By extending this Victorian house and filling it with vintage treasures, Nikki Shore made it into her dream cosy home.

Image: David Giles

With a keen eye for vintage pieces, Nikki Shore (@weeny_victorian_house_in_ware) created an eclectic haven after extending this Victorian house in Hertfordshire. Looking for a quieter life with links into the city, Nikki, and husband James, created a stylish, functional home. The couple bought the property for £235,000 in 2012, and it is now worth around £485,000.

‘As long as there was a decent train service for me to get to work, we were open to options location-wise,’ explains Nikki. ‘When James got a new job in Harlow, we came up for the day and spent time looking around nearby towns. We really liked Ware and discovered there were properties available there in our price range.’

The couple decided to rent for six months to see if they enjoyed living in the town before looking to buy a house. ‘By then we had already met some new friends, and Hayden was settled in a nearby nursery,’ Nikki explains. ‘We knew we had made the right decision, so put our own house, which we had also been renting out, on the market, and began looking for a period property in the area.’

Original brief

The couple’s original wish list included an end of terrace location, preferably with off-street parking. However but when they came across this house they were happy to waive these specifications. Near the shops, bars and restaurants in the town centre and within easy walking distance to the train station, the Victorian property also had what the estate agent referred to as a ‘useful loft room’ with its own staircase and rooflight.

‘It provided us with a third bedroom, which other similar houses in our price bracket lacked,’ recalls Nikki. ‘It was ideal for the three of us and I had definite ideas of what I wanted to do to it before we had even moved in, using the estate agent’s floor plans to draw them out on.’

Having previously qualified as an interior designer but not used her skills professionally, Nikki recognised the potential of the building’s layout and the opportunity to put her own stamp on the interiors.

Explore some of our favourite details below…

Eclectic kitchen/diner

Image: David Giles

An open-plan kitchen/diner is typical of a Victorian property and offers the perfect entertaining space. The couple have made it their own by implementing their pink and green colour scheme – using Farrow & Ball’s Pink Ground and Ball Green – but have kept the kitchen cabinetry a cream colour, meaning the colour of the walls can be changed accordingly. Mix and match dining chairs, tasselled lighting and an abundance of plants all make this open space feel fun and unique.

With a love of interiors from different eras, Nikki sourced most of the furniture downstairs from eBay, but in this space, the dining table is from a friend’s shop Valentines Vintage in Whitstable, with pink dining chairs from Amazon. ‘I also source a lot of pieces via Instagram; the black sideboard is from upcycler Boogaloo Boutique. ‘Some of the artwork is from Tin Design and Lush Eclectic’

Image: David Giles

Nikki’s love of pink is personified in another sideboard from her favourite Instagram upcycler @bourjoisbiscuit. ‘When I saw it on her feed, I just had to have it,’ she said.

Read more: 7 kitchens that prove pink and green is a dream colour scheme

Cosy living room

Image: David Giles

Bold jewel tones add vibrancy and decadence to this living space. However, the relaxed style of the sofas and clever accessorising make it feel ultra cosy too. Pink and green is a cohesive colour combination that is apparent throughout the home and provides a colourful background for other themes of décor to be built upon.

Nikki’s passion for velvet is showcased here in her red Next sofa and a green design from Sofa.com. The walls on the ground floor have been painted in Farrow & Ball’s Ball Green and Pink Ground, which create the perfect backdrop for Nikki’s large gallery display made up of eBay finds, Instagram artists, and a bunny-ear painting by the BBC’s Big Painting Challenge 2018 winner Oliver Freeston.

Read more: Interior Design Masters winner to redesign suite overlooking the Lake District

Feature fireplace

Image: David Giles

Straight after moving in, the couple put in a Victorian fireplace and swapped the laminate flooring downstairs for engineered wood. The fireplace created a cosy focal point in the living room, as well as a surface for displaying Nikki’s collectibles. They also had a porch built, giving them a separate space to store shoes and coats.

Side-return extension

Image: David Giles

The following year, a side return extension was completed, as well as knocking out a wall to turn their galley kitchen and dark dining room into a larger open plan space. ‘This took a lot longer than expected – we had to wash up in the bath and have microwave meals and takeaways for weeks!’ Nikki says.

Adding a side-return extension brought more light into the back of the terraced house, which the couple chose to further enhance with cream cabinetry and appliances, complemented by soft pastel accessories. The retro fringed lampshade is from Wild Lampshades.

Kitsch conservatory

Image: David Giles

Two years later, a rear conservatory was added, making the most of the garden and extending the ground floor to feel bigger and more open. ‘We love entertaining, especially in the summer,’ Nikki says. ‘People are always surprised at how much light and space we have in a long, narrow Victorian terrace’.

A painted wicker chair from eBay provides a pop of pink in the small conservatory extending out from the living space. ‘The pink legs from Muck N Brass used to be in the garden, but I thought they’d look great indoors with a spider plant,’ says Nikki.

Pink boudoir

Image: David Giles

Fifties Miami was the inspiration behind the couples vibrant bedroom, with palm print, velvet touches and gold accessories. A loft conversion allowed for the perfect space to include a spacious dressing area and en suite.

Read more: How to style a pink bedroom

Vintage-inspired bathroom

Image: David Giles

Retro furniture made its way into the bathroom as Nikki transformed a chest of drawers into a functional vanity unit. This is a great tip for adding personality and your unique style to a bathroom scheme! What’s more, wallpaper by Anna Hayman designs is a real talking point and the deep freestanding tub makes it a haven for relaxation.

What do you think of this eclectic Victorian home? Let us know! Tweet us @goodhomesmag or post a comment on our Facebook page. 

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