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00:04Wherever life takes you, whatever adventures you embark on, you never forget where you've
00:10come from. You may leave your place of home, but home never leaves you. And for many, the pull of
00:18being drawn back to our hometowns, cities, and villages is proving too strong to ignore.
00:25Whether they want to be closer to loved ones, or need more space for their growing families,
00:31or just yearn for familiar faces and a sense of community, I'm going to follow people who
00:37are taking their biggest gamble yet. Uprooting their lives, stretching their finances,
00:47it's going to cost you double. Probably going to cost me a hundred to do it all.
00:52And testing their relationships. What's our compromise?
00:55We replace the whole thing. No, that's not a compromise.
00:58As they're lucky enough to return home to some of the most beautiful parts of the country
01:03to build wonderful homes of their dreams.
01:06I knew from five years old I always wanted to live in that house.
01:09From a Victorian cottage that needs rescuing, to an inherited wreck that may push them to the edge.
01:15You know, there aren't any Plan B's.
01:18And new builds fraught with complications.
01:21There's bits I just can't watch.
01:24Going home may prove harder than you think.
01:27If you want your dream home, you've got to work for it.
01:32But if you persevere and rise to the challenges...
01:35That is outstanding.
01:37Going home might just be the best move you ever make.
01:50The city of Sheffield became a powerhouse of steel production during the Industrial Revolution.
01:57And a rapidly grown population needed housing.
02:00Built away from the smoke and grime of the factories.
02:04Leading to the rise of new suburban neighbourhoods.
02:08One was Hillsborough.
02:10Described in 1889 as a large and increasing suburb.
02:15Situated in the north-west of the city, for over a century,
02:18it's also been the home to Sheffield Wednesday Football Club.
02:23And for almost as long, people have counted the beautiful Hillsborough Park
02:28as the cornerstone of this popular and diverse neighbourhood.
02:38I can see a squirrel!
02:40Hey, Cyril!
02:42Hey, Cyril!
02:44Cyril!
02:44Hey-yup!
02:46Hey-yup!
02:48Hey-yup!
02:48Hey-yup, Cyril!
02:50Hillsborough was where estate agent Sophie spent her childhood.
02:54And now she's come back so her son, Chester, can grow pear too.
02:58Oh! Oh! He says that's nice!
03:02But the house she's come back for is not the stuff of dreams.
03:07It's a down-at-hill 1930s three-bedroom semi.
03:12But it's also the house where her grandparents, Ernest and Irene,
03:17lived for over 50 years.
03:19It's exciting!
03:21But transforming this humble house into a stylish, contemporary home
03:25is a massively ambitious plan,
03:27involving rebuilding and updating every inch of it.
03:32A new roof has been installed
03:34and Sophie's already been busy stripping the inside back.
03:38What happened?
03:40Oh, no!
03:41Hoover!
03:43It's Hoover!
03:44We do need to Hoover, don't we?
03:46Yeah!
03:48So I've come to meet her at Hillsborough Park,
03:51where her grandfather used to be the park keeper.
03:56Sophie, how are you doing?
03:57Good, thank you.
03:58Lovely to meet you.
03:59Yeah, you too.
04:00It must mean a massive amount to you that you've got this house now.
04:03Yeah.
04:03I knew from being five years old, I always wanted to live in that house.
04:07It meant home to me.
04:08It wasn't the best.
04:09It wasn't the most modern.
04:11You just, you felt home there.
04:13You could feel the love as soon as you walked in.
04:15That's incredible, that.
04:16Yeah.
04:16They looked after us a lot while my parents worked.
04:19So, I was always with my granddad.
04:21And tell me about your grandparents.
04:23Oh, they were amazing.
04:24Got married, young, 68 years they were together.
04:2868 years together?
04:30I was my granddad's princess.
04:31He used to ring me every single day, twice a day.
04:34That is incredible, that.
04:35Yeah, they left a big hole when they went...
04:37They were a really big part of my life.
04:40Sophie bought their house from probate for £150,000.
04:45Market value for a three-bed Hillsborough house,
04:48in need of modernisation.
04:50Where's the house from here?
04:52Five minutes from here, not far.
04:53So, can we do a little wander through the park?
04:55I want to see where your granddad worked.
04:56Yeah, of course.
04:57And then finish at the house?
04:58Yeah.
04:59Come on, let's go.
05:04This is where we spent most of our childhood.
05:07We was always in this park as kids.
05:09Yeah, we loved it here.
05:10Your granddad was the park keeper.
05:12And was he quite proud of his job?
05:14Oh, yeah, definitely.
05:16He loved it.
05:17And here we are, at the Bowling Green.
05:20Yeah, we loved it on here.
05:22So, like, my granddad, just to make sure the grass was perfect.
05:24He used to have the sprinklers on, and we used to just literally run riot.
05:28Be like, in his pants, all just running round,
05:30until the old people told us off for being on the Bowling Green.
05:33Yeah, I'm slightly worried that we're going to get told off right now.
05:36I know.
05:36Shall we go and do the house?
05:37Yeah.
05:37Come on, let's do it.
05:40To fulfil her dream of living in her grandparents' house, Sophie sold her smart four-bedroom home in Bondsley and
05:48uprooted her life.
05:50I could not have drove past seeing somebody else living in my grandma's house.
05:54Who's doing the main build for you, then?
05:56My brother-in-law, Luke.
05:57And how much work is that to do?
05:59Oh, a lot.
06:00Yeah.
06:01Shall we go inside and have a look?
06:02Yeah.
06:02Come on, after you.
06:04You've got me worried now.
06:10Oh, my God.
06:12But you've absolutely ripped everything out of it.
06:16Back to brick.
06:18Which I get.
