she's written

-several interior design books.

-Our house was too small.

-We wanted a four bedroomed house...

-..and we wanted to live

-in a house with a view.

-When we went house-hunting...

-..because I'm an interior designer,

-I didn't want a finished article.

-I was on the lookout for a house

-on which I could put my own stamp.

-How would you describe your style?

-I think this house

-really dictated the style to me.

-It's a 1970s property,

-with large windows.

-I wanted something

-contemporary but not minimal.

-It doesn't work for me!

-We have too much stuff

-to live in a minimal house.

-I wanted something which felt

-comfortable and relaxed...

-..with plenty of texture in it.

-Several items are trendy

-and very much of the moment.

-I'm sure I'll introduce new elements

-to the design in a couple of years.

-I wanted to create

-something you don't see every day...

-..without being stand-offish.

-The kitchen is in the centre

-of the house but it's very light.

-Yes, it's very light now

-but there was a wall here.

-This room was very dark.

-I took out the wall and replaced it

-with glass and it works well.

-I wanted shiny surfaces,

-so light would bounce off them.

-These simple units are fantastic.

-What is their function?

-They're storage cupboards,

-fridges and so on.

-A microwave, an oven...

-..and a coffee machine -

-an interior designer's must!

-Must have caffeine!

-It's great. It's wonderful.

-I wanted it to be simple.

-I wanted a 1970s style kitchen.

-My mother walked in and said,

-"We had one of those, in the '70s!"

-That's exactly

-what I tried to achieve.

-It's lovely to have this hallway,

-leading into the kitchen.

-I wanted the house

-to have an open feel...

-..but it had to be practical, too.

-Open-plan living

-isn't always practical.

-I think it works well.

-This is very open.

-It's open, all the way to the roof.

-It's very light.

-We had flat roofs.

-This section is new.

-It works well.

-In a house crammed with wonders,

-I think this is the real triumph.

-This glass roof

-lets light flood in...

-..and it bounces off the walls

-and the floors beautifully.

-To the left, separating the hall

-and the kitchen, is this glass wall.

-This lets light

-flood into the kitchen, of course.

-This staircase

-leads to the first floor.

-It's a beautiful, wooden staircase

-with an amazing, glass handrail.

-It must be an inch thick.

-This is its crowning glory.

-You've already seen me through

-this breathtaking glass landing.

-This leads to the bedrooms.

-This is the master bedroom.

-It's incredibly luxurious

-and I love this solid wood floor.

-The doors are solid wood

-and the handles are leather-covered.

-Isn't that gorgeous?

-I think

-that's a really special touch.

-There are many different fabrics

-on the huge bed...

-..giving you a variety of textures.

-The television is on the wall,

-opposite the bed.

-You can watch television

-in your sleep, if you so wish!

-Undoubtedly, the star attraction

-of this room is the view.

-Tucked away in the corner

-of the room, is the en suite.

-You said you can almost see

-the whole house from the kitchen.

-You can also see the whole house

-through the fireplace.

-Yes. I wanted the house

-to have a very open feel.

-I have two children and there's

-heavy traffic in this house...

-..so it had to be practical.

-The colours

-are either light or dark...

-..apart from

-this lovely block of red behind me.

-You need a bit of contrast.

-In rooms decorated

-in browns, creams and white...

-..you need a little bit of oomph.

-There's my oomph!

-The Chinese silk wallpaper.

-The room has a few red accessories,

-just to tie it all in.

-Most of the items in here

-are very contemporary.

-That fantastic cabinet isn't new.

-That fantastic cabinet isn't new.

-

-No. That's my grandmother's cabinet.

-No. That's my grandmother's cabinet.

-My grandmother asked me

-which item of hers I wanted...

-..and I replied,

-"That's what I want!"

-My grandmother visits me here

-and she's happy with it.

-It's really special.

-What do you find most satisfying

-about the house?

-I'll rip it out and start again

-in a couple of years...

-..but I'm satisfied with everything,

-at the moment.

-I think the house

-was crying out for certain things...

-..and I worked with that.

-This is Sarra Elgan's cowshed,

-in the Vale of Glamorgan.

-It's a work in progress.

-The plans have changed

-since our first visit.

-This place was like a bombsite,

-the last time we were here.

-It didn't look like

-it had much of a future...

-..but you're half way there.

-Yes, we're over half way.

-The weather has been favourable

-and that helped.

-The builders worked very quickly.

-I'm really pleased

-with the progress.

-Its potential is now obvious.

-Yes, although I admit

-it wasn't easy to see it, at first.

-The extension has been built...

-..and I can see how it will look,

-when it's finished.

-You had very definite plans

-for the house.

-Have some of those plans changed?

-Have some of those plans changed?

-

-Yes. A lot has changed.

-As things developed, I realised

-certain rooms would work better...

-..in a different part of the house.

-We've swapped rooms around.

-The shape of the house

-hasn't altered.

-This is the shape we wanted

-and we stuck to the original plans.

-We decided to have it open-plan,

-so we'll have a hall-diner.

-There will be a fireplace here

-and the living room will be there.

-You'll look through the fireplace

-and see the living room.

-It'll be open-plan.

-I think it makes the most

-of the space available to us.

-Will you spend a lot of time

-in this part of the house?

-I think we'll get most use

-of this room when we have guests.

-We'll eat in here,

-when we have dinner guests.

-We may not

-spend that much time here.

-Only when it's party time!

-Yes. This area will be kept tidy!

-Leading off the main hallway

-is this corridor.

-It takes you past this room.

-Yes. This is a bedroom but we

-may use it for a different purpose.

-Next door to it is the bathroom.

-Hello!

-What's this room?

