"When I say a doer-upper the house hadn't been touched for 20-plus years" A couple who fell in love with their "Victorian house" two years ago have transformed it into a "beautiful and characterful" home. Michael Skelly met his partner Sam five years ago through their mutual friends, and had dreamed of renovating a house together ever since - two years later they achieved their ambitious dream. Michael, who is a primary school and dance teacher, told the ECHO : "When we first met, Sam had only just bought his old home, it was his but we did it up together and we always said we would do it [a renovation] together.
It's a lovely feeling to know we have finally done it." The couple bought their house in November 2022 for £260,000 and pumped a further £80,000 into making it their dream home by restoring it to its former glory. However, Michael, 32, and Sam Robins-Wells, 41, bought the six-bedroom property in Waterloo it needed some serious TLC, in fact, it looked like it hadn't been decorated in over 20 years, Michael says.
He said: "We bought it in November 2022. The person we sold Sam's house to wanted to downsize, so we actually ended up swapping houses with them. It was a doer-upper when we bought it, when I say a doer-upper the house hadn't been touched for 20-plus years.
We redecorated it all, it needed bringing into modernisation, but in a Victorian way." The couple first fell in love with the house because of its location, but now it's everything they had ever dreamt of. Michael said: "The location made us fall in love with the house, you have the beach here, the train is a couple of minutes away; Waterloo is thriving at the moment too, with restaurants, bars, micro pubs , it's just a nice area and it has good schools.
We just thought it would be a nice place to grow our family." He added: "We moved straight in, which was a bit of a shock. It was pretty liveable once it had a good clean, it was just not to our taste.
It was like moving back in time 20 - 30 years. We started the renovations room by room. We had to do loads, one of the back bedrooms had this kind of old Victorian staircase extension - it was like a wooden shack - I don't know how to describe it.
The building, used to be a house, then it was converted into two flats - I think it was added then - then it was converted back to a house, but there were some features still here from when it was flats. It needed lots of work to just make it liveable for us. "But now all the work is done we love it, it's 90% there now.
For us, renovating our house back to its Victorian roots has been an incredible experience, one that has brought us immense joy and a deep sense of accomplishment. There’s something special about peeling back the layers of time and revealing the original charm and craftsmanship that defined the era. "Every step of the process, from selecting period-appropriate fixtures to uncovering original woodwork, has felt like a journey back in time, but as well as the physical transformation, this renovation has also been fulfilling on a personal level too.
"We’ve felt a sense of pride and responsibility in preserving these original features, knowing that we’re safeguarding a piece of history for future generations. This journey has strengthened our connection not only to the house but also to each other, as we’ve worked together to create something beautiful and lasting. Restoring this Victorian gem has been more than just a renovation.
" But most of all the couple have enjoyed the stories their new home has brought, Michael said: "We've loved seeing the reactions from previous owners of the house too. People who lived here as children, or who remember visiting their grandparents in this very home, have reached out to us with so much gratitude and delight in seeing the house restored to its former glory. They've shared memories of how the rooms once looked or the stories that were told here.
Their appreciation has made us feel like we’re not just restoring a building, but also preserving the legacy of the families who lived here before." Michael pays most the credit to his partner Sam however, he said: "My partner Sam has got the eye for it, I enjoyed doing it but he thrives off it, the inspiration was from him. If he didn't do what he does [an officer worker] he would have been an interior designer.
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