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, will 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 knockdown prices...

I think we should leave it like this. It looks old-timely.

..then facing challenges of epic proportions.

I said all along to get a new-build.

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

We were 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? HE LAUGHS

Oh, 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 still have my pinch-me moments.

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

We are a renovation nation.

Today in Kent...

I am actually really, really nervous about this.

..wallpapering the attic...

5-2-2. 5-2-2.

..tests Ian and Miranda's maths skills.

Need some time to think about this. Completely flummoxed by it all.

In Cornwall, unlocking the past...

It's not every, um, house that you buy

has got a safe of this size and age in one of the bedrooms.

..proves harder than expected.

Hopefully we can see what's inside today, huh?

That's the objective. OK.

And on the Wirral, the drive to complete a shower room...

Stop making excuses.

Just get on with it. I'm doing my best. Yeah.

..needs all hands to the pumps.

Time is money.

In the Kent countryside, near the chalk hills of the North Downs,

lies this Victorian rectory.

Once the residence of clerical dignitaries,

it fell into steep decline in the '80s

and remained unoccupied for over ten years

until Sydney entrepreneurs Ian and Miranda

saw beyond its crumbling facade and looked to begin a new life here.

We took the plunge and decided to come over to the UK.

This house for us is a house of hopes,

it's a house of dreams and we're building it

and we're pouring, you know, love, sweat,

lots of tears, uh, into this property...

SHE LAUGHS ..for it to be our forever home.

The 19-roomed house and nine-acre grounds

cost the couple just over £1 million,

a price that reflected the scale of the renovation required.

HE GASPS

Earlier this week, we saw Ian and Miranda turn an attic space

into a stunning movie room to spend time as a family.

Now work is starting on the rest of the rooms on the top floor.

So here we are in the servants' quarters.

This part of the house was definitely stuck in time,

but effectively, it's a really nice self-contained area

where guests could come and stay.

They hope to create a bedroom, bathroom and studio kitchen.

We need to install the kitchen.

This will be sort of like a small dining table and a couch in here.

It's basically decorating, putting the kitchen in

and then just putting in the light fittings.

This makes such a cute, cosy guest bedroom.

Yeah, it's lovely. I love the slanted ceilings.

Do you know what I like about it? What's that?

I never have to use a ladder up here.

Ian and Miranda also plan to bring their opulent style

to the smallest room in the house -

this bathroom area, which sits across the landing from the bedroom.

So it's quite a small bathroom,

but it's a nice little shape and a nice size.

With the plastering already done, it's ready for papering,

but this space brings some interesting challenges.

The trick will be... Yep. ..trying to get the wallpaper

to go from the floor, up the walls...

Yep. ..cross the ceiling... Yep. ..back down the other side.

Yeah.

It is skill level ten.

I've only been trained to skill level one so far,

so I've got a big jump to make in trying to pull this one off.

If anyone can, you can, Miranda.

Darcy, you're always in the way.

A few days later, having laid some tiles on the floor,

the papering can begin.

So first things first, we'll measure up the space, then mark it all out,

so where all the wallpaper is going to go and draw all the lines.

Because the last thing you want is the wallpaper coming off

at some sort of weird angle. So it's got to be straight.

And then we're going to use the...the laser line.

Thank you, Ian, my gorgeous assistant here.

52...

Ian measures the wallpaper width

so they know how far apart to mark lines on the wall.

5-2-2. 5-2-2.

So if I line the laser level up with these marks,

then that will give me my lines across.

There you go.

Look how flat the roof is.

As Miranda begins to paste the walls, reno-fear sets in.

I am actually really, really nervous about this.

It has all the hallmarkings of going completely wrong

and looking terrible

because of how the pattern's going to match or not match.

That's for just cutting. Oh, OK. Then there's another one of these.

Can you take a bit of slack? Yeah.

Line that up that way. Yeah, and then work my way up the wall.

You want to go to the walls or the line?

It's got to go to the line because can't do anything about the wall.

There we go. Looks good though, doesn't it?

Just need to push it into the corner.

With the first length up...

What do you think, Darce? Good? Darcy gives the seal of approval.

..the second proves a little trickier to position.

