By Beth Doherty
Twitter:@bethdmedia / @new_valleynews
Instagram: @bethdohertymedia / @newvalleynews
As I arrive at Laura and Sam Penny’s pink cottage, Combe Bissett, Salisbury, I am greeted by two friendly dogs bounding out of the tiny thatched cottage door.
I found Laura and Sam on Instagram, a young married couple doing up a 17th-century cottage all by themselves. Instantly, I fell in love with their renovation project and asked them to meet me for a chat.
Laura and Sam Penny
“We bought the cottage in 2016. We had been looking for a long time, and we put our other house on the market in April but we finally moved in here a week before Christmas,” said Laura.
“I come from a family of builders,” said Sam. “My dad is a builder, my uncle’s a builder, building is in the family. We were 19 when we bought a plot, so we were really young when we built our first house. It’s funny, we didn’t feel young at the time, but it was a big commitment, it took over our life.”
Previously, Laura and Sam’s cottage was a family home for 50 years. “The family we bought it from really wanted the lady out before Christmas as the heating didn’t work and it was quite rundown, so they didn’t want her to spend another winter here,” Sam told me.
Taking on an older property was their dream, offering a new challenge from their previous new build.
“I build all day for my job and then I come home and carry on here until Laura calls me in, but it’s a different energy working on your own house: it’s a lot more motivating,” Sam confided.
Laura provides the creative input, making the decisions, painting and decorating, and furnishing the cottage. This creativity is also what kick-started her wedding business Lulabee. “We got married in 2014 and I started my business Lulabee just after that. I loved doing the decoration and stationery for our wedding, so I made it my job.”
Laura showed me her new work studio that Sam is currently building at the end of their beautiful riverside garden.
“I have so many props that have filled our garage, but it is nice in a way because it overlaps with our house interiors,” said Laura, who laughed as Sam joked about the number of wedding props being a ‘sensitive subject’.
“We get on with most of it, we are quite lucky we have similar style most of the time,” said Laura.
“There are sticking points because usually you make the decision and I’m not too worried, but sometimes you make a decision and I know it is going to be a lot more work for me,” Sam added.
Envious that the young couple have already built their own house and are now renovating their cottage into a stylish countryside retreat, I asked them what tips they have for anyone undergoing a similar project.
“I would say ‘have patience’. Try and be prepared because it takes over your life, it’s not something you can do with lots of other things going on, you’ve got to get obsessed with it,” said Laura.
“It’s always best to do one room at a time, we did our snug first, but when we did get our bedroom done, it was so nice to have that haven when it was chaos everywhere else.”
Doing the renovation by themselves takes a lot of time, but the benefit is that it is so much cheaper.
“My time is free, and if my company were going to do this job, it would be getting on for £100,000, I think. We haven’t spent anywhere near that, so it’s a big saving,” said Sam.
Walking around Sam and Laura’s cottage, I was stunned by the intricate decor in each room.
“We get a lot of our design inspiration from traveling. When we went to Asia, we stayed in some really nice places and we were really inspired,” Laura told me.
“For me, I just love timber and hardwood, and that ties in with the Asian design, as they handmake everything out of timber. I hate IKEA, I can see its uses, but I look at things and think ‘I can make that better,’” said Sam.
Sam’s love of wooden beams and buildings full of character is part of why the couple love living in Salisbury.
“We love Salisbury as a city because it’s medieval, its got the old buildings and history. We love being so close to the city but living in a nice village, we have the shop two doors down, there’s a good school, and the pub is just down the road. Coombe Bissett Down is great for walking the dogs – It ticked all the boxes,” they said.
I could tell Sam and Laura have the bug for building, with both talking of a potential extension and their next challenge. “When it’s over, Sam will be ready for the next project, he already looks on Rightmove!” Laura chided.
For now, Laura is happy where she is for the foreseeable future as she loves the cottage and surrounding area –and it’s not difficult to see why.