Rachel and James Redpath were already dab-hands at renovating by the time they moved into this terraced house in September 2019. But although they’re always up for a challenge, the house presented some unique hurdles they could never have imagined when they bought it. ‘We moved in just before our eldest, Elsie, was born,’ says Rachel. ‘Luckily, we’d managed to get the bathroom done before her arrival in the December. And then lockdown happened.’
In a familiar story for many, work on updating the house was either put on hold or slowed to a snail’s pace. ‘We were so pleased to be nearer the coast for that period of time - we’re a 10-minute walk from Tynemouth Longsands beach - but I just had an insatiable itch to get cracking on the house, with no idea when we could get started,’ says Rachel.
