Victorian townhouse in Brighton lovingly restored to its former glory
Now lovingly restored to its former glory, a light, bright and elegantly-styled family home in Brighton betrays no trace of the state in which its owners found it. But it had taken Hannah Dawson some convincing by her husband Kieron to buy the property, a Victorian townhouse with uninterrupted views over the city.
The couple had only just completed their latest renovation when Kieron, a property developer, showed her a photo of the house. 'I couldn't believe he wanted to do it all again; I thought another big project might break me!’ she says.
After 10 years of flipping houses, she knew the extent of the hard graft this project would require and felt she'd reached her limit on how much builders' dust and family disruption she could handle. But seeing it in person was a different story.
'Walking through the front door into what could be the grand hallway and soaking up the views from the living room, I had to admit he was right to want to take on this build.'
Having been owned by the same family since the early 1970s, the property had fallen into disrepair. It had also been divided into two, with a dilapidated kitchen in the basement and another on the first floor. The basement comprised five storage rooms that were crammed with junk, and the rest of the house wasn’t much better, with dodgy electrics, an outdated bathroom and a cramped layout.
'The red carpet in the front living room was older than me!' Hannah exclaims. 'We knew this because when we ripped it up, we discovered newspapers from 1972 that had been used for the underlay.'
Kieron and his team of builders set to work on the basement while a specialist team tackled the loft conversion. Over two feet of dirt and chalk were dug out to level the basement floor. At the same time, the ceiling height on the ground floor was dropped by half a metre, and the entire roof was removed to create enough head height for the loft.
As a result of the internal restructuring, the layout on the first floor was reconfigured to create four bedrooms and a main bathroom. Having moved out for the first three months of the renovation, the family returned once the children’s rooms were near completion, with the couple sleeping in a makeshift space in the front room. 'We set up a temporary kitchen in the living room while the basement was tackled,' Hannah explains.
'At that time, we didn't have a working bathroom, so we had to visit friends to shower. That is two months I will never forget!'
At the back of the house, openings were knocked out on the ground-floor living room and in the basement to make way for huge floor-to-ceiling Crittall-style windows. 'Then Covid hit, which caused major delays to the build. We lived with OSB boards at the windows for six months while waiting for the glass to be delivered. It made the house feel incredibly dark and gloomy, but once they were removed and the glazing installed, our home was filled with light,' Hannah says.
Keen to preserve the heritage of the house, the couple made it their mission to renovate or reinstate many of the period details, such as panelling and picture rails. They restored the Victorian staircase, sanded and stained the original floorboards, and replaced the rotting sash windows.
'In order to be respectful to the era of our home, we paid a lot of attention to detail,' Hannah says. 'It did cause a stir on the street when we installed black sash windows and shutters, but we knew they would create a grand impression, which was apt for this house.'
When it came to the interiors, Hannah invested in upholstered seating in cosy, textured fabrics such as boucle, mid-century-style storage in dark walnut wood and lots of quirky accessories. 'I wanted to fill the rooms with furniture that complemented the soft, neutral colour palette I had picked for the house, reflecting my evolving home style,' she explains.
The basement interior was created in collaboration with local kitchen company Wood Works Brighton. Together, they designed the fluted oak curved island, built-in cabinetry and snug area. 'This house has benefited from our experience in renovating properties, and the kitchen reflects my love of natural materials, statement pieces and sweeping curves.'
Hannah is rightly proud of what the couple has achieved. ‘We’ve learned so much from the renovation, ensuring we respected the house’s history. And we’ve enjoyed bringing it back to life. When we finished it, I felt inspired to take on one more project. But this will be the final one!’ For now, though, she says, ‘this house is my happy place.’
Take a further look around...
Kitchen
Living room
Teenager's bedroom
Upstairs landing
Exterior
Follow House Beautiful on TikTok and Instagram.
You Might Also Like
