A young couple who bought a 1960s home have shared everything they’ve discovered since beginning the renovation process.
Nicole Halliday and her partner Blair, from Scotland, took to social media to reveal all the hurdles they faced and the hidden gems they found after handing over the keys.
The clip, which was placed under her handle @nicolehxoohas already been seen by more than 3.3 million people, with the caption: ‘Bring on the renovation trip.
‘We expected so much worse, so we’ll take it. But now let’s get over the dust and wood chips.’
The first thing the couple revealed was how much the house cost when it was purchased more than 60 years ago.
A young couple who bought a 1960s home have shared everything they’ve discovered since starting the renovation process
A card left by the previous homeowners read: ‘We wish you the best of luck. My father and mother bought this first house in 1962 as a new construction for €3141, so you are only the second owners.
‘We have many wonderful memories of our childhood here and we hope you will have happy times here too.’
The first surprise for the new homeowners was a hidden door to an extra room that they didn’t know existed when they bought the house.
It was only after demolishing the cream-coloured wardrobes, which Nicole described as a ‘monstrosity’, that they realized there was a door to a storage area behind them.
The process has not gone smoothly so far and they have admitted to discovering many cracks in the walls as well as ‘leaks everywhere’ leading to ‘rotting floorboards’.
Additionally, they claimed they were told the boiler was two years old, but later discovered it was actually from 2010.
As would be expected with a 1960s home, there was also the challenge of ‘layer upon layer of questionable wallpaper’, from floral patterns to bright yellow.
One room had no fewer than six layers that had been built up over the years.
The clip, which was posted under her handle @nicolehxoo, has already been seen by more than 3.3 million people
There was one hidden gem that made all the challenges worth the work: a wine cellar hidden under the hatch of their closet
After tearing down walls to create their dream home, Nicole and Blair came across electrical wires that weren’t connected to anything.
There was also some wall filling and fraying that needed work and ‘wood chips everywhere’.
However, there was one hidden gem that made all the challenges worth the work: a wine cellar hidden under the hatch of their closet.
Nicole shared a photo of at least 17 bottles of old red wine left behind by the previous owners.
One shocked commenter wrote: ‘Those 1984 reds cost like £140 a bottle,’ with a second joking: ‘Pay to replace the boiler they lied about.’
Speaking of the previous homeowners, a third added: “How you get such a nice note and then drag them through the trenches,” alongside a laughing emoji.
Meanwhile, someone else wrote: ‘£3,000 in the 1960s is about £55,000 after inflation. It’s unbelievable how easily people found a house.’
Others chimed in with: “The whole hidden room???” and ‘I would have given them the wine back. I mean, they seem like really nice people.”
Viewers rushed to the comments to share their thoughts on the 1960s home
A more skeptical viewer wondered: ‘Hidden room? Yeah right, so it wasn’t on the plans,” to which Nicole replied, “The surveyor didn’t break down the cupboards to notice it funny enough – even though it was a storage cupboard.”
Another joked: ‘the card was sweet but a bit tone deaf and stated how much they bought for it because they knew what you just paid.’
Someone else suggested: ‘I’m low-key jealous of the wine. You need to open a bottle when the house is ready to celebrate! save the rest for special occasions.”
Choosing an older home to renovate seems to be a popular choice as it comes just after another young couple refurbished an entire property that hasn’t been touched since the 1960s.
Renovating couple Rowland bought the semi-detached property in July 2022 and have since documented their dramatic renovation progress on TikTok.
When they moved in, their new home had been left unchanged for decades, with dated wallpaper, a simple kitchen and an overgrown garden.
The couple gutted and redecorated each room to make them sleek and modern.