06:19Yeah.
06:20Because it's your home for many years to come, isn't it?
06:23Yeah, so we'll never move again.
06:25There's potential massively to extend as well on the sides.
06:28And so, have you got any pictures of what this was like back in the day?
06:32I've brought some photos.
06:33So that was Christmas Day in here.
06:35So that's...
06:36That's my grandad.
06:37That's me.
06:38Do you know what?
06:39I've just clocked it, then.
06:40So there was a wall through here that you've taken out?
06:42Yeah.
06:42That was the door there into the small kitchen.
06:44God, so it was real.
06:45The kitchen was tiny, wasn't it?
06:47I can see why you've opened it up.
06:48Yeah.
06:49I'd always had a dream that I wanted a kitchen island, so...
06:52Brilliant.
06:52What else have you got?
06:53So this one was literally there, and the sofa was literally here.
06:57Great.
06:58The sofa was right there.
06:59Yeah.
06:59And then my grandad's chair there.
07:01With the TV in the corner.
07:02Yeah.
07:02And my grandma in the dodgy shell suit.
07:06She was pretty improper up until, like, the 90s.
07:11Kevin Keegan came around and that were it.
07:14They all were in.
07:18That's brilliant.
07:19Do you know what's amazing, actually, is that it just shows how we
07:24want to change the spaces in a house for a different way of living
07:28to our grandparents?
07:30Yeah.
07:30Oh, massively.
07:30This was the entire living room.
07:32Yeah.
07:33And they managed to get a sofa in here, right here, with your
07:37grandad's chair in and the telly there.
07:40Yeah.
07:41And then straight away, you've taken it on and thought,
07:43right, I'm opening that up, take that wall out and make
07:45much bigger spaces.
07:47Yeah.
07:47And are you going to connect to the garden as well?
07:49Yeah, so this is going out and it's going to be a bi-fold on
07:52the ends.
07:53Sophie has a clear vision for her dream home.
07:56The house is a time capsule of 1930s living.
08:00A front reception for special occasions and a crammed family
08:04living room, plus a tiny kitchen and simple back door.
08:09It's been completely changed, knocking through the back room
08:13and kitchen wall to create a substantial urban plan living
08:17space designed around a sleek new kitchen.
08:21And replacing the old bay window with a mini extension and
08:25bifold doors to open up the house.
08:29When finished, there will be a home fit for modern living.
08:35You've done a massive amount of stripping out, haven't you?
08:38You've ripped the ceilings down and everything.
08:41Upstairs, Sophie's plans to pull this near 100-year-old house
08:44through a century of design changes and into the modern era
08:48are even more radical.
08:50I wanted a bigger bathroom.
08:52OK.
08:53So the bathroom was where you were stood.
08:55So it was squeezed into just that space there?
08:58And there was a bath, shower, toilet, pedestal sink in there.
09:01And because there's only me and Chester,
09:03I didn't really need three double bedrooms,
09:05so we've got two double bedrooms.
09:07And now the bathroom is where the third double was.
09:10And that'll now be my office.
09:12A little over 100 years ago,
09:15most households didn't have an indoor bathroom.
09:18So while her grandparents' one may have seemed luxurious back then,
09:22it's not the large space homeowners want now.
09:26Sacrificing a bedroom for a family bathroom
09:29is a dramatic but essential decision
09:31to create a swanky modern home.
09:34I'm doing it because eventually, in years to come,
09:37I could change the office space into a walkthrough to an extension
09:41and then you could have an additional bathroom and ensuite
09:43because then the plumbing's already there.
09:45Honest.
09:46I'm thinking about it, yeah.
09:47Absolutely honest.
09:48Upstairs for thinking, downstairs for dancing.
09:55Sophie's changing the third bedroom into a large family bathroom
09:59and converting the original porky one into a home office
10:03that can be easily turned into a corridor to a new bedroom
10:07and ensuite when she's ready to build a new side extension.
10:11How much have you got for this phase of the works
10:13before any extension in years to come?
10:15We're looking at, like, 50,000.
10:17You're going to have to make it really stretch, aren't you?
10:20Yeah.
10:20It can disappear like that.
10:22Oh, it is very quickly.
10:23Getting her brother-in-law, Luke, to do the build
10:26will save Sophie tens of thousands of pounds
10:29but it's still a monumental challenge to come in on budget.
10:33When you think, like, your windows, your roof,
10:36they're all tens of thousands before you've even got started,
10:38a new heating system, new electrics.
10:41I think it's really good that you've...
10:43Obviously, you massively respect your grandparents' house
10:46but at the same time, you're kind of bringing it right
10:49into the 21st century for you and your son.
10:51Oh, yeah, exactly.
10:53My grandma would have loved it.
10:54And your grandad would have thought you were mad for spending your money.
10:56Yeah.
10:57He'd have said, what?
10:58We need them savings.
11:00You're spending how much?
11:00Yeah.
11:01Oh, it's a brilliant project.
11:02Absolutely brilliant.
11:03It's going to be fantastic for you and Chester when it's done.
11:05Yeah.
11:08Sophie's build might look like a very modest refurb of a 1930 semi,
11:13but I promise you there is a lot more at stake.
11:16She's given up a bigger, better, more modern house
11:20and thrown the dice on a property that's nearly 100 years old.
11:24Yes, it's got massive emotional connections to her grandparents,
11:28but it's not going to be easy.
11:29It's going to be a battle to turn this into a modern 21st century home.
11:35Oh, and did I mention, she's only got 50 grand to do it.
11:42Sophie, who was living in her mum's loft with Chester during the build,
11:46wants to be in by next spring.
11:49So there's no time to waste for her brother-in-law, Luke.
