Original subtitles

Here in the UK, we do love a period property.

I never dreamt I would own a castle.

For me, it looks like a typical doll's house.

From countryside houses...

It was everything you could dream of. It was a palace.

..to timeless terraces.

I turned up and I thought, "Whoa, this is pretty cute."

But beneath the grand facades...

Hopefully the house won't fall down.

We'll see, won't we?

..these historical homes are falling to bits.

Everyone told us to tear this building down.

All over the country, an army of renovators

are snapping them up at knock-down prices...

I think we should leave it like this.

It looks old-timey.

..then facing challenges of epic proportions.

I said all along to get a new-build.

This series, we meet the brave new renovators...

We're looking for a bungalow with a shed.

..and return to our familiar band of determined dreamers...

Who else has got a chapel in their house?

..all risking everything...

I thought I had a good idea of what was needed.

I was quite wrong.

People think renovation is lovely, don't they? LAUGHS

Oh, my God. I'm trembling.

..to create the forever home of their dreams...

Oh, my God! It's so nice.

..brick by brick...

Whoa! This is amazing.

..room by room.

I'm still having my pinch me moment.

We're nowhere near finished, but it feels like a house now.

We are a renovation nation.

This is where I want to scream!

Today, it's all hands on deck in South Wales...

It's busy, it's manic, but it's manageable.

..as Matthew and Michelle finally move into their farmhouse...

We're going to try and put this beast in again.

Let's go lower. Lower now.

Keep going. You in, Richard?

..Sophie and Colin... Jesus!

..uncover hidden treasure in their 250-year-old Cornwall townhouse...

Absolutely ridiculous to cover up something

naturally beautiful to the house.

..and Graham and Jodie go to great lengths...

We're suspended 30ft, 40ft off the main grand hall.

..to restore their period property in Cumbria.

Ah! I can't just give up at this stage.

Deep in the heart of the picturesque Usk Valley in South Wales,

stands this beautiful 19th century Grade II listed farmhouse.

With six bedrooms, two barns and an acre of orchard gardens,

the 200-year-old farmhouse was left derelict and abandoned

for four years.

Seeing its potential as a forever family home,

Matthew, a former Welsh rugby international,

and Michelle, an Olympic triple jumper,

took a leap of faith and bought the farmhouse

for £537,000 in 2021.

Family is everything to me and Matt

and that's the reason why we created this environment for our children.

It's the legacy for our kids.

This year, the plan is to fully relocate

from their current home in Devon

to Matthew's old stomping ground in South Wales.

Earlier this week, we saw Matthew and Michelle

resuscitate the beating heart of their family home

with the renovation of a show-stopping kitchen,

complete with stunning orange range and marble-topped island...

..and the creation of a tranquil bathroom

with burnt orange glazed tiling and a freestanding bath.

With Matthew landing a new job close to the farmhouse,

the dream of moving in suddenly became a very pressing reality.

At the moment, I'm feeling a bit under pressure with the time.

There's only so much one person can do,

there's only a certain number of hours in a day,

and we're just trying to get as much done as we possibly can.

But before they can move in, the decorating, carpeting

and limewashing, inside and out, all needs to be done.

Just do what you can, but I'm going back inside, right?

Yes, all right. All right, man.

With a lot on his plate,

Matthew enlists the help of a young apprentice -

nine-year-old son, Elijah.

Their job for today is to limewash what will become Matthew's office.

It's on you, right? Time for you to start working.

Every one of the farmhouse's ten rooms

needs several coats of limewash,

a traditional wall covering made from naturally occurring limestone

that will help the 200-year-old structure breathe

and prevent future damp.

I think it's nicer when he's here to watch me,

because then he can just teach me more and like, I can just, like,

"Yep, yep. OK."

There's a lot of cleaning up afterwards, though,

I'll tell you what. Gee whiz.

Yeah. But you're good. You're good.

Wicked. Well done.

Let's go.

A week later and with the majority of the limewashing now done,

Michelle has made the 90-mile trip from their current home in Devon

to discuss strategy.

We know what we've got to do. Yeah.

Are you all right?

I feel a bit of pressure getting it finished, that's all.

Do you?

Yeah. Two weeks' time, we are here full-time.

Not even five days, then back up there.

It's true, it's true, it's true. We're here full-time.

It's so true, you know. And it's close, babe.

Right. Let's go.

We just pour it now? Yeah.