Sorry, boss. Got to get back to work, mate.

It's all over the shop. Yeah, because the wall's curved.

It's all about angles.

Miranda has chosen to paper a room where it's almost impossible

to make a wallpaper repeat pattern line up properly.

Not only are the walls wonky,

the sloping roof makes it a hundred times harder.

I just need some time to think about this.

I'm completely flummoxed by it all.

280 miles west in Cornwall,

in the cathedral city of Truro, lies Castle Lodge,

a 200-year-old Grade II listed Georgian end terrace

purchased for £450,000

by fashion and interior designer Drew and his partner Stu, a gardener.

Earlier this week, we saw them complete

their stunning sitting-room-cum-dining-space

as well as their striking cloakroom

and elegant hallway.

Today, designer Drew is pushing ahead

with a room he's already made progress on.

Empty and unloved when he bought the house,

Drew began with a coat of rich coral paint

and is now in the middle of a typically dramatic transformation,

using fabric to create a tented effect.

With their goal to eventually let out the house to holidaymakers,

this space will be a child's bedroom to let their imagination run wild.

I love working with, um, with fabrics.

It's, um, really quite soothing

and, um, the stripe, I think, just works brilliantly,

particularly when you're stretching on a ceiling.

So you can see that the ceiling is sloped in this part of the building,

um, which was kind of the inspiration to canopy over the bed.

And of course, with me, one idea leads to another

and the entire room is now tented.

And, um, I've got some of this sort of fake bamboo,

19th-century French furniture

and I think it lends itself to, um, to the tented room

and gives that little extra excitement perhaps

for, um, for the children when they come in.

But this whimsical design includes practical choices

to fit both the space and its future guests.

Going with this, um, quite saturated colour scheme in here,

purely and simply because there isn't a lot of light to go around

and it just gives an element of practicality,

I suppose, if there's children with dirty hands,

running fingers all over the woodwork.

And then, of course, we're going to have this trim

and this trim

will run

over the edges just to tidy up

and you don't see all the staple-gunning going on.

Drew's love of working with fabric in his career as a fashion designer

is perfectly placed to give the tenting a professional finish.

When you start to slash the linens and the fabrics,

you know, you're at the point of no return. Ha!

So you'd better hope that all your stretching and gathering

has been put into the right place.

But of course, this has to come down.

Corners are a little bit trickier, obviously,

to get your scissors around,

but that gets rid of the excess.

But the plans for battle in the tented bedroom

will have to wait for now...

..because, in one of the other upstairs bedrooms,

though it's had a new wall of cabinetry built and a paint job,

Drew is having a spot of bother with a large historical feature

which came with the house.

Hmm.

It's not every, um, house that you buy

has got a safe of this size and age in one of the bedrooms,

but, of course, as a commercial building,

this was probably offices at some point.

So we'd better get this baby open at least

and, um, see what treasures might be inside, huh?

Today is the day that the safecracker is in town,

so I'm hoping he can do something with the snapped off key

and we can actually see what's in here.

Drew doesn't have too long to wait to find out what mysteries

this old safe might hold.

Drew? Hello there. Hello. Tom, locksmith.

Ahh, safecracker, you mean? Hopefully.

Right, which way? Welcome, Tom. Let's go up. Thank you.

So I'm not sure about the age of the safe,

but it sure as hell looks old to me.

OK. It's in one of the back bedrooms here.

There she is. Okey doke. Let's see what we can do.

What do you think? It's certainly quite old.

But hopefully, we can see what's inside today, huh?

That's the objective. OK.

DRILL WHIRS

Tom the safecracker sets to work using every tool in his arsenal.

It's one very thick and very tough safe.

What I'm trying to do...

There is the remains of a key in there.

Uh-huh. So what I'm trying to do is just cut round it

so that we can see if we can get some purchase on it. Right.

Because obviously, if there is a key in there...

Then it can open the lock. Hopefully. Yeah.

Locksmith Tom has his work cut out.

It seems this safe isn't ready to give up its secrets quite so easily.

Coming up - Sally and Steve delve into the past...

So this is the building plan for your house.

Oh, my... So it's 1900.

..to trace their home's path through history...