11:52And with the strip out complete,
11:54the first job is to get the kitchen window out
11:57and the hall blocked up,
11:59so Sophie's new kitchen units can be installed against this wall.
12:06You got it?
12:08That's how you do it.
12:11We could open a shop.
12:14Hello.
12:15It feels weird, like, seeing the window come out,
12:18actually the first big thing to be done.
12:20It's becoming real now.
12:22A big hole in my wall.
12:25Sophie may have a clever plan for her house,
12:28but she's still getting the grips with how it's built.
12:31I'll leave this bit to Luke.
12:33It's like baking a cake.
12:35Yeah, it looks like, you know, that buttercream.
12:41Isn't it funny that this is what keeps houses together, this slop?
12:46Keeps me bricks up for hundreds of years.
12:51Put it in.
12:53Oh, look at me. Professional bricklayer.
12:57Like that?
12:58Yeah, that's it.
13:02Pleased with that.
13:05When I took that wall down,
13:07I took plaster off and paint
13:09the way Evel Knievel wallpaper behind.
13:15Day one of 500, shall we say?
13:19No, I'm hoping six months.
13:20Let's say six months is the target.
13:23I think it's doable.
13:25Definitely doable.
13:28Sophie has an ambitious plan
13:29to keep her grandparents home in the family,
13:32to massively update the house outside and inside,
13:36and to do it all in half a year for a limited budget.
13:40She will need a lot of tenacity,
13:43good judgement, and luck to pull this off.
13:57In the Sheffield suburb of Hillsborough,
13:5933-year-old Sophie is fulfilling her childhood dream
14:03to move into her grandparents' beloved home.
14:07But making it fit for how we live today
14:09means a substantial root and branch rebuild.
14:16Now, when Sophie's grandparents bought their house in the 1940s,
14:20it was at the height of what a modern home should be.
14:24But the way we live has changed radically since then.
14:28Where meals were prepared in isolation in hidden away kitchens,
14:33today they're positioned at the heart of the home,
14:36designed for socialising as much as for cooking.
14:40A room for family and friends to gather.
14:43Living rooms were smart spaces often saved for special occasions
14:48and filled with formal furniture.
14:50Now they're casual hangouts with big comfy sofas.
14:55Simple windows have been torn out, along with whole walls,
14:59replaced with huge expanses of glass
15:02to create free-flowing inside-outside living.
15:06Gardens are no longer spaced for smart lawns and floral borders.
15:10They are now being turned into multi-zoned,
15:13all-weather outdoor living spaces.
15:16And tucked away bathrooms that were cramped and functional
15:20have been enlarged to become luxurious spaces
15:24inspired by hotel suites and spas.
15:27So, to make way for all of these radical changes,
15:30Sophie and our brother-in-law Luke are knocking down walls
15:34and ripping our chimneys both upstairs and downstairs.
15:39And as with all bills, it's throwing up unexpected issues.
15:43Removing the chimneys has caused a problem.
15:46Took the other chimney out.
15:48Obviously, the vibration of the breaker and whatever,
15:51it's just put an airline crack in next door's plaster,
15:55so that's something else we're going to have to sort out.
15:59It's only just literally a decoration crack,
16:01so it just needs re-plastering and re-decorating,
16:03but it is another bill added to the never-ending bills that crop up.
16:08But despite the setback, Sophie and Luke are pushing on.
16:13And over the coming weeks...
16:18..Fulgus turns to the back of the house,
16:20where the old 1930s bay window
16:22is making way for a little extension,
16:25complete with contemporary bifold doors
16:28to allow for free-flowing indoor-outdoor living.
16:32It's sort of the modern twist on it.
16:35It's a bit overwhelming, like, when you see it,
16:37when you've known it as that house,
16:39as you've grown my own grandad's for years.
16:40My grandad would be sat in his chair now going ballistic,
16:44like, at what we're doing,
16:45because he didn't think nothing needed fixing in this house.
16:48But he'd be loving it as well, but it's mine.
16:52So, yeah, he'd be happy about that.
16:54Sophie's grand ideas for modernising the house
16:57don't just stop at its footprints.
16:59She hopes to enlarge it with a full two-storey-side extension
17:03in years to come.
17:05And she's putting in some of the groundwork for it now.
17:08So, are we still making an entrance here
17:11for when I extend eventually, when I can afford to?
17:14Yeah. So, we're going to put a lintel in here
17:16and chop the doorway out while it's still like this,
17:20and then stud it back up with stud work
17:23so then when we plasterboard the walls
17:25we can put the kitchen units on there for now,
17:27and then, when eventually she extends,
17:31we can just take the cupboards off,
17:33take the plaster off, and we're ready to go.
17:35Eventually, I want a utility and a toilet downstairs here.
17:39So, but that's on my dream list for a couple of years,
17:44so if the doorway's already there, then it'll be less mess.
17:52Early progress on the build has been good,
17:54but there's one factor that's completely out of Sophie
17:57and Luke's control.
18:00The weather.
18:03One of the wettest winters on record
18:05has battered Sheffield with heavy rains, storms and flooding.
18:12The build has stalls, putting a strain on Sophie's schedule
18:16and her £50,000 budgets.
18:19I've started looking at the floorboards thinking,
18:21if any more rain comes in here, we're not,
18:22we're going to have to put new floorboards in.
18:26The weather keeps putting people back,
18:27so, like, Luke's been put back a few weeks,
18:29the windows were put back a few weeks.
18:31So, yeah, the money's going down.
18:35Hopefully it doesn't go over budget.
18:38The worst of the weather seems to have passed,
18:41but the delays have put extra pressure on Sophie
18:43as she juggles the build, being a single parent
18:46and her stressful job as an estate agent.