Looks a bit thin.

Don't finish it. That's enough.

That can be yours. OK.

This is the bit that I've been looking forward to all this time anyway,

so despite there's so much going on,

with moving, my mum's very poorly,

we've got a deadline to meet as well, it's a whole change.

Exciting, but a lot on.

Nothing like a bit of glamour.

Throughout the last six months of the renovation,

my mum's health has really deteriorated,

so I've been struggling with looking after my mum,

obviously having the kids,

so, you know, I am here and I'm trying to be present

and obviously Matt's a formidable support for me,

you know, because he knows how close I am to my mum.

Don't forget, Mum, it doesn't have to be perfect.

Elijah's just spent a lot of time with Matt

over the last three or four months especially,

you know, so seeing him, he's nine years old.

He's so hands-on.

He's so grown up. He's so good.

Mum, you can tell that this bit over there is mine.

He put his stamp on things around the house,

so, absolutely brilliant. I'm thrilled for him.

I'm thrilled that we've raised a brilliant little boy like him.

We blasted that, Mum.

Done brilliant, baby. Well done, darling.

Good job.

Look where we are now, from where we were six months ago.

So, you know, life is ever-changing.

Life is ever-changing.

And with moving day drawing even closer,

life for Matthew and Michelle is about to change forever.

Helston in Cornwall is situated at the northern end

of the Lizard Peninsula.

It's the most southerly town in Great Britain

and home to York House.

This listed four-storey granite townhouse

was originally built in 1775 for Lord Godolphin,

who made his fortune from a local tin mine.

In 2022, this stunning 18th century property was crying out for some TLC.

Hearing its calls were locals Sophie, a graphic designer,

and Colin, an engineer.

I knew there was a big, big job here.

It was just going to be a labour of love.

Earlier this week, we saw Sophie and Colin

creating a stunning sitting room, blending contemporary flair

with a respectful nod to historical detail.

We've finally got somewhere that we can sit down and relax.

With the family dining room still a work in progress...

But I think once we get the floor done,

it will transform the room anyway.

..renovation for the couple is a stop and start process...

..as it has to be done around childcare

and their work from home jobs.

But today, Sophie and Colin are focusing on the dated attic bathroom

on the fourth floor of the house.

The floor in itself is the original floor in which

when you look at it and feel on it,

there is a lot of bounce, so it needs to be replaced.

I would like to add a bit of luxury into this room.

A nice roll-top bath, nice vanity.

I'd love this to be a really nice, calming space.

So, nice neutrals as opposed to the rest of the house.

So it's... Yeah, it's relaxing.

But there's no time for relaxing yet, with the old bathroom to strip out

so they can start with a blank canvas.

Today, we're going to knock the, um...

What's that called? Shower screen.

Take the shower screen off.

I'm going to be taking the tiles off

and get ready to then take the bath out.

Got it? Yeah.

She's heavier than I thought.

That's a bit more space already.

So, Sophie's first job is removing those 1980s tiles.

Oh, there we go.

Oh! And it's not long before engineer Colin pops in...

How are you getting on?

..with some helpful advice.

If you turn it the other way, it'll come off easier.

That went down well.

Ugh! THEY LAUGH

You're nearly there, halfway. Ah!

Well, quarter.

Well, I thought I'd done a lot more than that.

SHE SIGHS

Two days later, with all the tiles chipped away,

Sophie's focus has moved from demolition to discovery.

The bath was pulled out and then it took some of the plasterboard away,

which then exposed some of this panelling,

which is why we're at the stage we're at now.

Oh!

Uncovering 250-year-old panelling is a dream

when it comes to renovating old houses.

Original features like these are often boarded over

as fashions change over the decades...

..but for Sophie, it means a change in plans for the bathroom.

Immediately, the colours threw me. I went, "Oh, I don't want that."

And then... And then I realised it would be absolutely ridiculous

to cover up something that is naturally beautiful to the house.

I think that we're going to have a look at

the wood once we've stripped it,

to see what the actual condition is like.

Now a complete design scheme rethink is needed.

Coming up...

..in Cumbria, Graham and Jodie's restoration on a budget...

All the ornate ceilings would have once been painted out in gold.

..hits a colour block...

It's got to work, really, otherwise the dining room's half finished.

..Matthew and Michelle's moving-in day in South Wales...

Oh, my gosh. This is it.

CLANGING

..has Michelle holding out for a hero.

