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Couple’s House Is Unrecognizable After A Stunning Home Transformation
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Couple’s House Is Unrecognizable After A Stunning Home Transformation

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This “property-obsessed creative duo”—a husband and wife from the UK—are going viral for the stunning house transformation they did. The 70-year-old property that the couple bought back in 2014 is now barely recognizable thanks to the patience and labor of Michaela Zaben and her husband Ramy. Surrounded by greenery, peace, and quiet (and some chickens), the dwelling truly looks cozy and inviting.

More info: Instagram

This stunning house renovation is receiving thousands of likes on social media

Image credits: theoldpiggery_

Talking to Tyla, Michaela Zaben said that the couple bought the property hoping to completely rip it apart. “The house hadn’t really had any work done to it in the last 30 years so it was extremely dated,” she explained. The house was still running on coal, while the layout of the house didn’t match a modern living style, Michaela said, as there were “strange rooms that had no purpose.” The couple traded their one-bedroom bungalow in London for this three-bedroom old pig farm back in 2014. According to its owners, it was a dream come true.

Image credits: theoldpiggery_

The house is located in Surrey, United Kingdom

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Image credits: theoldpiggery_

Image credits: theoldpiggery_

Here’s how its interior looked before the renovation took place

Image credits: theoldpiggery_

Talking to the media, the house owner explained that the inside renovations took two years, while the main inspiration for the interior came from travelling. Once the couple renovated the inside of the house, they then took up the garden and the outside of the house. Again, both the garden and exterior cladding took 2 more years to finish. “So come 2020, it was finally finished. Lockdown meant we were able to finally finish the chicken house and concrete patio,” Michaela told Tyla.

Image credits: theoldpiggery_

And here’s how gorgeous it looks after

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Image credits: theoldpiggery_

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The property is originally 70 years old

Image credits: theoldpiggery_

Anyone who has ever taken up a renovation project probably knows all too well just how many challenges there can be. “We regularly ran out of money, and lots of things went wrong with the extension. We employed a builder and they were rogue beyond belief. We lost thousands of pounds by getting conned by them. It made us even more determined to do everything as much as possible ourselves,” the house owner Michaela told Tyla. All in all, the project took a whopping £237,000 to finish.

Image credits: theoldpiggery_

“It was extremely dated”

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Image credits: theoldpiggery_

Image credits: theoldpiggery_

“The inside renovations took two years”

Image credits: theoldpiggery_

Talking to the media, the house owner shared a few tips for those wanting to renovate a house. First, she says it’s crucial to make time for yourself. Secondly, it’s important to have proper budget management. Bust most importantly, according to Michaela, is to make sure you stick to your own style instead of following trends.

Image credits: theoldpiggery_

“This project has been the blood, sweat, and many tears of me and my husband”

Image credits: theoldpiggery_

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“It’s been one hell of a project and we already have a few more lined up”

Image credits: theoldpiggery_

On Instagram, Michaela shared a rundown of what it took to finally build their dream home:
“• 7 kilometers of larch cladding.
• 6 months to get planning permission.
• 2 years to do all the groundwork/ prep before cladding.
•Three sets of plans.
•Two story side extension.
•Cladding was brought directly from a sawmill in France.
•One crazy couple and 4 laborers worked 6 months to clad it.
•40 tonnes of gravel.
•58,000 60mm stainless steel nails.
•Double battened, insulated, and fly netted.
•One bespoke minimalistic handmade balcony.
•24 powder coated aluminum windows.
• lots of head-scratching trying to get it perfect.
•Cladding lengths were sourced at 6-meter lengths to insure there were as few joins as possible.
•Lots of Dungeness trips to get inspired by the beautiful cladded homes.
•Three nail guns and one massive compressor.
• Ingenious hidden nail system developed by my hubby.
•30,000 cups of tea and coffee!!!”

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The wonderful project that the couple did earned them over 38k followers already, so why not head on to check out their Instagram too?

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Neringa Utaraitė

Neringa Utaraitė

Author, Community member

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Neringa is a proud writer at Bored Panda who used to study English and French linguistics. Although she has many different interests, she's particularly drawn to covering stories about pop culture as well as history. While not at the office, this Panda enjoys creepy movies, poetry, photography and learning how to play the piano.

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Neringa Utaraitė

Neringa Utaraitė

Author, Community member

Neringa is a proud writer at Bored Panda who used to study English and French linguistics. Although she has many different interests, she's particularly drawn to covering stories about pop culture as well as history. While not at the office, this Panda enjoys creepy movies, poetry, photography and learning how to play the piano.

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RoseTheMad
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I preferred the before, at least in regards of the exterior ... I'm not a fan of modern buildings, I feel as if they have no character at all, I much prefer older buildings xP parts of the interior are pretty nice though, I love the bathroom designs. :)

RoseTheMad
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I preferred the before, at least in regards of the exterior ... I'm not a fan of modern buildings, I feel as if they have no character at all, I much prefer older buildings xP parts of the interior are pretty nice though, I love the bathroom designs. :)

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