18:50My main focus at the minute has been work relay,
18:54keeping these houses selling, getting them through to completion,
18:58just keeping the money rolling in
19:00because it's going out pretty fast out of the bank the other way.
19:06And the spending continues at the front of the house,
19:10where the tired old plastic white windows
19:12are updated with stylish modern black ones.
19:16The spare windows really did need replacing.
19:19There was holes in them, there was leaks in them,
19:21some of them didn't open.
19:24I really love them, which is, like, a bit unusual.
19:27I know a lot of people have gone for grey recently.
19:29I just wanted them to stand out.
19:32Sophie's design confidence has helped, I'm sure,
19:34by her experience as an estate agent.
19:39Morning, morning. How are you?
19:41I'm just looking to buy a property in the local area.
19:44Someone said it was the right place to come.
19:45How are you doing? Yeah, definitely, yeah.
19:47This is Rosie. Hello. Nice to meet you.
19:50She works for us, but she's also my sister, so...
19:52You look exactly the same. You look identical.
19:55So how long have you been an agent for?
19:57Doing it 15 years since school, so a long time.
19:59Your experience in property, particularly in the local area,
20:02must be off the scale.
20:04I know the area really well now.
20:06I'll always go in, I end up knowing them, I'll be like,
20:08oh, you're so-and-so, you're...
20:09That's what Sheffield's like, it's massive, but it's local.
20:12And how's the build gone, generally?
20:14Good, I mean, it's been pushed back with this northern weather.
20:17Luke, bless him, has been going at night, and, like,
20:20the other night you had to drive, didn't you, at half ten at night,
20:23she made... Yeah, did it.
20:24Rosie and the kids go at half ten to check the bricks had not blown over.
20:27You're joking? No.
20:29Of course, it's your partner, who's doing the build.
20:32So he made you go over and check on the property?
20:34Yeah, he wouldn't be able to sleep.
20:36At half ten at night? Yeah.
20:38And you did it? That would have been later than that, actually.
20:40It's very much keeping within the family, isn't it?
20:42Yeah. So you're all working together,
20:43and you've got family doing the build as well.
20:46Yeah, yeah. You must talk about nothing else apart from property.
20:51Sophie gave up her lovely larger house in Barnsley
20:54that she had fully redecorated exactly as she wanted it.
20:58To take on the task of resuscitating her grandparents run-down home,
21:03I want to see how she's getting on with her bold updating of it.
21:10New windows in? Yep, the new black windows are in.
21:12They look fantastic.
21:14Yeah, I'm really glad I went with the black.
21:16And you've started to put the extension on the back?
21:18Yeah, so we've started.
21:20He's been coming and literally putting the blocks inside
21:22with a heater on them to dry them so that they can build properly.
21:25Coming at night with the light on and stuff.
21:27So hopefully this weekend that'll be done.
21:31Can we have a look inside? Yeah.
21:38Crikey! You've got loads to do, haven't you?
21:41You've taken the chimney breast out?
21:43Yeah, so the chimney breast's gone out the whole way up.
21:46And that's a big structural change, that, when you take that out.
21:49Yeah. Because obviously you've got to take everything out all the way through.
21:52Yeah, it's got to have a steel up at the top as well,
21:54so it's having the steel.
21:55Losing the chimney was an effort,
21:57but it will make the house less drafty and create more usable space.
22:02How are you feeling about the project generally?
22:05I was hoping it would be further on.
22:10And there's a lot of decisions to make, like kitchens.
22:13I keep changing which kitchen colour to have,
22:15but it's going to be in a long time, so I need to make sure it's right.
22:18I think once plasterboards are up, it'll feel a lot different.
22:22Definitely.
22:23It just worries me, for you, that you've got a brother-in-law
22:28who's just literally chipping away at this when he can.
22:31Yeah. Nights and weekends. Yeah.
22:33That's it. Hopefully he'll get a bit more help in
22:34in the next couple of months.
22:36It's just he wanted to get the jobs done he could do.
22:39And then we'll get in a plaster and he's doing that bit.
22:42So there'll be different people coming in and helping.
22:44And what do the rest of the family think about what you do?
22:47That I'm mad.
22:49Crackers.
22:51Sophie threw her settled life into chaos
22:54to take on the huge financial and construction challenge
22:57of time travelling her grandparents' dated house
23:00into the 21st century,
23:03driven by love for family
23:04and her spiritual home, Hillsborough,
23:07which brims with fond memories.
23:11Many formed in the local pub
23:12that served the family for decades.
23:15Cheers.
23:17This is where you came with your Nan?
23:19Yes, so we used to come here every Friday.
23:21Every Friday.
23:22And what was the atmosphere like?
23:23Yeah, really good pub.
23:25I worked here, so, for a long time.
23:27Did you?
23:27Yeah, yeah, we're a barmaid.
23:29I had my birthdays here.
23:31I had my 18th here, my 21st here, my 30th here.
23:35And do you think you'll do your 40th here, 50th here?
23:38Possibly. Now I'm round the corner.
23:40You're back? Yeah.
23:41Chester growing up, he can hopefully have his 18th here.
23:45How amazing about that. Like I did, yeah.
23:47More great memories will be made here in Hellsborough,
23:50the place Sophie loves.
23:52Here's to you.
23:53To Chester.
23:55And to your Nan and Grandad.
23:56Cheers.
23:57If and when her dream home is finally finished.
24:11In Sheffield, Sophie's builder and brother-in-law Luke
24:15is ploughing on with the renovation,
24:18fitting it around his paid jobs by working nights and weekends.
24:24Nearly every night we're up here doing what we can.
24:27It's what you do for family, innit?
24:29So the main things we need to do at the minute are outside.