Have you got that? He's not here yet.

In the Cumbrian countryside, nestled in the rolling hills,

is a little piece of history.

Flass House, a mid-19th century mansion,

was built by wealthy brothers

who traded in two very different lucrative markets -

tea and opium.

Every corner of Flass is a love letter to the opulence of the time.

In 2019, Lancaster couple Graham and Jodie fell in love with the house,

seeing past the faded grandeur and vandalised interiors.

They snapped it up for just £460,000,

and work began on turning the building into their family home.

We started on what we'd call the state rooms downstairs,

which were, for me, the most exciting rooms,

because that was what initially drew me to the property

in the first place.

They have renovated 47 rooms in total,

with 12 rooms still left to do.

Earlier this week, we saw Graham and Jodie working outside

to restore the impressive camellia house

and reinstate a swimming pool.

You don't want to be coming out with kids, coming out to go for a swim

and hitting themselves on these big limestone corners,

so that's got to come out.

Progress on that is ongoing, but today they're back indoors,

tackling another job on some of the building's more decadent features...

..starting directly above the grand hall,

where a glass dome was left seriously damaged.

When we bought the house four years ago,

it was massively vandalised.

These arch glasses of the dome,

which are acid-etched, or sandblasted,

most of them had been smashed by the vandals.

Graham and Jodie have been gradually

replacing the pieces of glass that were smashed.

But it's been a long process.

Even today, we've struggled to get someone who can bend the glass

that way and that way to the right pitch to fit the cast iron frame.

So we've just got to replace this last one, then they're all done.

We've got an 8ft glass panel and we're suspended,

I don't know, 30ft, 40ft off the main grand hall.

The last piece is one of the four straight-edged panels

which allow extra light to shine down around the dome.

Luckily, the flat panels lift out in a frame.

You're in control because I need to know that you're safe at that end.

So with builder Craig on hand, it's a careful job at a great height

to get it out onto the landing.

The cracked glass comes out...

It's out.

..the new piece goes in...

Ta-da!

..and the whole frame can be lifted back into place.

So, Graham and Jodie take the long walk down five staircases

to see the finished effect.

Come on, let's have a look. Let's have a look.

We want it to look like it was back in 1850s,

to put it back as it was.

Another job Jodie has spent months perfecting

is restoring the gold detailing to the decor in the state rooms.

When we first arrived, we looked through the window

and all the ornate, palatial ceilings

that would have once been painted out in gold...

Gold leaf, it says. Gold leaf, that...

I love all of that. Real pearls in the cornice, apparently.

While Jodie won't be diving for pearls or painting with gold leaf

for her latest project in the dining room...

I've actually gone back on scaffolding.

I just love that look.

..she found a cheaper and easier to apply alternative

by using antique gold paint, which has hit a snag.

I must have used nearly 20 different pots of this.

Then one day, it was discontinued,

only to find it's come back on sale again and it's arrived.

I've now tried four separate pots and it's actually metallic pink

rather than the gold that I was using.

I'm now improvising and I'm using some acrylic paint,

and I'm just mixing it together to see if I can get the right shade

and tone it down a little bit.

Jodie's done a spot of online research

and found that a blend of brown and blue

could be the key to lessening the rosy tones.

Well, it's got to work, really.

Otherwise, the dining room's half finished.

There are some rooms that we've tried to

keep as much original as we can.

Rather than just go blasting in with a load of gold paint,

we've tried to do it as it was.

Yeah, I think we're getting there.

Jodie now needs to test the newly mixed paint on the arched cornicing

that remains unpainted in the dining room.

I've got some testers on up there already,

which have gone horribly wrong.

Let's do a few more just to test it.

The real test will be when it dries.

It's amazing how different paint actually looks when it's dry.

I think it's going to dry too dark after all that.

And I've come this far as well.

Ah!

And I can't just give up at this stage.

I've got to find the right paint.

Ah!

Pain in the neck.

It's back to the drawing board for Jodie,

as she now needs to find or make the right match.

Yeah, internet research,

and I might as well have a go at the other tins as well,

just at the same time.

Yeah, better get ordering some samples.

Which may very well be like finding a needle in a haystack.

Over 230 miles away,

in Matthew and Michelle's Monmouthshire farmhouse,

it's moving-in day.

Over the past two weeks, the family have been working every waking hour

to get the house ready to move into.