-What's this room?

-

-Another bedroom.

-I love this room.

-Just look at that view.

-We'll put a huge window in there

-and we'll enjoy the amazing view.

-We planned

-to have the lounge here...

-..but there's a great view from

-the other end of the house, too.

-We thought it would be nice

-to have this as a guest bedroom.

-We're standing in the kitchen.

-We're currently choosing

-the kitchen fixtures and fittings.

-I want a traditional kitchen,

-with modern touches.

-I want a distressed paint effect.

-This is the extension.

-Is this the lounge?

-Is this the lounge?

-

-Yes, this is the lounge.

-The view from this side of the house

-is so amazing.

-We moved this room from the far end

-to this end of the house.

-We'll have a fireplace there

-and coves in the walls.

-You can imagine the finished effect.

-I can't wait to wake up

-in the morning in this house.

-It will be nice.

-Yes. Fantastic.

-I might move in, too!

-I might move in, too!

-

-You can have the guest bedroom.

-The master bedroom, the bathroom

-and guest bedrooms...

-..will be situated above the lounge.

-What's the next step?

-What's the next step?

-

-I've waited ages and ages for that.

-Choosing the kitchen units

-and the bathroom suite.

-Choosing lights and fittings, too.

-I can visualise the finished house.

-Once the windows are in,

-it will look completely different.

-That's the fun part.

-Simon, my husband,

-has done the hard work.

-The hard work starts here, for me.

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-This is a cottage called Bryn Eglur,

-in Carmarthenshire.

-I was last here

-when we filmed Y Ty Cymreig...

-..and it had gone to rack and ruin.

-The house

-is 250 years old this year...

-..and Dorian Bowen

-has given it a new lease of life.

-To me, what was interesting

-about this cottage...

-..was that it had been empty

-since 1965.

-The cottage was in hibernation,

-nothing happened until I arrived.

-It was interesting to come here and

-consider what I wanted to create.

-I wanted

-the appearance of an old cottage...

-..and to re-create original features

-wherever possible.

-But I also tried to keep it simple.

-I think it's important

-to employ local people...

-..to work on a project such as this.

-They've worked

-on similar cottages in the area...

-..and they have a depth of knowledge

-about how these things work.

-The majority of the tradesmen

-who worked on this house were local.

-They lived no more than 20 or 30

-minutes drive away from here.

-You could have taken this house

-in a completely different direction.

-You could have taken it

-in a modern direction.

-Why did you stick

-to the old way of life?

-As I give you a guided tour

-of the cottage later...

-..you'll see my desire to keep

-things as original as possible.

-I've bought period furniture.

-I wanted to return the cottage

-to its roots.

-You're here, sitting around a table,

-just as they did in olden times.

-Was this the old kitchen?

-Was this the old kitchen?

-

-Yes, with a central chimney.

-Was this the old kitchen?

-All activity

-was centred around the fireplace.

-All activity

-was centred around the fireplace.

-What about the chimney itself?

-It took a lot of time

-to weave the wickerwork?

-Yes, that's right.

-The original wickerwork

-was in poor condition.

-This has been re-woven

-so it's a copy of the original.

-You replaced irreparable partitions

-with new ones, too.

-Yes. I went around Wales

-to seek inspiration.

-I also visited the museum

-in St Fagans.

-I took ideas from those places

-and I did some work myself.

-These walls aren't original

-but I think they work well.

-It enhances the pleasure

-of sitting at the table.

-It's in keeping with the style.

-Here we are on the first floor.

-This is a two-storey cottage.

-It's a simple house, in essence.

-There were four rooms here,

-originally.

-Two up, two down.

-This may have been one room,

-before the partition was added.

-The feature that catches your eye

-as you enter the room is this.

-The chimney protrudes into the room.

-The wickerwork

-beneath the plaster...

-...turns it into a work of art,

-a bit like a sculpture.

-This room is different.

-It's more colourful...

-..with a rug on the floor

-and old blankets.

-This is a box bed.

-It's very tranquil.

-That stems from the plain colours

-and the fact it's dark up here.

-The timber adds to the ambience,

-although some of it is new.

-The new timber blends in with what

-could be salvaged of the old wood.

-It's an interesting composition

-and it captures the imagination.

-This property has been renovated in

-the style of the original cottage.

-This is reclaimed timber, which

-we found in another local cottage.

-We salvaged the wood

-and incorporated it here.

-Most of the walls were rebuilt.

-The opening was here.

-You're sitting

-in what was originally the cowshed.

-How much time do you spend in here?

-The kitchen is the heart

-of the home, for most people.

-I spend my time in here,

-during the day.

-The light which comes in here

-energises me and helps me work.

-It's a pleasure

-to work in this kitchen.

-This room is far more modern

-than the rest of the house.

-There was nothing in here.

-It was a blank canvas.

-The main house

-was far more structured.

-I was restricted with the main house

-but this was completely different.

-This room reflects the demands

-of day-to-day life.

-That's why this room

-has more modern facilities.

-Have you finished work on the house?

-I'm not sure if you ever

-finish working on a house.

-Most of the work has been done

-and the builder has left.

-Meanwhile, I live in the house...

-..and come across alterations

-which I'd like to make.

-However,

-most of the work has been done.

-I enjoyed the journey.

-I met a lot of interesting people,

-along the way.

-As word spreads that the cottage

-has been renovated...

-..people start to show an interest.

-It's time to sit back and enjoy it.

-There were difficult times,

-during the process...

-..but now there's a chance

-to relax and enjoy it.

-# This love is like the oceans

-# A compassion like the sea

-# The prince of life died

-# He died to give us life #

-S4C subtitles by Eirlys A Jones