When Jim and Tina Vance took on a run-down and rather bland dormer bungalow, they remodelled it and created a home that has a classical, timeless look downstairs but a pretty, country cottage look upstairs, as Hannah Morgan discovered . . .

The Vances’ Pickering dormer bungalow

Everything tells a story in Tina and Jim Vance’s eclectic home in Pickering. With their keen eye for a bargain and a life-long love of antiques, they have created a look which brings their 1950s dorma-bungalow full circle with its retro appeal and comfortable modern country edge.

“We buy what we like and somehow it all works together,” said Tina. “We don’t have a particular style. We just love old things with a bit of history to them – anything a bit unusual. We don’t have a particular style. The house evolves and changes all the time.”

It was quite by accident that Tina and Jim decided to move from a neighbouring period cottage and take on the run-down dorma-bungalow. Jim spotted it for sale when walking the dog one night, and rushed back to tell Tina to go and have a look at it. It was 9 o’clock in the evening and getting dark, but Tina took one look at its long garden and knew they should buy it. “It had such potential and we loved the setting,” she said.

But when they first saw inside the bungalow they began to wonder whether they were doing the right thing. “It hadn’t been touched for 20 years. The floors were sinking in the front rooms, the kitchen was tiny with just a sink and a broken cooker in one corner and the rooms seemed very dark and small – the whole house needed renovating. But that was part of its appeal. We had renovated our previous house so we knew what to expect, and it would be good to put our own stamp on it.”

Before they could start work on the house, however, Tina and Jim had to get the garden straight for their daughter, Julie’s, wedding reception. Both the front and back gardens were full of building rubble and more than 150 tons of concrete had to be cleared from the front alone before they could start landscaping ready for the marquee.

“It all fell into place just in time,” said Tina. “It was good to get the garden done first so it had chance to establish itself while we worked on the house.”

Two tones of yellow – Johnston’s Hot Mustard and Sand  – create a warm, sunny look all year round in the eclectic kitchen.

Tina and Jim decided to concentrate on the major alterations first, which included the creation of a spacious dining kitchen but reducing the size of the sitting room, which was long and thin.

“It wasn’t an easy shape to work with, so we created two rooms from one,” said Jim. The kitchen was first to change shape. Jim knocked down the partition wall between the kitchen and dining room to create one large, open living area and did the reverse in the sitting room – building a partition wall to square off the lounge and create a multi-purpose room at the back of the house.

He also redesigned the staircase to create more space in the hallway, fitted a plain white suite in the family bathroom and fitted tongue and groove panelling in the kitchen. Neither of them wanted a fitted kitchen, so they gradually developed an individual look with 1950s units, a salvaged pine work island, non-matching tables and chairs and practical laminate flooring.

“We weren’t quite sure what to do with the chimney breast until we saw a Stanley cooker advertised for £700 and decided it would fit perfectly in there. We also had to install central heating – there were electric heaters when we moved in but they didn’t give out much heat, so we’d sit around them in cold weather dressed in coats and scarves, trying to keep warm. It was really basic.”

A rare triple-hooped 1850s bedstead is Tina and Jim’s pride and joy.

Once the house was warm and comfortable Jim and Tina could concentrate on turning it into a home, developing a classical and timeless look in the sitting room but a pretty, country cottage look in the bedrooms, based on sumptuous bed quilts and unusual pieces of antique furniture. It helped that daughter Julie specialises in patchwork quilts and has just opened a showroom in Pickering, so Tina was able to choose a number of quilts specifically to work with the décor.

“We like to mix one or two really good pieces with bargains, but we generally buy what we like the look of,” said Tina. “The house is constantly evolving and we’re always changing things. If something doesn’t work we sell it and buy something else we like. The table and chairs in the dining area have been changed several times. We have a few favourites – we particularly like brass candles and early base metal ware – Jim specialised in metal restoration for nearly 40 years so he has a real appreciation for things like that.”

The combination of old and new styles creates a homely, welcoming look which is pulled together with warm wall colours and richly-coloured fabrics. With grandchildren visiting often, they also wanted the house to be robust and family-friendly.

“I think some people are afraid of buying antiques in case they’re too fragile or in case they pay more than they should for something, but providing you go to a reputable dealer, there’s no reason why you should pay over the odds,” said Tina. “What we like is the fact that everything we buy has a story to tell and plenty of history to it. It’s nice to think that someone else has benefited from something you have in another lifetime. It creates a sense of continuity.”