Limestone flooring has been laid in some of the ground-floor rooms,

the limewashing is finally finished,

and upstairs, carpets have been fitted

just in time for Matthew and Michelle

to move three van loads of belongings into the farmhouse.

It's a big day for all of us, you know.

I felt quite emotional.

I felt emotional leaving Devon today.

As I pulled in here, I was just like, "Oh, my gosh, this is it."

No more toing and froing from Devon.

There's been packing, there's been late nights.

"We've got to pack this up. You've got to pack that."

"Have you remembered that?"

And I think everyone's going to have those boxes

where it's just odds and sods.

In the end, you just lose the will, didn't you?

You just... Just shove it in!

Just get out of here!

As long as you know which box you packed the kettle in, Michelle.

My daughters.

That's her there with the legendary Muhammad Ali.

And she's put him on her board.

Even when we're doing this house, we always talk about,

you know, dreaming big.

And this is not going to be the best house in Britain,

but what it's going to be is going to be the house that we've put

our best into, and that's all that matters.

Whilst Michelle makes a start on the unpacking...

By far my favourite, favourite picture.

We took this a couple of years ago and I absolutely love it.

I don't know if we'll unpack a box, but we'll just all be together

and that's what we're about. It's about family.

..in Devon, Matthew and Elijah have hit the road.

Are you excited?

I'm very excited.

I can't wait to be at the farmhouse again.

What's the biggest part for you?

Hmm...

Moving into my room.

And with the removal vans already on the way,

it's down to Michelle to make sure the house is as clear as possible

for when the furniture arrives.

So just finishing off the stairs today.

It's work in progress.

But we're going to have comfort under our foot bottom.

The vacuum cleaner.

That's what I need to find. Yes.

So I might have to give my husband a quick call.

Do you know where the thing is, Matt, please, babe?

The, um...

The vacuum cleaner.

I need to find this vacuum cleaner.

Because if I can find a vacuum cleaner,

then I can vacuum everywhere.

Then when they come with all the stuff,

they can just put it all in the rooms.

Vacuum cleaner found,

former Olympian Michelle is going for gold

on a cleaning spree of Elijah's bedroom.

I'll tell you what.

Never underestimate a freshly new carpet.

Never underestimate it.

It's just delicious.

Vacuuming done and dusted, there's still no sign of Matthew.

I keep looking outside to see if there's some...

Some hope of somebody helping me. LAUGHS

But I've still got another...

..25 boxes to unload.

Yeah, I have.

Two hours later, and as the first removal van arrives,

all sense of quiet and calm packs up and leaves.

The vans have started to arrive. It's all systems go.

It's a bit manic.

Matt's stuck in traffic.

And you know when I was calm earlier?

I'm no longer calm now.

CLANGING

I don't want my workers getting injured.

Can you just put it in there, on the side?

I can't. I can't get in.

What's this? Clothes?

Is this clothes now?

My bedroom, up the stairs to the right.

Ah! Thank you. Get the next one.

And whilst teamwork might make the dream work,

there's still a vital player missing in action.

And Matt's still in traffic, by the way. He's not here yet.

Have you got that?

He's not here yet.

This is where I want to scream!

Flipping husband's not here.

For Matthew and Elijah, who have been on the road for three hours,

it's the calm before the storm.

I'm glad we're here, and a chapter is finished back in Devon, but...

..for me, it's just been a mission to get everything here.

So once it's all off,

I can find somewhere to sit and put my feet up.

Putting your feet up?

I think Michelle might have something to say about that one, Matthew.

Coming up...

Oops! ..Colin and Sophie learn that bathroom renovations...

I'm willing to try anything. How hard can it be?

..don't always go according to plan.

Done it a bit too wet.

Jodie and Graham...

We've been puzzling over this here.

..solve a Flass House mystery...

Oh, here we go.

..and complete their dining room...

Look at it all! There's gold everywhere.

..while Matthew and Michelle wish they'd gone with a flat-pack.

Yeah, that's it. Go on.

That's wardrobe eight.

They've only spent five hours doing that.

In the Cornish town of Helston,

work continues in the bathroom of Sophie and Colin's

18th century townhouse.

They ploughed every penny they have into purchasing the property

and now are having to do all the renovations themselves.

We want to build a home, don't we? Yeah.

And we don't actually have the budget

to get somebody in to do all four floors.

I'm willing to try anything.

How hard can it be?

