All language subtitles for Renovation.Nation.UK.S02E04.1080p.WEBDL.H264-W0M847s_[English] (SUBRIP)

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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