That facade has not changed... Right. ..in all that time.

So we just rescued it in time, I think.

..and Ian and Miranda get competitive.

I'm more than halfway done and you're not even one quarter done.

..as they bring their attic bedroom to life.

If only we could be as good as you, Ian. It's not as good as me.

It's just, you know, focused on the task at hand or something.

In North West England on the Wirral

lies Clifton, a grand Victorian villa.

The eight-bed, three-reception property

had fallen into a desperate state of repair,

in dire need of life-saving restoration.

It was snapped up for the remarkable price of £250,000

by builder Steve and teacher Sally.

A master tradesman, Steve's already single-handedly transformed

a number of the rooms since they bought the house in 2018.

Earlier this week, we saw Steve and Sally

painstakingly renovate their butler's pantry,

stripping back decades of paint and building an upcycled sink unit.

Today, on the ground floor in one of the smallest rooms,

Sally and Steve are building a shower room.

Right, this bathroom.

This, probably out of all the rooms in the house,

this was probably the one that was in the worst condition.

But you've replastered it all, haven't you? Yeah.

So all replastered, new ceiling, new insulation,

new everything, new lighting.

So it'd be great to get it finished now.

Tiling floor, tiling shower cubicle...

Yep. ..and then painting.

The bulk's done, isn't it? Sand this door.

That sounds like a job for me. No, no, no.

So we've got everything we need. Yeah. Stop making excuses.

Just get on with it. I'm doing my best. Yeah.

Someone has to keep the troops motivated.

The couple love having family to stay,

especially during the reno, as extra hands equal extra help.

My grandchildren here, Albert and Bella Florence,

who will be joining us in a second.

Have you come for a mask fitting? Oh, OK.

What size are you? Extra small? Yeah, I thought so.

It's really good you're helping out today

because we've got some extra hands all rubbing down.

All right, carry on.

Time is money.

By sanding the finished plasterwork,

the surface will become smooth enough to allow tiles to be fitted.

OK, you guys, it looks like it's tea-break time.

Do you want a break now?

It's lovely when you get to work on the house,

you get time to think about

who was working on it before.

When you look back to the Victorian stuff, it surprises me.

As I open things and move things,

there's more evidence of the past, which is great.

Intrigued by that past, Sally and Steve are keen to delve further.

Originally built in 1901,

several families have called Clifton home over the years.

Today, Sally and Steve have come along to the Wirral archives

in the hope that details of those who lived there before them still exist.

Hi there, nice to meet you.

So Wirral in the early 19th century, erm, wasn't very built up.

People from Liverpool were well off,

erm, they looked over the River Mersey at the unspoilt Wirral

and decided to build large villa-style houses there.

And this is one of those. So this is the building plan for your house.

Oh, my...

So it's 1900. Oh, my goodness me.

Isn't that interesting?

So that's the dining room. That's...that's the butler's pantry.

And how many servants would they have had? In this period,

every middle-class family would've aimed to have at least one servant.

Right. One live-in servant. OK.

I can't believe that's the original plans. Isn't that amazing?

OK, so we've got some photographs and this one shows your house,

which is there. Oh, my goodness me.

So that's 1910. SHE CHUCKLES

Do you know... For me, what blows me away is that it has that face,

that facade has not changed... Right. ..in all that time.

But what we're currently trying to do is to bring it back to its glory.

So we just rescued it in time, I think.

The first person who built the house was John William Holmes.

He was a captain, a sea captain from...originally from Nova Scotia.

He...he lived there with his family until, erm, until about 1908.

The next person to own the house was Alexander Smith

and he was an engineer.

Him and his family lived there until round about 1930

and after that, it was bought by the trustees of St Columba's Church

and became a vicarage and that was until 1971.

Isn't that fabulous? It's incredible. Incredible.

I've loved every moment of being here

and we can only be grateful that this all still exists.

So what was your blown-away moment?

When we saw the...the full-size architect's drawing on the table,

for me, that was just a wonderful moment

because I thought it wouldn't exist. How colourful and detailed as well.

Yeah, in colour. How fab.

From 1901 until today,

we know exactly who's lived in the house

and that's such a wonderful feeling.

And now look at us.