How hard CAN it be? THEY LAUGH

With the exciting discovery of original wooden panelling

buried underneath decades of other people's decor decisions,

Sophie is now incorporating the beautiful panels

into her new bathroom design.

She's already spent days stripping away the layers of old paint

and sanding them back,

and now she's preparing the surface for a first layer of paint.

This bathroom has definitely been a labour of love,

even though we're still only at the stage of, you know,

sorting the panelling out.

But the rest, I think, is going to feel quite easy, for me, anyway.

Probably not for Colin, who's got to do the flooring.

Talking of flooring, a few days later, with the panelling primed,

novice Colin is making a start.

His focus today is to lay mosaic-style marble tiles.

Just mixing up the adhesive for the tiling.

Um...

Oops.

So we'll have that, then,

and then that'll be ready to put down for the tiles.

Tiling a floor is a task Colin hasn't attempted before.

I messed up the consistency. I've done it a bit too wet,

so I'll probably have to get some more

powder to put into it, and then...

But we'll make do for now

because I don't want it too wet on the floor.

But, yeah. Little mistakes always happen.

Fingers crossed it doesn't turn into a big one.

Oh!

So many stairs!

If the adhesive is too wet...

It's too sloppy.

..the tiles won't stick to the floor

and he might end up doing it all again...

..or paying for a professional to put it right.

The fact of me doing it, it just saves us so much money.

Because if I was to get someone in for this,

it would cost an absolute fortune.

The watery adhesive, it shouldn't...

Well, I hope it doesn't cause any issues,

but it seems to be stuck down so far.

It'll probably just take a lot longer to go off.

Hopefully it'll be all right.

Just making sure these are all down, nice, secured.

Despite my blunder with the adhesive at the start,

I managed to get all the tiles down,

which was a great step forward for us.

Time to get the all-important seal of approval.

So what do you think?

Oh, yeah, it looks good, doesn't it?

Yeah, I love it. It's great.

With a very definite thumbs-up,

Colin's next job is to plumb the fixtures and fittings,

another task he's never done before.

But how hard can it be?

Right, Colin?

Back in Cumbria,

it's a few weeks later at Flass House

and while Graham makes some repairs on the barn...

..Jodie's back to work with her gold paint in the dining room.

I want opulence, I want something different.

After attempting to recreate

the perfect shade of gold for her detailing,

today, she's finally able to carry on and complete the job.

But Jodie's had to abandon her own blend of paint.

I found as I was mixing the different tones,

it was taking the sheen out of the paint.

It just... Yeah, it just wasn't quite right.

So I actually found a different colour paint,

where they've altered it slightly,

and I think it's the closest match that I've got so far,

because at the end of the day, it's got to be there for a long time.

So...

..yeah, it's worth getting it right.

Getting the gold paintwork correct

is important for detail-orientated Jodie.

As you go around decorating and you're taking bits of paint off,

you can find that there has been bits of gold

already there historically,

so I just like to put things back to how they were,

keep its character and keep it authentic.

With that in mind, Jodie and Graham are going to be digging further

into Flass House's history.

We have done some research into the house,

but we are going to the archives,

just to have a look to find out more information.

It's great to see how, historically, the house would have worked.

We might see something and think, oh, we've not noticed that.

You know, it will be really interesting

to see how things were and how things have actually changed.

And do we want them to stay changed,

or do we want to put them back how they used to be?

Packing the brushes away for the time being,

Graham and Jodie have come 20 miles south to the Cumbrian Archive Centre

to find out more about Flass and the history it contains.

Guiding Graham and Jodie today is archivist Max...

Good afternoon. Hello.

I'm Graham. Pleased to meet you. Hi, Graham.

..who has a couple of documents to show them from the 1880s,

just 30 years after the Dent family built Flass.

This is an inventory and valuation document,

listing all the items in the property

from when Wilkinson Dent died. Wow.

Vestibule - stags' heads,

bronze bear, collection of birds,

two benches and a peacock.

Wow! That's quite the list.

Cellar - 32 bottles of Burgundy.

Oh! GRAHAM LAUGHS

12 bottles of Irish whisky.

And there's how much it was worth.

2,725, 13 shillings and 6d.

That's about £4.5 million in today's money.

The next document is one both Graham and Jodie are keen to see.

Just make some space for this.

A front elevation drawing of Flass House from 1853.

Wow! So it shows...

Shows the little... ..cast iron gates.

JODIE GASPS Cast iron rails all the way around.

