Interiors: Their sandstone house in Elderslie, Renfrewshire, took two-and-a-half years to renovate, and Lianne Harrold and James Grieves now enjoy a warm mix of period discoveries and contemporary style

LIANNE Harrold smiles as she admits that she has loved every minute of refurbishing her home.

From sanding stairs while seven months pregnant, to painting every wall and shovelling many tonnes of garden pebbles, the challenge was everything she hoped it would be.

As a former window dresser for John Lewis in London’s Oxford Street, she was able to identify the potential in this early 1900s semi-detached sandstone property in the Renfrewshire village of Elderslie when she first viewed it in the summer of 2007. Along with husband James Grieves – a speedway rider with the Glasgow Tigers – the couple took on the three-bedroom house in a bid to turn it into their family home.

Lianne led the refurbishment, deciding to turn the rear sitting room into a spacious dining kitchen, and creating a downstairs toilet and utility room out of the former kitchen. She also opted to knock the mid-landing small bathroom and separate toilet into one large family bathroom. The whole house was rewired and replumbed, every wall was replastered and all carpets were lifted, and floors sanded and varnished. Outside, they created more parking, landscaped and built a garage.

James was happy for Lianne to take the lead in terms of decorating and furnishing the home. With her styling background, and her current job with Next Home, it is understandable that the family has gained a home that evokes warmth, with carefully chosen personal touches throughout – from the black and white family photographs over a red retro sofa in the kitchen, and reclaimed church pew in the hallway, to a framed ‘Waiting Room’ sign that belonged to Lianne’s grandmother.

However, it took the couple two-and-a-half years to get to this flawless state. Having moved in when their eldest son Jacob, now 5, was just six months old, they sensibly decided to tackle one room at a time – though son Henry, now 2, also arrived during the refurbishment, adding further deadlines along the way.

“The bathroom was in a really poor state so we decided to do the bathroom and lounge first – the theory was that as long as we had somewhere to get cleaned up and a nice room to retreat to at the end of the day we would be fine,” recalls Lianne. “By knocking the toilet and bathroom together we were able to fit in a bath and a separate shower, which suited us better. I remember sanding the stairs six weeks before Henry was born as I was determined to get it finished and carpeted before he arrived.

“A lot of the doors were 1970s glass doors, which were not safe with a baby around, so we went to the salvage yard for period doors, got them dipped and stripped, and I oiled every one myself by hand. We used to spend our Saturday afternoons scouring the salvage yard.”

Their search for reclaimed pieces resulted in them reinstating period cast iron radiators in the downstairs rooms. They also installed a black granite fireplace in the lounge, and stripped back years of gloss from two fireplaces in the bedrooms – though they did make a gruesome discovery while doing that.

“When we opened up one of the bedroom fireplaces we found a load of dead birds,” says Lianne. “We got all the chimneys capped within two days of finding that. It was a simple solution to something that had obviously been a problem. The bedroom fireplaces didn’t have hearths so we got granite hearths made and added a granite inset to the one in our bedroom.”

It was in the kitchen that the biggest change was made. The old kitchen is now a functional utility room, with toilet and large storage cupboard, while the former sitting room is a sleek mix of vintage chic and contemporary styling. White gloss units sit beneath sparkling, black granite worktops and white metro brick tiles, with a large range cooker at the heart of the room. A table and chairs sit central beneath a pendant light, while a gallery of family photographs hang above the red retro sofa, which is set within an illuminated recess.

“For us, the old kitchen just did not work so I knew it would need to be moved,” says Lianne. “It worked out well as it meant that we were still able to use the old kitchen while the new one was being installed. I spend most of my time in here, whether cooking, doing meal times or homework at the table with Jacob so it was important for us to have this kind of space. Having the sofa in here makes it a sociable space too.”

In the lounge, Lianne couldn’t resist applying a striking mint, black and white wallcovering as a feature wall, with a starburst mirror over the black granite fireplace. While her sofas are neutral, she has continued the theme through her use of black photograph frames and a black gloss corner unit. She used similar styling in the master bedroom, where a chaise longue sits central in the bay window, framed by black velvet curtains, while a striking Cole and Son wallpaper hangs behind the black leather super-king bed. The boys’ bedrooms feature individual wallcoverings, with Cath Kidston’s Cowboys in Henry’s room and Ralph Lauren’s Expedition world map in Jacob’s.

“It took me a long time to choose a fireplace for the lounge, but once I did I then chose this wallpaper, which I will never tire of. I love the quirkiness of it,” says Lianne. “We moved the radiator in here to make better use of space, and I tied the colours together with accessories.”

While she has taken her time to carefully select the finishings throughout the house, Lianne is now looking forward to doing it all over again as they are now selling.

“When we bought this house I thought it was our forever home, but as your family grows your needs change so I am now happy to let someone else enjoy what we have done,” she says. “It is really exciting, breathing life back into a tired old house and I have been eyeing up a few other houses which will give me ample opportunity to have creative freedom. James trusts my judgment – the fact that I don’t go overly girly probably works in my favour.” k

• 25 Main Road, Elderslie, by Johnstone, is for sale at offers over £235,000 through Cochran Dickie (0141-840 6555, www.cochrandickie.co.uk)