We're sitting on top of this, uh, seems like a treasure trove.

The house that keeps on giving. It does.

Sally and Steve have plenty to give the house in return

as, back at home, with tiles yet to go up

and a suite to fit, their shower room is still far from complete.

260 miles south in the Kent countryside,

renovations at the old Victorian rectory roll ever onwards.

See that? That dodgy painting. See, I wouldn't have done that.

Ian and Miranda are up on the top floor of the property

in what was originally the servants' quarters,

partway through their mission to create a suite of guest rooms,

including a bedroom, kitchen

and bathroom.

The new attic bathroom has already tested their DIY skills

with the wonky angled walls proving tricky to paper.

We've been renovating this house for about just over two years now.

Most days I wake up now and I do just think,

"God, we've just bitten off way more than we can handle."

Like, "This project is too big for us."

The papering of the bathroom has been a big frustration,

but with Miranda and Ian bringing their geometry A game,

it's helped them work out just how to conquer

the angles of the sloped roof.

But the last few pieces to go up present another dilemma.

The pressure is on to get these cuts correct and not mess it up

because we only have two more rolls left. 210, my friend.

Yeah, we've been measuring, checking everything three times

instead of just the once, just to make sure.

My measurements are always correct. What's your special saying?

Measure twice, cut once. I don't think that's my saying.

Measure twice, cut once -

the mantra of renovators across the land.

I think it's going to make a real wow factor to this room.

People are going to walk in and be like, "Oh, my God, it's amazing."

We knew it would look amazing. We did it the other day and it was...

Even in all that, like, it not working right,

we knew it was going to look great.

Yeah. That's why we continued to do it.

Yeah. Otherwise you'd stop.

Sticking the last remaining strips of paper up onto the wall,

Ian and Miranda are keen to get their bathroom furniture into the space

to see how it will all tie together.

Ready? Yep. Got it. Great.

All right, now go to your... Yep. You're going to go that way.

You all right? Yep. Wow. I'm good.

All right.

All right, so you have to... Going to put my one down.

Yeah, I'll put my one down. That's your one down, yeah? Yeah.

This is...

..way down.

Look out on the view, relax...

Ahh... Look at the ceiling.

Lovely ferns. I think it looks really good.

I think it's definitely becoming a lot more finished.

It's bringing it all to life.

Just great.

And there's your throne, Ian.

Fitting for the king and queen of wallpapering.

It's quite comfortable, you know? I've been sitting on it

while I was doing the kitchen because you can sit back here.

Oh, yeah. Look at trees.

Nice.

Across the landing from the bathroom,

we move from restroom to guest room,

offering the sleeping quarters in their new apartment

for visiting guests from Australia.

Currently a blank canvas,

the bedroom needs a lick of paint and new flooring.

Ian has a very particular system when it comes to painting.

So the first job is all the cutting in

and then you're allowed to roller, much to my frustration.

I'm like, "Are we ready to paint yet? Can we just paint the room?"

"Can we finish this room? Let's get on with it."

It's interesting. I normally find that the cutting in is much slower

than the rolling, right? But if I look at it now,

like, I'm more than halfway done and you're not even one quarter done.

Like, just... Oh, if only we could be as good as you, Ian.

It's not as good as me. It's just, you know,

focused on the task at hand or something.

I think she's doing a wonderful job.

Mostly I think that because it's quite dark in this room,

so you can't actually see. You can't see the end result.

So beige number three. SHE LAUGHS

As boring as it sounds, it really does nicely with, um,

not being too warm or too cool, too dark or too light.

I think it accentuates really nicely with what we have going on outside,

which is just loads of greenery.

I think you're overthinking it. I'm not overthinking it.

In different light, it changes colour,

so the morning light, afternoon light,

different light bulbs will bring out different hues in it.

So it's quite, you know, it's a little bit chameleon-esque

in that it's always sort of changing its tone-age.

OK. Lovely.

Well done.

Cool.

Next job.

Does look good, though, doesn't it? Does look good.

Mm. Makes the room look finished. Yeah.

It's definitely progress.

But with a kitchen still to fit and a bedroom to complete,

this guest suite isn't ready for friends and family just yet.