They're beautiful.

Is there still a bell?

There is. Yeah. And it still works.

It hasn't changed that dramatically. No.

Right, so we've got a set of plans here.

Floor plans.

Oh, here we go.

Wanting to restore the camellia house

to how it was over 170 years ago,

Graham spies something on the original floor plans

he had suspected, but is now confirmed.

We've been puzzling over this here.

It does show a window there or something.

If that's the case, and it had windows here,

they've been blocked off

and I will reopen them up to get that back to how it was.

And finally, a bird's-eye view.

Oh, in colour!

Oh, wow!

A drawing of the whole site as it was on completion.

This is all wood now.

And there's a summer house here, a folly.

Now, where's the folly?

Kitchen garden, down there.

It looks so different.

This does look massively different.

That's how you'd expect a garden

that's been designed for a house like this,

for the Dents, to look.

And believe me, it doesn't look like that now.

Oh, thank you very much. That's been... That's OK.

..enlightening, that one. I'm impressed with that.

That's brilliant. Very good.

For history buffs Graham and Jodie,

the vast amount of items collated by the archive office

guarantees return visits in the near future.

There are tens and tens and tens of boxes in there,

so you couldn't possibly all go through it in one day.

See you later. Thank you very much for your time.

We've got some of the same ideas as the old Dents.

It'd be nice to put the gardens back,

but then I'm slightly worried as to how many staff we'd need.

Two months later, it seems Jodie definitely has the Midas touch.

Too long plain and underdressed,

the alcoves, arches and doorways

are back to their former glory.

It took roughly about three months, I would say.

I kind of worked in blocks

in case I got so fed up I had to give up,

then at least it was all even. LAUGHS

Her meticulous attention to detail has brought gilded glamour

to every corner of this grand dining room.

Even Graham is a little bit in awe.

You've got some patience, young lady.

Well done.

You've made it. It's really nice.

It's a beautiful room now, isn't it?

You've done all that? Yeah, I did all that.

Wow, that's fiddly, isn't it?

Closer inspection reveals a flawless finish.

I can get paint on fast,

but there's no way I could do all this intricate detail.

It's just... If I had painted all in between there,

that would be on the back.

It'd be covered in gold paint everywhere.

You've been really... I don't see one blemish,

one mark where you've missed that fine detail.

You have done extremely well.

I don't like being nice to you, but you've done extremely well.

SHE CHUCKLES Look at it all. There's gold everywhere.

It's a glorious nod to this room's past.

So we kind of have left our own mark on it.

But at the same time, we have been true to the building

and kept it as traditional as what it was supposed to be.

And Graham's clearly ready to put the room to good use.

I just need you to learn how to cook me some nice food.

Cheeky... HE LAUGHS

Over in Monmouthshire, it's moving day

for ex-international rugby player Matthew

and wife Michelle, a former Olympic triple jumper.

Watch it, watch it.

Michelle is well and truly off the starting blocks,

having spent over three hours

getting their 19th century farmhouse family ready.

Look at this.

Look at everybody here, look.

What's up, fam?

Hiya, babes.

We're home.

We're home!

Babes. I don't think you understand.

We've left the hard ones for you, Matt.

And she's now more than ready to pass the baton on to Matthew,

who's been on the road from Devon.

First up, it's Elijah's wardrobe,

which is so large, it just might contain Narnia.

Come on, bring the ting!

Yeah, well...

Say when.

You grab and I grab. Carefully.

Can that go up more, in the air? That's it.

Up and turn. Towards Eden.

Empty the van in the front room, please.

Just empty the van.

It's busy, it's manic, but it's manageable.

Busy, manic, manageable.

LAUGHING: They need to bring in the big boys for this one.

At the top of the stairs, Matthew is struggling with Elijah's wardrobe.

We need to try and put this beast in again.

Let's go. Lower, lower. Now keep going.

You in, Richard? Yeah, that's it. Go on.

Are you through now? OK. All right.

OK, let's try and take the back off it, then.

It's called wardrobe-gate.

They've only spent five hours doing that.

It's taken all sorts of brains, all sorts of academics.

LAUGHING: And they still can't do it.

I've just got to be careful with it now, because this is flimsy now.

Sometimes, even sporting heroes have to admit defeat.

Try. Try... I don't know. I think just take it apart.

OK, let's take it apart. Let's just take it apart.

With the unpacking downstairs under control,

Michelle checks in on Team Wardrobe.

