I had been overseas for 15 years and my husband 10 when we decided it was time to return to the UK for our children to have their family around them growing up. Our families are dotted around the whole of the UK but mainly up North and in Scotland so we decided that Alnwick was a good spot. I enjoyed a magical day with my Grandfather and my Mum in Alnwick Gardens with our babies and that day played a role in our decision to move here. We set out to look for a property to convert into holiday lets and the property in Paikes Street fitted the bill. It’s a beautiful periodic building that has a special frontage located just off the Market Square. Location, location, location, Paikes Street is perfect!
The property was divided into four parts, two commercial units at street level with two residential units over each. The way we were forced to divide the space during the restoration in order to comply with modern building regulations, unfortunately meant that we didn’t have the luxury of keeping periodic features inside. However, we feel that we have tastefully restored the exterior and reinstated the building’s original residential purpose. We have breathed new life and love into the building that shares a whole load of stories within the Alnwick community. The restoration took more than 16 months and there was, as with any build, quite a lot of stumbling blocks along the way. My husband and I have renovated properties in the past, but not as far as stripping them back to the bare bones of the four walls and the roof, repouring foundations and putting steels in to hold the building together for another couple of hundred years.
It was a huge learning curve involving much blood, sweat and tears but ultimately, renovations are a journey. It’s not just about the finished result and in the words of our 5 year daughter “Paikes is full of memories of us”, and it is. Every single part of the building has a story. Our little boy thought it was hilarious that Dave our project manager carried a toilet all the way down three flights of stairs and our oldest son James spent a summer working on the project learning new trades and the enjoying the camaraderie of the building site.
We wanted the interior to be a little different. Periodic didn’t suit the space and modern can date very quickly. With the building being a long term investment for us, we thought a vintage vibe would be fun and playful so we collected pieces along the way during the renovation and pieced them together like a jigsaw puzzle at the end.
Our hope is the space and the building will create beautiful memories for all of those who visit.