Coming up -

a new friend takes Drew on a journey through time...

Good to meet you. Finally. Great to meet you.

..to understand the man who designed both Drew's house and much of Truro.

What an instigator. Yeah.

Where's the monument to Philip Sambell?

Well, I suppose we're sitting in it.

And Steve deploys a tried and trusted companion...

It might be old, but it's paid for. That's the way I see it.

..to tackle some troublesome tiles.

Little bit of a jack up there.

Back in South West England, in the city of Truro,

interior designer Drew and his partner Stu, a gardener,

are lovingly renovating Castle Lodge,

the Grade II listed Georgian end terrace

designed by renowned local architect Philip Sambell.

Today, while Stu is spending time tending to the garden,

upstairs, Drew is with local locksmith Tom,

who continues to try and access the mysteriously locked safe.

It's a good safe. It's extremely old,

but it's been extremely well made and it is extremely tough.

Well, it's kind of getting there. I mean,

with another couple of hours of drilling through solid steel,

it might just happen.

Leaving Tom to persevere, Drew and George the joiner

continue work on the tented bedroom, a fun space for younger guests

when the house eventually becomes a holiday rental.

Now we are, um... DRILL WHINES

..sort of constructing the bed.

George is putting in the sidebars,

which will then hold up the struts.

It has to be very, very bounce-proof for the pillow fights

and fun that hopefully will be had in this room.

With this renovation, Drew is very mindful

of the story of Castle Lodge and it's important to him

that he is faithful to its original design aesthetic.

We're very much custodians.

I think everybody is custodian of a heritage building.

Therefore why would you alter too much about it?

And why would you create additions

that don't speak the same language perhaps?

I think the bones of the building have to speak of when it was built

and any additions then can be decorative or can create atmosphere.

Drew's keen to delve deeper into the history of the house

to understand the inspirations

that the architect Philip Sambell drew from.

Sambell is responsible for many of the buildings

in Truro's Georgian quarter,

including this substantial Methodist church

where today Drew is meeting a local historian

who also happens to be one of Sambell's descendants

and also called Philip.

Drew. Phil.

Good to meet you. Finally. Great to meet you.

Though a distant relative of the architect,

Phil is on a journey to find out more about his family legacy.

It definitely has a wow factor. I love the simplicity.

What impresses me is it's the...it's the repeat patterns.

I tell you what, why don't we just go upstairs and have a look?

I was intrigued to see the correlation

between, erm, my house, Castle Lodge,

and his civic buildings here.

I can already see his embellishment is similar,

but on a much bigger scale.

When you look at the age of the building

and indeed the age of Castle Lodge... Mm-hm.

..and the fact they're still so sharp and fine buildings today

compared to many buildings that have been built since.

What an instigator. Yeah.

I mean, where's the monument to Philip Sambell?

Well, I suppose we're sitting in it.

Well, yeah, his buildings, his buildings.

While Drew soaks up the history of Philip Sambell's Truro,

back at Castle Lodge...

DRILL WHIRS

..locksmith Tom is still drilling away at Drew's locked safe.

How goes it, Tom? Not good.

But you can solve it, right? No.

Oh, no, really? No, I think we're going to have to admit defeat.

I think I've got through three drill bits and I haven't made any...

I haven't got a millimetre deeper. OK, I can swallow that.

You've been incredibly patient. You've spent hours.

Thank you so much. You've really done your best. Thank you.

If Tom can't do it, nobody can!

I'm sure there are people with the skill set to be able to do it...

Right. ..but this one's defeated me, I'm afraid.

They're probably on the run in South America right now, are they?

THEY LAUGH

For now, the secrets inside this safe remain a mystery.

350 miles north in New Brighton,

Steve and Sally are renovating a downstairs space

to turn into a shower room.

It's been a week since the walls were sanded

and Steve's been anything but idle.

This is the area that we're attacking next.

He has waterproofed the shower and applied latex leveller

to even out the floor to prepare for tiling.

It's about halfway through in all respects.

Steve will be laying travertine tiles,

a type of limestone made from natural springs.

No two tiles are the same due to their unique swirls.

They're a bit grubby, so I think we're going to clean up a few,

make sure that they clean up before we go any further.