Are we winning yet? Yes, we're winning. Eventually.

Between us, there's quite a lot of brains here.

You'd think. But we couldn't even get it in.

Finally, after hours of hard graft...

Turn that off!

..Matthew and Michelle can down tools.

And now, with everything in, and eldest daughter Reese arriving,

it's time to celebrate.

Reese! Reese!

Right, we need some food.

I just want to say thank you to all of you for coming.

If you've got a glass, raise your glass to our new home.

To home.

At the end of a very long day,

Matthew and Michelle have finally moved in,

but there's plenty more work to do.

Coming up...

Are you ready? ..Colin and Sophie's hard work...

If you need to put it down, just let me know.

..pays off with a new bathroom.

So here we are, finally making progress on the top floor.

And at the farmhouse...

This wall here, I'm not a fan of at all.

..Michelle's snag list is growing...

Can I brighten that some more, Matt, still, please? No?

..which Matthew is reluctant to tick off.

I think it's lovely.

Of course you do.

In Cornwall,

Colin and Sophie are on their way to having a working family bathroom.

You ready?

If you need to put it down, just let me know.

Now the tiled flooring Colin laid has settled...

Go that way.

Keep coming, keep coming, keep coming.

Put it down.

..there's just the small matter of getting the bath in position

to help visualise the whole room.

The curved surround bath has a panelling effect in keeping with the decor.

That's quite good, isn't it?

If you just wait there, I'll put the toilet in place,

and you can see that as well. OK.

That's going to go about there, yeah? Roughly, yeah.

Are you pleased with it? Yeah.

That's really good.

Layout sorted,

it's almost time for Sophie's finishing flourishes.

We're not far away now, because once I get this grouted,

that's that done.

And I can come in and then paint.

I'll put the skirting boards on.

Then I can plumb the bath in,

plumb the toilet in, and it's usable.

And just a few days later,

it's a milestone day for Colin and Sophie.

After months of long days and late nights,

juggling family life and working from home,

their attic bathroom renovation is finished.

So here we are, finally making progress on the top floor.

When they bought the house, the bathroom was an ode to the 1980s,

with bland wall tiles, tired fittings and an uneven floor.

But now it's a light, calming space,

mixing traditional details with every contemporary comfort.

I guess it's more of a modern twist, isn't it, on traditional?

Well, you think how dated this room was.

The showpiece of the room is the wall behind the bath,

where the original 250-year-old panelling is now carefully restored.

Once we got that plasterboard down,

your face and how giddy you were,

and seeing the original panelling there, it looks stunning.

Not very many people can say that they've got panelling

in their house that's actually still in really good condition.

Sophie and Colin have created a bathroom the whole family can enjoy.

And it looks like Nala,

their 75kg Newfoundland, is already right at home.

She enjoys the coolness... Yeah, of the marble.

She likes to sit here and wait for the boys to go to sleep.

I think this is her approval, isn't it?

Yeah.

As well as restoring the original panelling,

Sophie has made a feature

of the exposed roof beams that were too dark

for her contemporary scheme.

I had seen a hack, where you paint it and then wax it,

and then it was the quickest transformation

I think we've done in the whole entire house.

Two coats of paint and then some browning wax,

and it completely transformed the room.

I'm really impressed.

Like, your choice of colours and doing the panelling.

To be honest with you, we've done a really good job.

You've figured out how to plumb on top of everything else.

Plumbing, the electrics, tiling. It's been full-on.

And it has, it's been... It's a great achievement

for the limited time we've had.

But it is a show-off bathroom, it is really nice. Mm-hm.

In the last six months, Sophie and Colin have created a relaxing,

grown-up sitting room,

with an alcove bar complementing the fireplace,

a sociable dining room with mural wallpaper

against muted panelling and woodwork,

and now the showpiece family bathroom.

A lot of hard work.

Hard work always pays off, and the fact that we've done

everything ourselves as well.

There hasn't been a trade that's come in at all.

But that's saved us so much money.

It's all worked.

In Monmouthshire,

there's an air of calm at the 200-year-old farmhouse.

It's been two weeks since Matthew, Michelle and their family moved

lock, stock and barrel from Devon,

to embrace a new pace of life in South Wales.

Come on, girl!

After making themselves at home, however,

their snagging list is starting to grow.

There's still work to be done. You know, we can't just say that's it.

It doesn't just end here. It's going to continue.

