'We spent 18 months turning an 1890s lodge house into a beautiful forever home - now we're selling it for £1.4million'

Taking on a DIY home renovation is not a job for the faint-hearted, especially when it's an older house. From ancient interior to outdated electric and plumbing systems, it can take a whole lot of time - and money - to bring a period property back to life.

But all of these foreseen issues didn't stop siblings Emma and Lee from taking on the huge project of buying and renovating a 1890s lodge house in Haslingden, set in the stunning Lancashire countryside, in a bid to lovingly restore it to its former glory.

For the last 18 months, the brother and sister duo from Tottington, who own a property business together, have been transforming the historic house into what is now a beautiful 'forever family home'. They are now hoping to reap the benefits of all their hard work after putting it on the market for £1,400,000.

READ MORE: 'We bought this 150-year-old house in Greater Manchester for £495,000... then found a secret room'

Emma Candlin, 45, spoke to the Manchester Evening News as part of our Where I Live series. Each week we chat to a different homeowner or renter who lives in the north west to hear about their home-buying and renovation journey, whilst taking a look around their home.

Emma and Lee, 39, have been working together renovating houses for their clients for the last six years, but decided that they wanted to buy a old house and take on DIY project between them, and eventually go on to sell it.

"We grew up in an old property in Tottington, so I’ve just always been drawn to older, period properties. I just find them more interesting and fascinating, they've always got a story to go with them," Emma told the Manchester Evening News. "We wanted to buy a house with the intention of doing it up and selling it, but we wanted somewhere that we could bring back to life."

The siblings came across Grane Lodge - an old lodge house built in 1893 - which was up for sale on Rightmove, but it sold before they had chance to put an offer in. Emma said: "The house was beautiful and we could see it had lots of potential. It is steeped in history and has gorgeous open views of the countryside. Ironically one of the reservoirs that it has a view of is Ogden Reservoir and that’s our family name, so that was quite fitting.

"We really wanted it so we registered our details just in case, and then luckily for us it came back on the market because the other sale fell through. We were straight through the door at 9am that morning and made an offer which luckily was accepted."

The pair got the keys to the house in November 2022 and got stuck into the renovation right away. "When we bought it, it was very very dated. But the previous owner had looked after it so it was generally in good condition and structurally it was great, so we were lucky there.

"We knew exactly what we wanted to do with it and we’ve been working on it ourselves full time since we got the keys. First we stripped all the walls and ceilings, and then we put a full new heating system in and we then did all new electrics. We were expecting problems with rot and damp with it being an old house but luckily there wasn’t any."

Emma added: "Structural alterations wise, we’ve only removed a side wall for sliding doors to make way for the views because they are stunning. We’ve done a full loft conversion on it, and also removed a wall between the kitchen and dining room to open it up into a large family kitchen area. We’ve also done the garden."

The pair have also adjusted the layout of the house. "We have done a full size loft conversion to add in more bedrooms. Because of the new configuration, we had to close off the original butler's staircase but we didn't want to get rid of it completely so we’ve made it a feature downstairs by lighting it up and incorporating it into a wine cupboard," Emma explained.

"The house now has a huge hall, stairs and landing, an open-plan kitchen and living area, a lounge, a reading room, six double bedrooms and a beautiful master en-suite with a walk-in wardrobe, a family bathroom and three shower rooms."

Whilst updating its interior, Emma and Lee wanted to retain the home's original charm. "We wanted to restore it to its former glory so we put all the original ornate coving back in and we had a company put the ceiling roses back in as they had been replaced.

"My dad painstakingly restored all 55 original stair spindles and 26 doors so we could keep the originals. We’ve added some features back in to the house that had previously been taken out like the beautiful swan neck coving, internal window mullions and high 12 inch skirting boards.

Emma added: "We've kept the interior very traditional. We’ve gone for panelling and lots of traditional, neutral colours. We’ve gone for LVT herringbone flooring in the kitchen living area and everywhere else is luxury carpets."

Speaking about the DIY process, Emma said: "We have used an electrician and plasterer but my brother does plumbing and so he fitted the kitchen and all the bathrooms. I got stuck into all the decorating and labouring. My dad has helped us out massively in the garden and generally around the house. My sisters and mum have worked tirelessly cleaning the house as the work has progressed and helped out on bits of DIY, so it's been a real family effort."

Emma then disclosed: "All in all it's been a hell of a lot of work. We set ourselves a budget but it’s gone way, way over - two and a half times the amount we thought - but it’s been worth it. It's been a dream to see it all come together.

"I’ll be absolutely gutted when we sell it, it will be heart-wrenching to let it go. I keep doing the lottery in the hopes that I could keep it, but it’s now ready for its new family. It needs to be lived in and appreciated. Whoever is lucky enough to buy her will have a beautiful forever home."

You can view more of the property on the Rightmove listing.

Where I Live: Get involved!

Are you a homeowner who has recently completed a renovation, or are a tenant who has made their rented home their own?

If so, we would love to speak to you as part of our property series Where I Live. Each week we chat to different residents across the region to hear about their buying or renting journey, whilst taking a peek inside their home.

If you fancy getting involved, please email your name and details to: phoebe.jobling@reachplc.com with the subject line Where I Live.