Ever-thrifty Steve got the leftover tiles

from a building job he did about five years ago.

Because of the raging budget here,

we have to duck and move on everything we buy

because, you know, what you don't spend here

helps you spend over there kind of thing on a different project.

With Sally on cleaning duty...

I think there's 100 of them to clean. ..and checking for cracks...

We don't want them perfect, that's why we like the natural stone.

But some of them have knocks in the corners,

but they're the ones that Steve'll just half cut

because we've got to lay it out yet.

..Steve starts bringing in the clean tiles.

We're just getting a few of the tiles in now

so that we can have a look at

how they look when they're down.

The tiles will also stretch out to an area

between the bathroom and utility room.

This is the pre-bathroom.

This'll still be a nice area to move around in.

Sally takes a quick break to see what the tiles will look like.

Looks good though. I think so.

Steve now needs to get down to cutting some of the tiles

to fit the space.

There's our tile...

I won't say "lovely tile machine" because it's not very lovely.

It might be old, but it's paid for.

That's the way I see it.

Let's see how it copes.

He's hoping the diamond blade on this 15-year-old wet-tile cutter

will still be able to cut through the tough travertine material.

GRATING

Little bit of a jack up there.

OK, so this really isn't happy.

OK, so we know that that's just not coping.

Steve's tile cutter has clearly cut one tile too many.

That's a bit tiresome. So it's plan B.

Look, we won't dwell on that too much. So I'm off to get a grinder

and the...see how that works.

Of course, Steve has one to hand in his toolbox.

Yeah, it will work, yeah. Because this'll pretty much cut anything.

Um, so it looks like I'll be free-handing the cut.

Although an angle grinder is not as straightforward to use,

experienced builder Steve isn't phased.

So as long as I start off with a straightedge,

I'll then turn the saw on and just lightly go along the straightedge,

take the straightedge away, just follow that line

and you do that two or three times and it'll just...

..it'll fall in half or cut straight through it.

It still means I don't have to buy a machine

which...which I didn't want to and now I don't have to.

Just one week later, Steve and Sally

have laid the travertine tiles on the floor

and also attached cream mosaic tiles to the walls and shower surround.

I just didn't think this was saveable

because it was in such a poor state

because this is the area that was suffering from the leaks,

so it had loads of problems.

After tearing out the dated '70s bathroom

with cracked tiles and poor drainage...

..the space is now well on the way

to becoming a bright and welcoming bathroom.

Though there's still the grouting, tray edging to do

and a shower head, sink and toilet to be plumbed in,

their tranquil shower room is almost finished.

I like the choice of the tiles that we've chosen

because we've had so many tiles to buy.

We go and find the tiles that we like,

but they're normally in the budget...

They're, like, the end-of-line things.

So we get some really good deals.

So I think that's being savvy with the money in here is a joy.

And it's not just unused and end-of-line tiles

that are being repurposed in here.

That was the original materials from the old bathroom.

Yeah, this red Perspex was part of the old bathroom,

but I like to have...leave something behind that was original.

So it's only a quirky thing, but... Yeah, that's great.

Rome wasn't built in a day

and neither was Steve and Sally's shower room.

When you've got your little mats down, little soaps

and all your shampoos... You see, I like the bit... That's my bit,

I like dressing it, so it'll be nice to dress it.

Yeah. It's all to come.

With this hard working duo, it's only a matter of time.

Proud of you, love.

Thank you. Thank you, my girl.

It's all right. But, yeah, if you could finish it... Yeah, yeah,

I'll get on with it. I'll start now, shall I? Yeah?

What time is it? No, no, but it is gorgeous, babe, I love it.

Coming up -

Drew invites a VIP...

Good to see you again. Thank you so much for coming. It's a pleasure.

..to give a very special seal of approval on his completed rooms.

It would've been lovely to see if, you know,

he could've seen this today.

And for Ian and Miranda, it's time to reflect...

I would never advise wallpapering a room like this

to anybody ever again.

..over a hectic but rewarding few months.

We put all this time and effort in,

you know, we've got to celebrate our wins

and...and try and enjoy the journey.