In the dining room,

Michelle's having second thoughts about the finish of the limewash.

This wall here, I'm not a fan of at all.

This was limewash with a bit of a pigment in it,

and I don't like the finish at all.

It looks very unfinished to me,

but I'm going to sit with it for a few months,

and see how I get on.

I think it's lovely.

Of course you do.

It's authentic. It's a 200-year-old farmhouse. It's great.

Upstairs, Michelle is also still debating the exposed stonework.

We've kept the original wall here, which is lovely.

Can I brighten that some more, Matt, still, please?

No. No, it can't? Can't glaze? It is glazed. But I need it brighter.

It's already glazed, and that's as authentic as I think it will get.

And in daughter Reese's bedroom,

though the walls are limewashed and the flooring restored,

it's still very much a work in progress.

This is probably the room we've done the least to, to be honest with you.

And I think part of it was because...

Speak for yourself. MICHELLE LAUGHS

The least, in terms of...we have done... Speak for yourself.

I think Matt camped in here for about two to three days,

getting this flooring done on his own.

And I'm really impressed with it, you know.

It's lovely. The levels, it's great.

But elsewhere in the house, Matthew and Michelle

are closer to completion.

This is Elijah's room. My little Lai Lai.

Hello, baby. Hi, Mum.

For his hard work helping with the renovation,

Elijah has been rewarded with a cosy, comfortable bedroom.

Big room, right, Elij? Yeah.

Lots of space.

Not as much space as we thought on the moving day.

We had Elijah's wardrobe, and it caused us no end of grief.

We've still got the marks on the door,

haven't got round to tidying them up yet.

And it's in here now anyway.

Yeah, so moving on swiftly, it's here anyway.

There's not many nine-year-olds who have mastered the art of limewashing.

I limewashed my own bedroom by myself,

with a little bit of help with Dad, but mostly me.

It was a hard-working job.

Took quite a while because you have to do three to four coats,

and then after that, you would have to

make sure there's no drips on it.

Otherwise it makes it look weird, kind of.

Nice one, Elijah.

And downstairs, in a room that started life as a damp, bare space,

is now Matthew's office, with the original beams,

stone floor and walls carefully restored, creating a peaceful haven.

This room is transformed. This was very wet,

and Matt and the girls have worked really hard -

and Elijah - on the flooring in here.

Beautiful space, great for your work space, Matt.

I'm really over the moon.

It's quite tranquil in here at the same time,

and I hope I'll be able to get bits of work done

and have some downtime in here as well.

With the splashback put in just yesterday...

I absolutely love it, it just works really well.

..the renovated kitchen is now the hub of the home.

It is lovely. It's stunning.

The stylish bathroom is big enough for a family of five,

and not forgetting the exterior of the house,

which has seen a complete transformation...

We used to camp here, and now we live here.

I know, that's a good way to put it.

..with newly fitted windows and restored and repainted render.

And now, it's just magnificent, to be honest.

I do feel really proud of myself.

Three words that Matt was like... his mantra to me -

Mich, trust the process.

There was times when I didn't trust the process,

and clearly my husband's always right.

Two years after they got the keys to the farmhouse,

Matthew and Michelle can finally start

to enjoy the new life they've worked so hard for.

It feels great to be here.

It's just peaceful.

It's our home, and we haven't lived in our own home for years.

And it feels so right. It feels really right.

Coming home from the new job,

and knowing that I'm coming home to this is incredible, I love it.

We've still got boxes to unpack and still lots to do.

Money is, uh, very minimal now, you know,

we've spent everything we have, but it's lovely. It's phenomenal.

I am living a dream, and I'm exceedingly grateful. Right now,

I am the happiest man alive.

Aw...

I am.

Next time...

In Cumbria, we return to Graham and Jodie's 19th-century mansion,

where forgotten treasures are waiting to be discovered.

Now, they're good, because I've got two of them

on the staircase spindles. So that's a little treasure for me.

On the remote Isle of Gigha,

Andy and Karen strive to protect their 200-year-old home

from the Hebridean weather.

We've managed to retrieve out of the window recesses

six pairs of shutters.

I want to get one set stripped first.

And in Cheshire, we rejoin Matt and Charlotte,

as they attempt to get their bathroom renovation back on track.

I always said to Matt, when we started this renovation,

I wanted him to go one room at a time.

And Matt, naturally being Matt, ripped out seven.

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