Stylish London villa
A maze of bedsits is converted into a dream family home…
Mairead Fanning has a fearless approach to life. When she was working in a lacklustre language school, she left to launch her own. When the students needed somewhere to live, she and partner Phil bought some flats to accommodate them. And when there was a bit of space in one of the language schools (she now has three), she turned it into an award-winning café.
You would think that juggling three businesses – and three boys under 10 – would be enough, but when a huge project of a house turned up, Mairead didn't hesitate. 'It was arranged as 11 bedsits and a total wreck, but it had beautiful bones,' she says. Almost overnight, the couple snapped it up, sold their previous home, rented a flat round the corner, and began work.
As veterans of seven property refurbishments in nine years (yes, really) the couple had brilliant tradesmen on speed dial. Mairead is a woman who knows what she wants, so her builders advised her that she didn't need an architect, just a draughtsman to draw up plans based on her sketches. The building work took just seven months.
Take a tour around Mairead and Phil's stylish Victorian villa
You would think that juggling three businesses – and three boys under 10 – would be enough, but when a huge project of a house turned up, Mairead didn't hesitate. 'It was arranged as 11 bedsits and a total wreck, but it had beautiful bones,' she says. Almost overnight, the couple snapped it up, sold their previous home, rented a flat round the corner, and began work.
As veterans of seven property refurbishments in nine years (yes, really) the couple had brilliant tradesmen on speed dial. Mairead is a woman who knows what she wants, so her builders advised her that she didn't need an architect, just a draughtsman to draw up plans based on her sketches. The building work took just seven months.
Take a tour around Mairead and Phil's stylish Victorian villa