In Truro, at the Regency Villa

Drew and Stu are turning into a holiday let,

in the kids' bedroom,

Drew is attaching a scalloped edge trim around the edge of the ceiling.

I think the kids are going to love it.

The only thing left to do in this room is pop a mattress in

and then there's a pendant light that needs to go up as well.

And I've got plenty more scallop edging, which I'm going to trim,

fill the gaps and then this room is complete.

Across the landing, after Tom the locksmith

was unable to open the safe in the twin bedroom,

Drew made an unexpected discovery.

The good chap not only did that,

but he also angle-grinded around the edge.

And when I sort of,

um, was preparing to paint it,

I was mucking around and I just happened to do this

and. lo and behold,

the safe opened.

But it looks like all it needed was a chip away around the edge.

The safe, alas, was empty, but at least the mystery is solved.

It's a beauty.

It's George VI, racing green.

We have a safe that opens.

Six months ago, these upstairs bedrooms were dumping grounds.

Used as commercial premises for many years,

it was a long time since they'd had love and attention.

Once again, Drew had a vision and a theme emerged for each room.

In the tented children's room,

the bold stripes of the fabric-lined walls

carry you away to Arabian Nights sleeping under the stars

and the 19th-century French faux-bamboo furniture

helps add to the fairy-tale atmosphere.

Back in the day, when you were on campaign,

the tents inside for the officers

were really kind of quite magnificent.

And of course, when you've got a small space,

by tenting it and making it feel like some other world

or just a slightly different atmosphere,

um, hopefully, the kids all really enjoy

this "camping in a townhouse" vibe!

By contrast, the twin room is a haven.

Relaxing colours and tones ensure a restful night's sleep.

Taking centre stage, the safe -

now painted and dressed with a decorative embellishment.

I'm really happy with the way the twin room has worked out.

It gives you that mid-century Italian coastal vibe,

hence the blues with the little plaster, um, shell sconces as well.

You know, just driving that coastal message.

I mean, I'd love to wake up here in the morning.

Well, of course, with your sea colours,

you need a little sunshine, right?

So, um, we've thrown in a little bit of mustard yellow, sunshine yellow

to brighten you up in the morning, but at the end of the day,

you're in Cornwall and it feels like

a really nice part of the Cornish coast.

And the colour combination just makes you feel like

you're on holiday.

With many of the rooms now complete,

Drew's invited his new acquaintance Phil to look around

and see what he thinks his ancestor, who designed Castle Lodge,

would make of the transformation.

Good to see you again. Thank you so much for coming. It's a pleasure.

The villa is sort of modelled on Italian villas, I suppose,

of the time.

So we've run with that through here, given that sort of palazzo vibe.

And through here to the dining room.

And this apparently is quite rare plaster moulding.

Yeah, but this is quite... Yeah, this is...

A lot more intricate than I had expected, to be honest with you.

But it's interesting the different cornices in the different rooms.

Well, as the show house,

apparently, potential buyers would come room to room

and choose their plaster work and finishes.

Yeah, just a fabulous, fabulous setting. Thank you.

It's all been beautifully done. Yeah, a little broken pediment.

It's just running with that whole theme of your ancestor, really,

as an architect. Didn't want to step too far out of that.

It would've been lovely to see, if he could've seen this today and...

Ahh... Of course, he couldn't tell you what he thought,

but he would've written it down. I'm sure he would let me know!

And I'm sure he'd have been pleased. I hope so.

That's the aim, is to do the building proud. Absolutely.

Drew's definitely achieved that.

And Phil's quick to agree.

If I get the family approval, then I'm even happier.

Approves for me. Thanks, man. Fabulous.

Drew's just done a fabulous job and it's just, uh,

yeah, tasteful. Tasteful and delightful.

And it's a pleasure to wander around today.

And later this week, we'll wander around with Drew for the final time

as he finishes his last bedroom and throws a party to celebrate.

280 miles east in Kent, at the old rectory...

OK, cool. So do you want to... Can you help me line this up?

..work continues in the three attic rooms

in what were the old servants' quarters.

You good? Yeah, I'm good. Yeah? OK, cool.

In this, the third and final of the rooms,

Ian and Miranda's kitchen-lounge-diner is taking shape.

