‘We spent £435,000 on our Cornish townhouse – then fitted £60 Ikea curtains’

Sophie Murphy and her husband Colin decided to buy their Georgian townhouse just 24 hours after seeing it online - Jay Williams

Would you decide to buy an 18th century grade two listed house after seeing it online just 24 hours before?

Sophie and Colin Murphy did just that when a stunning Georgian townhouse, owned by Sophie’s former headmaster, hit the market in her hometown of Helston, Cornwall.

Living in the Midlands at the time, but hoping to settle back in Cornwall, the couple called the agent to make an offer and were told it would only be accepted if they turned up to view the property the very next day.

With Sophie unable to take time off work, Colin made the trip himself and toured the townhouse with his wife on the other end of a video call. Like many parts of Britain, house prices in Cornwall had rocketed.

When the townhouse came onto the market with a price tag of offers over £500,000 – reasonable for the location and style of property – the couple decided it was too good an opportunity to miss.

But a series of complications in the mortgage process due to a mix of freehold and leasehold titles attached to the house and its period status meant they eventually bought the property for 13pc below the guide price.

Sophie and Colin, 38, moved into their townhouse with their two sons in August 2022 - Jay Williams

“We ended up paying £435,000 for it,” says Sophie, 35 who owns a business digitally remastering artwork.

“We were extremely lucky to get it at that price. A sale price of £525,000 had been agreed just a few months before to other buyers but it fell through so the owner put it back on the market for offers in excess of £500,000.

“Our original offer of £475,000 was accepted but the mortgage complications reduced the amount we could afford. In the end, he agreed to the lower amount because he said he wanted us to get the house.”

Telegraph Money asked interior design expert Francesca Harris, of Francesca Harris Design, to critique the Murphys’ Cornish period makeover.

Sophie and project engineer Colin, 38, moved into the townhouse with their two sons Joshua, eight, and Sebastian, five, in August 2022. Since then, they have been gradually going room by room to put their own unique and creative stamp on the property, posting their progress on their Instagram account @thelistedtownhouse.

Some original Georgian features had been kept intact such as the kitchen hearth and the original staircase, but internal pine cladding on the walls had to be removed and a degree of modern style and redecoration was needed. Having been kept in good condition, however, the couple did not feel overwhelmed by the task.

The bathroom on the third floor of the house was one of the first rooms Sophie and Colin completed.

“The bathroom renovation has been the hardest room to do in the house so far because we had to restore original panelling and plumbed in the entire suite ourselves,” says Sophie.

The central features are a roll top bath, from Burlington Bathrooms, set in front of original Georgian wood panelling discovered by chance when Sophie accidentally knocked through the plasterboard when removing the tiles.

Using lead paint remover, recommended for restoring period features, Sophie painstakingly lifted all the old paint from the wood by hand before repainting and waxing the panels; a process that took four months to complete alongside other projects in the house.

Francesca says: “What an amazing find behind the plasterboard. The stain they have used on the wood gives it an authentic feel. You’d never know it needed so much work to remove the old paint layers.”

The heritage colour used on the walls and ceiling ensures that the contrast with the beams isn’t too stark, adds Francesca. Painting the ceiling and the walls in the same colour has a “colour-drenching” effect which makes the ceiling look higher than it is.

To make a feature out of the window, Sophie sanded down the pine and painted it white adding a seat and scatter cushions, blind and vase of freshly cut flowers. TK Maxx, says Sophie, is her go-to shop for accessories. “I’m drawn to colours and textures,” she adds.

Central features of the bathroom are a roll top bath and restored Georgian wood panelling - Jay Williams

The couple chose marble flooring from Starel Stones and bold patterned wallpaper from Mind the Gap. The vanity unit cost around £1,500 while the taps were bought from separate outlets: Parker Howley and the Cast Iron Bath Company.

“I was drawn to the wallpaper design because of its uniqueness, its floral design and baroque look,” says Sophie.

Francesca says that choosing a panelled freestanding bath rather than one on legs is a more practical design choice. Maintenance and cleaning will be much easier.

“Having striking wallpaper on the opposite wall to the panelling and bath means that both get to breathe and be appreciated.

“Sophie and Colin have obviously invested in a high quality and beautiful vanity unit. If you are looking to replicate this at home and a unit like this is out of budget, consider getting a chest of drawers instead. You can add a marble top to it and if needs be you can always put the pipe work in the top drawer which would be permanently closed off.”

On the first floor, the couple have converted what was once a study and dining room into a lounge and used all their DIY skills to complete much of the makeover themselves.

A standout feature in the lounge is a bar made by Colin which has a marble top and bead panelling at the back.

Sophie says: “We had to do everything on a budget in this room. My husband gave me a budget of £200 for the marble for the bar and I argued that I could get it for less.”

Finding an off cut from a stone mason’s yard priced at £107 meant Sophie won the challenge.

Colin made the window seats out of one of their old worktops and some MDF while Sophie made the pelmets by buying three pairs of Ikea curtains for £60 a pair and using an extra curtain to cover each of the pelmets.

To decorate their walls, the couple chose Wainscott panelling and Lincrusta wallpaper above the picture rail, a thick textured wall covering used by the Victorians as an alternative to decorative plasterwork. The hearth, already a feature of the home when the couple moved, is believed to date back to the Victorian era.

Sophie’s luxury buy for the room was her chandelier from Pure White Lines which the couple got at a discount. Full price it would have set them back around £2,500.

Offsetting that expense is a budget sideboard, bought from Facebook Marketplace, which Sophie painted in the shade Copper Beach from Paint and Paper Library – the same colour used for the back of the bar.

Vintage art in ornate frames can be found on most of the walls in the house. “We’re really into art,” says Sophie, “which is exactly what a house like this needs.

“I’ve set up my own business, Ellis & Alexander, digitally remastering vintage artwork and my husband frames them.”

Francesca says: “This space is a great example of how you can mix high-end items with DIY hacks. The alcove bar with its decorative edges, gold hinges and gold shelf rails work well. The whole feature looks like it’s always been there.”

Keen sewers, adds Francesca, can take Sophie’s homemade pelmet project a step further by using a curtain as fabric to create some matching cushion covers.

The bead panelling and the textured wallpaper border above the picture rail make the room feel bigger, she says.

When adding a dado rail to a space, as a rule of thumb, aim to have the rail a quarter of the way down your wall.

Meanwhile, a picture rail which is positioned closer to the ceiling can make a space look bigger by having the wall above it painted in the same colour as the ceiling.

The rail can also elongate a space as the line across the room draws your eye.

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