24:33We're trying to get the extension done
24:34so we can have bifolds put in there.
24:37But I started it four weeks ago now
24:39and the weather's just been horrendous since.
24:41Once they're done, everything's watertight,
24:44we can start putting the house back together.
24:47It's been really, really good to have Luke to do it
24:50because Luke's like my husband.
24:53Not my husband, that's really weird.
24:55But obviously he's my sister's husband
24:59and I trust him more than I trust anybody.
25:03Initially, Sophie hoped to complete the extensive modernisation
25:06of her grandparents' old house in six months,
25:10moving in for May.
25:11As the month arrives, her home is still a long way from finished.
25:16But with the extension finally complete and the bifolds in,
25:20at least the house is weatherproof.
25:22Come on then. Let's go and see your new bedroom.
25:25Uncle Luke has fixed it.
25:26Yeah.
25:27One of Sophie's motivations for the build
25:30is to give her son Chester a forever home where she grew up.
25:34I love bringing Chester here because he loves to see sort of the progress.
25:38He likes to sort of see his bedroom and where it's going to be.
25:41What colour do you want your bedroom, Chester?
25:44Purple.
25:45Purple? Yeah.
25:46Like who? Who's purple?
25:50Michelangelo.
25:51Michelangelo? Yeah.
25:53From Ninja Turtles.
25:55That's so good.
25:57Every different colour it's going to be.
25:59I think he said it's going to be green, brown, purple, blue.
26:02So, yeah, we'll see.
26:05Wow!
26:06And the irony is not lost on Sophie,
26:09that in years to come her son's design choices
26:12may be even more dramatic.
26:15Imagine him, like, 30 years' time.
26:18He'll think everything's dated.
26:20Like, Mum, why did you have a porcelain kitchen
26:22and why did you have black taps and black windows?
26:24It's so dated.
26:26Everything will come back round again, won't it?
26:29I mean, weird.
26:30It might be, like, a thing to have, like, not separate rooms again.
26:34Like, open plan's the thing now, isn't it?
26:35And then I think in years to come
26:37they might have, like, box rooms everywhere again
26:39and it'd be, like, really small.
26:45For the moment, though,
26:46it's Sophie who's calling the design shots.
26:49And upstairs she's already begun planning her large new bathroom.
26:56Sophie, how are you doing?
26:59Great, thank you.
26:59Lovely to see you.
27:00Yeah, nice to see you again.
27:02Get outside. You've got the scaffold down.
27:04Yep. Which is really good.
27:06Roof's all done, windows done.
27:08This is me being really niggly, right,
27:09but it's just worth me mentioning it so you're aware of it.
27:13There's loads and loads of bits that need doing.
27:15You know, like, where the render's covered the bricks?
27:17Yeah.
27:17And it just needs all cleaning back and tidying up
27:20and still needs brackets on the downpipe and things like that.
27:23So there's loads and loads of little niggly, snagging things.
27:26Yeah, I know.
27:27That you're going to have to keep on top of.
27:28I know.
27:28Well, the roof has sort of done a runner, so...
27:32It's done a runner?
27:33There's just been jobs that haven't been finished,
27:36but when you've already sort of budgeted
27:38and give them money to do it,
27:39so then I'm having to now repay somebody else to do it.
27:42So that's put us back a bit.
27:43It's been hard to get people you trust in.
27:46Especially because I don't live there,
27:48so it's very difficult because you're trusting people
27:50in an empty house to do the job correctly
27:52in the hours that they say.
27:54So it's taken you longer and it's costing you more money.
27:57Yeah.
27:57Are you over budget yet?
27:59Oh, yeah.
28:00Are you? Yeah.
28:01Well, you didn't even flinch there.
28:03Yeah.
28:04I can't flinch when I've got no kitchen or bathroom in.
28:07You literally just went...
28:07Oh, yeah.
28:08How much over?
28:10Well, the original budget was probably like 50.
28:15I think I'm on 80.
28:1880 at this state?
28:19Yeah.
28:20Unfinished?
28:20Yeah.
28:22It's probably going to cost me 100 to do it all.
28:25Yeah, I say that casually.
28:26It's going to cost you double?
28:28Yeah.
28:28How do you feel about that?
28:30Oh, yeah.
28:30I'd have rather gone to Maldives, but here we are in Sheffield.
28:36I would have rather gone to the Maldives.
28:39Yeah.
28:39And to be fair, it's the family home.
28:43It'll be in as family for a long time.
28:45Well, it's a forever home for you as well, isn't it?
28:47Yeah, that's it.
28:48Shall we go inside and have a look?
28:48Yeah.
28:49Come on, after you.
28:54Welcome to my cosy home.
28:57Plastered.
28:58Not quite cosy yet, is it?
29:01Yeah, it's an improvement.
29:03It is plastered, though.
29:04You've got your doors in.
29:05The extension's all done.
29:06Yep.
29:06Which is really good.
29:08Kitchen's getting fitted in the next couple of weeks.
29:10I'm having a pink kitchen island.
29:12Pink island?
29:13What's the rest of it like?
29:14Vintage pink.
29:15Vintage pink?
29:15Yeah, vintage pink.
29:16Look at you.
29:17I always said I'd made it if I had an island.
29:20Posh in Sheffield if you've got a kitchen island.
29:22And a dishwasher.
29:23And I've got both!
29:28With the kitchen, she's taken off a major job.
29:31But there's one thing that still needs to be dealt with.
29:34The garden.
29:35Her grandfather's pride and joy.
29:38I always remember him having runner beans along there.
29:40We used to always nick them and eat them like little peas in a pod.
29:43And then he had a big greenhouse, which he had his tomatoes,
29:45every vegetable going in there.