The couple have built a neat kitchen area for their Aussie guests to use

when they come to stay and it's nearly finished.

Now, the test.

Looks great. Looks like a real kitchen.

DRILL WHIRS

Always a horrible feeling when you screw into something like this

because you always think, "Jeez, I hope it doesn't

"go all the way through."

Go on, Ian, give it some.

There you go. Right. All done. Done. Onto the next job. Yep.

And with just some lighting to fit,

it won't be long before this kitchenette is ready to fire up.

It's another month before Ian and Miranda can down tools,

with their attic guest rooms now completely transformed.

The real showstopper of the suite is the bathroom...

..Miranda's charcoal and green fern wallpaper

adding a fabulous botanical flourish.

This was a labour of love, wasn't it? Every time I walk in here,

I just think it looks great. Yeah, but, Jeez, it was difficult.

Yeah.

I would never advise wallpapering a room like this

to anybody ever again.

It's a definite no.

But despite the challenges, the finish is stunning.

I love the fact it's on the ceiling. In such a small room,

it makes it really cosy, like it's giving you a great big hug.

This room actually makes me feel quite happy.

I like that it blends with being a little bit funky,

a little bit different, but being conservative and traditional too.

But I think that's the thing we're going for in the whole house, right?

There's just a mixture of everything. That's the vibe.

There's no trend... The colour scheme is all sort of blending in

and so on and so forth. It's the vibe. The vibe. The vibe.

And alongside the magnificent bathroom,

the other rooms in this guest suite are now complete.

The bedroom is calm and soothing,

pale tones and gentle decor ensuring a satisfying night's sleep.

Ahh! Serenity. This is a nice, peaceful room.

I mean, we use our standard beige number three,

which we used everywhere in the house,

so it has this nice uniformed effect and it's just a really simple room.

I do like to have guests come round,

especially if they are coming from overseas, from Australia.

We want them to feel comfortable in the space that they're in

and so we try to make it as nice as possible for when they're here.

This functional home from home is finished off

with an elegant sitting, dining and kitchen space.

We've renovated a small apartment, haven't we?

Yeah. I mean, probably quite a decent sized apartment.

Yeah. You know, like, when you think about it,

the whole size of the space you've got here.

But now it's a whole self-contained studio for when guests come,

so if they want tea and coffee, help themselves to whatever they need.

It's lovely up here. You know, this is... If this was an apartment,

you'd be like, "Fantastic." I'm thinking about moving here myself.

I'm going to lock everybody out and this will just be my apartment.

Just you. Yeah. Right. OK.

It's no wonder Miranda fancies a little me time.

The couple have achieved great things in the last few months,

bringing the old rectory back to life a room at a time.

I'm very pleased with what we've achieved over the last six months.

I think that we have completed a huge amount.

It's just, when you're on the journey up the mountain,

you're always just looking to the top,

as in the whole finish point for the house. Yeah.

So we never take stock to look behind us

and see what we've achieved. Yeah.

I think the problem is is that you don't feel fully satisfied... Yep.

..because the project is so vast,

there's so much more to complete. Yep.

One of the issues in a house that's just so big, you know,

you can't just fix one thing because as soon as you do that,

it's like 50 other jobs then come with being able to do that one job.

You have to just be dynamic and you have to think outside of the square.

I think it's really important to take time out to enjoy the spaces.

I mean, we put all this time and effort in, you know,

we've got to celebrate our wins and...and try and enjoy the journey.

We can't wait to have friends around and come and watch a movie

and the kids can come and play. We want to share it with everybody

and enjoy all these spaces and have some fun.

Next time - in Warwickshire...

..ceilings are down and floorboards up

as Andrew and Mandy uncover hidden treasure from the past.

SHE GASPS It's there! Look!

Uh, speechless, actually.

In New Brighton... You're going to put your end down now.

..Sally and Steve bring the indoors outside

as they build a cosy garden room.

It's like a little house. It's just going to look fab.

And in Truro...

It feels a bit cashmere-y and it throws the light back really nicely.

..Drew gets creative with textiles

to create a comfy window seat for his guest bedroom.

Every couple of centimetres, just pop your staple gun there.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media