A single mother-of-two has transformed an old village shop into her dream home – but ended up going £100k over her initial budget.
Dawn, who works as a solicitor, appeared on the latest episode of Channel 4’s George Clarke’s Remarkable Renovations where she outlined her plans to renovate the former commercial property in Throner, Yorkshire.
At the beginning of the episode, the mother told the architect TV host about her ‘ambitious’ plans of revamping the 2000sqft space into a two-story home.
This included two bedrooms for her sons Sebastian and Ruben, a master bedroom with an en-suite, a gaming room and a courtyard.
The mother set herself a budget of £200,000 for the renovations and wanted to have all the work completed within six months.
Single mother Dawn (pictured) said she was forced to work ‘early hours’ and ‘weekends’ to pay off a mammoth renovation project that saw her convert a 19th century village shop in Thorner, Yorkshire, into a home for her and her two sons
However, Dawn – who had no previous renovation experience – ended up going £100,000 over budget and the building work took 14 months to complete.
During the episode, the mother opened up about the toll it was taking on her having to work overtime and raise her two boys.
Not shying away from the difficulties, she said: ‘I’m tired but happy… yeah I am pretty, pretty tired at the minute.
‘Work has been quite full on – into the early hours some nights. And weekends. I’ve got to pay [the contractor] Paul’.
What’s more, the mother said her ‘work-life balance’ suffered during the renovations and admitted she had been ‘naive’ about how long it would take.
She continued: ‘I’m not really doing much for myself or with the kids.
‘I’m missing doing things with them. We were supposed to be in by now – it’s just everything takes longer than you expect.
‘I was probably a bit naive about the timescale. It’s taken a lot of hard work’.
The building was initially converted to a newsagents in the early 1900s, selling newspapers and convenience foods (pictured: the exterior of the newsagents before its transformation)
Dawn also revealed that she had to extend her mortgage after going over budget by a whopping £100,000 (pictured: the shop front after the grand renovation)
She told Channel 4 presenter George about her ‘ambitious’ plans of revamping the 2000 square feet space into a two-story home (pictured: a section of the old shop floor)
The mammoth project included the remodelling of the shop floor into a ‘chic’ and ‘classy kitchen diner
The mother-of-two – who had no build experience – also gave herself a deadline of six months to complete the project but ran into challenges
The entire project took a staggering 14 months to complete – including stripping away old materials
The former family-run convenience store is set in an ideal location for her children, as it’s surrounded by various amenities and within walking distances of pubs.
The building was initially converted to a newsagents in the early 1900s before shutting down in 2018.
After laying dormant for three months, Dawn purchased the property and called on architect George Clarke for guidance.
Despite her initial hope that she could renovate the property in six months, it took 14 months until all the rooms were complete.
During the process, Dawn told George how she had had to remortgage her house to cover the rising costs.
While visiting the building site, the show’s host asked: ‘So where are you at?’
She replied: ‘So things have run over slightly. We’re probably up to about the total budget at the minute and there’s still still quite a bit to go.’
The old shop was once used to serve local villagers with various groceries (pictured: a section of the shop floor)
Part of the sprawling shop floor was revamped into a stunning living room
The show also revealed the before and after of the upstairs rooms (Pictured: a room on top of the shop was converted into a master en suite bedroom for Dawn)
Dawn’s grand room also featured a walk-in closet for her clothes and shoes
The newsagents also featured a ‘cold room’ where the former shop owner kept various goods
The cold room was transformed into a lavish garden courtyard
The concerned presenter asked Dawn how she would be able to afford the extra funds, to which she replied that she had spoken to her mortgage company.
George then let out a huge gasp before asking: ‘You’re going to extend your mortgage?’
The homeowner confirmed with a resounding ‘yep’.
The new total meant that Dawn would lavish a whopping £300,000 on her new home.
Dawn later lamented about not spending time with her two sons Sebastian and Ruben (pictured)
She turned one of the rooms into a games room for her boys – complete with a neon light sign
She was able to remodel the derelict shop into a ‘chic’ and ‘classy’ modern home fully equipped with bespoke sash windows and contemporary kitchen diner.
Later on the show, she confided that the extra expenditure was worth it as she labelled the property a ‘dream’ come true.
She said: ‘It is something that I’ve always wanted to do.
‘You know being able to fulfil that dream and tick that off the bucket list – I guess has been immense.
‘I’m really proud. I think that you’ll feel proud as well that I’ve brought an old building back to life.’