29:47So it was like a proper allotment growing garden as well.
29:50Yeah.
29:51And then he had a really big lawn that we used to just play on for hours.
29:55Which was really nice.
29:56And now it looks like this.
29:57Yeah.
29:59Yeah.
30:00Got to get moved in.
30:01That's my priority.
30:03With so much still to do on the house,
30:05Sophie sensibly decided to delay tackling the garden.
30:10But she does have a plan for it.
30:12Though I'm not so sure her grandad, the local park keeper,
30:15would have approved.
30:16You're putting artificial grass in?
30:18Yeah.
30:19I've got dogs and I've got Chester,
30:22so it's just so much easier.
30:24I like to hoover it every night.
30:27What would your grandad say to that?
30:29To be fair, they loved everything I did,
30:32so he'd think I were brilliant.
30:35With a plan for the outside in place,
30:37I want to lend a hand with the design of the inside.
30:41Do you want some help picking some finishes?
30:43Yeah, so I've picked my bathroom out
30:45and I know what theme I'm going for,
30:47but I just need some opinions, really,
30:49on what would look the best.
30:51Shall we do some shopping?
30:52Yeah.
30:52Come on, let's go.
30:53Let's go.
31:10So, generally, what are you after, do you think?
31:13What's the brief in your head?
31:15Spa-like, neutral, with the black taps
31:19and quite minimal, really looking.
31:22But with a bit of a Sophie twist on it.
31:24A Sophie twist?
31:25Yeah, we'll see.
31:27I'm sure there'll be something in here today.
31:29I can't wait to see what this something might be.
31:31I just love that.
31:32You'll know when you see it.
31:33But is that what you're like, though?
31:34So you go for a certain look and style,
31:36and then you think, oh, hang on,
31:37I just need a little twist.
31:38I like it with everything, yeah.
31:39A little Sophie twist,
31:39something that's just a little bit different.
31:41Yeah, that makes it me, yeah.
31:42Now, I'm just intrigued.
31:45What do you think of this?
31:47Yeah, beautiful.
31:48So that's polished onyx.
31:50Yeah, it is actually beautiful.
31:52It's like looking at something from,
31:53I don't know, the Hubble Space Telescope.
31:56I love them, but I don't love the price tag, shall we say.
32:00It may seem premature to be picking finishes,
32:03but there can be long delays on fixtures and fittings,
32:06so ordering early means everything is on hand
32:09when the builders are ready to instal them.
32:12There's lots of greys, isn't there?
32:13Yeah.
32:14It's kind of the in thing these days, to be honest with you.
32:17Now, if your Nana and Grandad were here...
32:20Yeah.
32:21..what tile would they go for?
32:22Whatever was on offer.
32:25I mean, they wouldn't pick something they didn't like, though,
32:27would they? Yeah.
32:28Or would they?
32:29Like, they'd just go for budget?
32:30Yeah, like, definitely.
32:32I mean, my Grandad were a Wednesday fan through and through,
32:34but the house were bright red cos paint were cheapest.
32:38So that tells you everything.
32:40That's amazing, that.
32:41It's cost me a lot to get it off now.
32:45Let's look for some more.
32:47Not red.
32:48Mm-hm.
32:51So what about...
32:52Oh, what about these?
32:53So you want big tiles?
32:55Yep.
32:56Natural-looking.
32:57Yep.
32:58Kind of spa-like.
33:00These are right up your street, aren't they? Look at that.
33:02Nice beige colours.
33:03Yeah.
33:03So no grey.
33:04No, the beige, yeah.
33:05Little bit of texture in them.
33:06Stone.
33:07No gloss.
33:08No gloss.
33:08To me, they've got the spice.
33:12We go to Turkey every year and that reminds me of, like,
33:15a Turkish spa.
33:16You know, like, that little bit of a difference.
33:19I think that'd go well.
33:20It'd be more natural.
33:22It's not in your face like the other ones we'd seen,
33:23but it's got that twist on it.
33:27Do you know what?
33:28I really get it now.
33:29You want the natural spa style.
33:30I said, when you see it, you'd know.
33:31Yeah, when you see it, you'll know.
33:33That is the Sophie twist.
33:34They need to rename it after me.
33:37I'm going to ask him about that.
33:41Good choice.
33:43Love that.
33:46With the long builds coming to an end,
33:48this is where Sophie can bring her design vision to life,
33:51as long as there's money left in the budget.
34:06In Sheffield, after nine months of hard work,
34:10Sophie's top-to-bottom modernisation of her grandparents' old house
34:14is getting closer to the finish line.
34:17The front room has been plastered ahead of a full redecoration,
34:21and the essential services are going in.
34:24We've got the boiler now fitted, which is a very important thing.
34:29Kitchen half-fitted.
34:30That'll be finished probably in the next couple of weeks.
34:32Electrics are all sort of up-to-date, ready for sockets and things to be put on.
34:37But it's not all been plain sailing.
34:40Earlier issues with work carried out on the roof
34:42has come back to haunt Sophie.
34:45It was a couple of days ago last week.
34:48It was really heavy rain, and all the windowsill,
34:52everything was wet through, all across here.
34:55So you can still see, probably, watermarks,
34:58so it needs decorating again.
35:00Basically, I had a brand-new roof,
35:03but they didn't mention that there's sort of a bit in the middle
35:06that needed doing, and it's still leaking now.
35:09The minute the water's getting through,
35:11and then it's tracking across the steel
35:13that we put in where the chimney was,
35:15so the water's tracking down through there.
35:19So I've got to pay for that to be now done,
35:22which is an expensive job.
35:26Despite setbacks like these,
35:28Sophie's planning ahead,
35:30and she's decided it's time to finally tackle
35:32her grandad's beloved garden.
