Inside our first week living in a long-empty Georgian house
Windows open, boxes everywhere, and one industrial dehumidifier: our first week in the Georgian manor (with all the photos I didn’t share on Instagram)
We were very much looking. Let’s start there.
(And by “looking” I mean fully committed to our Rightmove habit - the kind where you have the app always open but also get instant alerts from all the different search areas you’ve created, and recognise houses coming back to the market from two years ago, because they didn’t sell then… )
For years now, house hunting has been part of our background rhythm. It started tentatively- mostly just browsing, imagining. Then gradually became something more committed. For the past two and a half years, we’ve been viewing houses properly. Seriously. Hopefully. But luckily, without a deadline for finding the one, so it has felt leisurely - even if it was taking a long time.
Because this time, unlike every other house hunt we’ve done before, there was no big life event pushing us. No looming school enrolment deadlines. No pregnancy countdown. So we had the rare luxury of waiting for something that felt right.
Which, I’ll be honest, is easier said than done.
We had our wishlist (a very specific one). Big sash windows. High ceilings. A good-sized garden. A quiet location but not isolated. Georgian. Charm. Character. Soul. And, ideally, plumbing that worked.
We saw over 30 houses. Some were lovely but not for us. Some were… let’s say “memorable” in the wrong kind of way. And one we tried to buy. We made offers. Got our hopes up. Lost it. Felt bruised from the experience rather than the lost house. Took a break. Then started again, slower this time. More curious than desperate. With no pressure and a shared agreement: we’ll know when it’s right.
And then—this one.
It caught our eye immediately. The handsome Georgian façade. The slightly faded grandeur. We booked a viewing mostly out of curiosity, not expectation, it was also heftily over our budget. But we decided to see it anyway, another “fun day out.” A new village to explore. Maybe a nice lunch afterwards.
We weren’t prepared for what we found.
From the outside: elegance. Grand proportions. Promise. From the inside? Chaos. A house filled to the brim—literally. It felt like walking into an estate sale mid-clearance. Layers of things, of history, of someone else’s life abruptly paused. The kind of space that makes your heart race a little- not necessarily in a good way.
So no, not the easiest house. Not the most turnkey. But the one that had those things. The things that made me stop, look properly, and feel that elusive, “Oh… this one might actually be it.”
So here it is—a bit of a tour of the features that sold it to us:
1. The windows
I mean—just look.
They’re everywhere, and they’re everything.
Tall, elegant, slightly wonky in the best way. The light in this house has a life of its own. You don’t just walk into the rooms, you walk into the glow.
2. The garden
We wanted plenty of space, but not a field.
Somewhere green with big trees and slightly wild with room for a greenhouse filled with terracotta pots, coffee in the sun, and vintage sun loungers under an apple tree.
This garden has history. Structure. Surrounded by stone walls. Charm. And maybe a few too many weeds. We'll get there.
3. The area
This view.
It feels quiet in the best way—not isolated, just peaceful.
(And yes, we checked the phone signal & internet options before we got too romantic about it)
4. The courtyard
A surprise tucked around the side.
The kind of space you don’t realise you’ve always wanted until you step through the archway and start mentally placing your future geraniums.
It might be one of my favourite parts.
5. The portico
This one’s probably obvious.
She’s dramatic, slightly grand, and very good at pretending we’ve got it all together - even when the hallway is still full of unpacked boxes.
6. The proportions
Georgian symmetry is what the architecture of that period is famous for.
There’s just something satisfying about the balance of the rooms, the high ceilings, the way things flow from one space to another.
7. The details
Old hinges. Worn stone. That courtyard stone archway.
Little things that make you feel like the house has stories to tell.
We’re planning to keep everything we can, repair and restore rather than replace - this place has too much character for that.
And now that we’re in, the fun (and mess) properly begins.
Notes from the first week in the new house - in pictures:
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There’s plenty more coming soon too: our plans for the new house (the good, the bad, and the very dusty) and the garden (how I’m going about starting a kitchen garden from scratch) and some honest thoughts on living in a house that’s beautiful… and slightly falling apart.
If you’re into old houses, interiors with soul, and restoration storytelling, you might just enjoy what’s ahead.