35:35Me and Luke was here yesterday.
35:36We had a floodlight on the garden.
35:38I was working on the garden because I know my grandma and grandad
35:41would literally be going ballistic at the state of this garden.
35:44So I've been burning everything, getting everything back.
35:46I've managed to pull a lot of the ivy off,
35:49so my grandad's shed that he was in love with,
35:51but the shed's going because the roof's fallen in,
35:55and the only thing holding it up is the ivy.
35:59Meanwhile, inside, the rest of Sophie's efforts to drag this house
36:03from the 1930s to the 2020s are finally coming together.
36:08Everything's got decorated radiators.
36:10I never thought I'd be excited about a radiator going in,
36:12but when you've had, like, a shell for so long,
36:15and then you see radiators, you're like,
36:16oh, it's an actual house.
36:17But, yeah, we've got skating boards, we've got doors,
36:20so things are actually becoming rooms now, which is exciting.
36:25And the icing on the cake, the new kitchen is going in,
36:29complete with that Sophie twist.
36:31Golden marble effect worktops and the pink kitchen island
36:35she set her heart on.
36:36It's my first day.
36:39Don't say that.
36:40Honestly, don't.
36:43I've had a few apprentices in, as you can tell.
36:45Rufa might as well be an apprentice with leaks I've had.
36:50A year since Sophie started on what was meant to be a six-month job,
36:55she's now just one final push away from being done.
36:58We've just got to get over this last month, really, I think,
37:02and then we'll be in.
37:03And, yeah, just can't wait to get in.
37:11So, four weeks later, I've come back to Sheffield.
37:17Now, it's been over a year since I first met Sophie,
37:20and I've come to see if she succeeded
37:22in turning her grandparents' 1930s semi-detached house
37:26into a home fit for how we live today.
37:32It was a challenge that went far beyond being a simple refurb.
37:36Sophie, how are you doing?
37:38Good, thank you. Beautiful, dear Fritz.
37:40Nice to see you. All done?
37:41Yeah, all done. It looks great.
37:46The house that Sophie's grandparents had lived in for half a century
37:49was showing all the signs of its age.
37:55But now it's looking brand spanking new.
37:58A bright white render of setting her bald black frames
38:01on the all-new windows.
38:04Happy? Yeah, really happy.
38:06It's been a tough slog, hasn't it?
38:08Yeah, a lot of stress, a lot more stress than I thought.
38:11But you've done it? Yeah.
38:12It looks brilliant.
38:13You've rendered it, which looks really good.
38:14You've got new windows in.
38:15Roof looking good. Yeah, at last.
38:18We've had a lot of leaks, but it's sorted.
38:20I mean, it does look like a new period house,
38:24if that makes any sense. Yeah, like...
38:25It's 1930s, but we've tried to do it as modern as we can.
38:28Well, the outside looks great.
38:30Yep. Should we go inside and have a look?
38:31Yeah. Come on.
38:33Sophie needed to take a home that had hardly been touched in 50 years
38:37and turbocharge it into the 21st century.
38:44How's it looking?
38:46Oh, it looks fantastic, Sophie.
38:48She ripped out walls between a tiny kitchen and cramped family room
38:53and stripped it all back to brick.
38:58To create this elegant, open-plan dining room
39:02and wonderfully on-trend kitchen.
39:05Spacious and stylish, decked out in pale creams
39:08and fashionable furniture,
39:10it's a world away from how her grandparents lived here.
39:15That is really beautiful, actually.
39:18It's very glam. Yeah.
39:20It feels so light and so bright,
39:22and then you've extended.
39:24Just adding that little bit on that you've done
39:26makes all the difference.
39:28The extension may be small,
39:30but it creates a perfect place to sit
39:32with a morning cup of coffee or evening glass of wine.
39:36I love the glass door as well.
39:37That's a nice little touch because the glass door
39:40just allows a little bit of the light from the back of the house
39:42to come through into the hallway.
39:43Yeah, like, I've always felt a bit dark before to me
39:45when my grandma had it.
39:47And you've got your pink island, Eunice.
39:49Like, you're always wondering.
39:50I had a vision and it came alive.
39:52It absolutely came alive.
39:53Your dream has come true, I tell you.
39:55And even the tiles on the back there,
39:57I love that little touch of pink.
39:58And you've absolutely made the kitchen the heart of the home.
40:01It's about kitchen, the dining, straight out onto the garden.
40:05It flows really well, I think, now.
40:07It's mad when you think that your grandparents
40:10had the wall running down there.
40:11Yeah.
40:12They had their really functional kitchen this side.
40:15Yeah.
40:15Where you just made whatever you needed to make
40:17and then you would carry it through to the rest of the house.
40:19Yeah, that's exactly what it was before.
40:21I think it's a really, really good example of how,
40:23even when you're emotionally connected to it,
40:25it's a brilliant example of saying,
40:27let's move this house into the 21st century
40:30and reflect a modern way of living.
40:32Beautifully done.
40:33Shall we go and look at the garden?
40:34Yeah, of course.
40:37When Sophie bought the house,
40:39her grandparents' garden had literally gone to seed.
40:45But now it's been reimagined as the very definition of modern living.
40:50Perfect for a busy woman, a toddler and dogs.
40:53That's great!
40:55And you've opened everything up.
40:56I mean, you think how much clearing you had to do.
40:58Yeah.
40:59And when you say easy maintenance,
41:00you've gone astroturf mad, haven't you?
41:02I don't have to do one thing.
41:04And then when you get a few more pennies,
41:05you can get a few more pots and a few more plants.
41:07Yeah, and a nice hot tub.
41:11Can we see some more?
41:13Yeah, of course. Let's go in.
41:15Her grandparents' formal living room
41:17was a time warp of taste that had seen better days.
41:24Now it's a lovely, relaxed, informal hangout
41:28with a sofa to laze away those rainy Sheffield days.
41:32Now that's very, very cosy.
41:34Yeah, it's our cosy little living room.
41:36I've tried to keep it sort of simple and neutral
41:40and that was my grandma and grandad's wedding present.
41:43That was their wedding present?
41:45Yep, a long time ago.
41:46And it's now taken pride of place in your little snug.
41:50I think it had a knitting in it, to be fair.
41:53Well, this is a beautiful, cosy little living space.
41:56I mean, you've put in the biggest sofa in the world
41:59in the smallest space, by the way.
42:00Yeah, I know. I love that.
42:02I wanted it more of like a cinema room, really.
42:04No, I love it.
42:04Let's go and have a look upstairs after you.
42:09I love the paint colour, actually.
42:13And then your bathroom.
42:15Yep.
42:15Now you have gone posh.
42:19Ditching the home's original cramped bathroom,
42:21Sophie made the bold decision to sacrifice a bedroom.
42:26To create a fantastic new bathroom, in tune with current trends and tastes.
42:32It's delightfully executed.
42:34Look at that beautiful freestanding bath.
42:37Like my island, I'd always wanted a freestanding bath.
42:40I like to think it's a bit like a spa.
42:42Gorgeous tiles.
42:43Yes.
42:44You went for them.
42:45Yes.
42:46I loved them, didn't you?
42:47Yeah, I knew it.
42:48I knew it. I knew it.
42:50I knew it when you were in the showroom.
42:51You've got the kitchen that you always wanted.
42:53Yep.
42:53And now you've got the bathroom with the freestanding bath that you always wanted as well.
42:57Yes.
42:58That's fantastic.
42:59Exactly.
43:02After a spa-like bath, the indulgence continues in Sophie's master bedroom.
43:08Designed in beige and natural tones, it's a real slice of comfort.
43:14And then Chester's room.
43:16Yes.
43:17Lucky, lucky boy.
43:19Once again, Sophie had to tear the house back to its bones.
43:25To rebuild it as the ideal bedroom for a toddler to grow up in.
43:30And I think wisely she didn't take Chester's advice and painted bright purple.
43:35What does he think now?
43:36Oh, it's amazing.
43:37Absolutely loves his own bedroom, his own bed.
43:40Yeah.
43:41So, yeah, it's lovely.
43:42And I know he's young, but do you tell him the stories about your grand and granddad at the house?
43:46Yeah, yeah.
43:46And I'll tell him what I used to do when I was younger here and, yeah.
43:50That must be quite amazing for you and for him, actually.
43:53Yeah.
43:53Because he must really feel that connection that you've got with this house.
43:57Yeah.
43:58A few of the teddies there my grandma knitted for him, so I've tried to keep them in here.
44:02The Sheffield Wednesday rabbit.
44:04Did she?
44:05She knitted that?
44:06Yeah, I think they knew they wanted him to be a Sheffield Wednesday fan from the beginning.
44:09He didn't have a choice.
44:11That's fantastic, that.
44:13Come on, let's pop downstairs, have a chat.
44:16Lovely, that.
44:18Sophie succeeded in her vision of creating a faultless modern home in the house where her grandparents spent their lives.
44:26So, let's talk about the build.
44:28You said it would take you about eight months.
44:31Yeah.
44:31And it's taken you over a year.
44:33Why did it take so long?
44:34We started it in bad weather and then we didn't really have a summer.
44:39And then, before we know it, we're back into, like, bad weather again.
44:42And you didn't exactly have a full-time team of builders on site every day either, did you?
44:47No, I know. So, my brother-in-law, like, I can't thank him enough.
44:50Yeah, Luke's been pretty amazing, hasn't he?
44:51In the big scheme of things, though, it doesn't matter.
44:54And if you're going to be here for the rest of your days, who cares how long it took?
44:59Yeah.
44:59And then budget, your original budget was...
45:02..50 grand.
45:03Yes.
45:04How much have you spent?
45:05Probably about a hundred.
45:07And how do you feel about the extra spend?
45:08It is worth it, cos we've actually got a home now.
45:11But it's also quite an amazing feeling, isn't it, when you come back home?
45:17Yeah.
45:17When you think this is a house that you've been in since you were a kid.
45:19I do feel like I'm finally home.
45:22I can imagine Chester playing on the streets like I did and it's home.
45:26That's fantastic, then. Well done.
45:29And welcome home. Yeah.
45:30Congratulations.
45:36That's funny, isn't it?
45:37You might think, why take on all that stress and pressure of a tough refurbishment?
45:43Well, it's obvious, isn't it?
45:45A home is way more than being just bricks and mortar.
45:48It's about the stories within them.
45:51And this is a true story of coming home.
45:56Next time, in the village of Radcliffe-on-Trent, a soldier returns home.
46:01I did eight years.
46:02So I ended up doing three tours of Afghanistan.
46:04To take on his beloved grandparents' house.
46:07There's always a cup of tea and no matter where I went in the world,
46:10if you come back home, it's a constant.
46:12Restoring the historic Victorian frontage with his dad.
46:16Coming down nicely now, isn't it?
46:17And creating an ambitious double story extension at the back.
46:33That's at the same time next week.
46:35Or you can see every episode now before anywhere else on Channel 4+.
46:40Right, pack it in.
46:42Come with Channel 4 tomorrow for a peek at the production line
46:44of a brand-new flavour of crisp.
46:46How it gets from the ground into your gob tomorrow night at 8.
46:50Next tonight, the conclusion of the Tony Blair story.
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