A couple in their 50s with 10 children are taking on a new challenge: renovating a Victorian-era mansion that has been empty for 25 years.
Renovations of any kind in the home can be stressful. A survey of just under 1,000 U.S. citizens conducted by Schlesinger Group on behalf of home renovation and remodeling service Sweeten found that 85 percent of respondents consider home renovation stressful.
They might want to spare a thought for Charlotte, one half of a couple happily married for 33 years, who recently purchased a Victorian mansion left in a state of disrepair for over 20 years.
“For many years, I dreamed about owning a house like this,” Charlotte, who chose not to share her full name, told Newsweek. “I would spend many an evening online looking for this type of property, one that would accommodate our large family.”
Charlotte and her husband share 10 children, but not all of them will be moving in. In fact, seven of their kids are now adults. That still leaves them with three children of school-age to contend with, of course. “We have a 14-, 11- and 4-year-old,” Charlotte said.
She has never let that get in the way of pursuing her dream of owning a period property. “We have always wanted a period property. We love the look, the craftsmanship, the high ceilings and details, which sadly are not found in modern homes,” she said.
Charlotte said they have spent somewhere between six and seven years looking at properties. “We viewed a couple, but it never felt right for us as a family,” she added.
That all changed a couple of years ago when they first laid eyes on a Victorian property located in East Yorkshire in the U.K. “We had viewed this house several times over approximately two years. But the timing just wasn’t right,” Charlotte said.
Eventually, however, the stars aligned and the deal was done: they had their dream house. Spread across 4,200 square feet, the plan now is to renovate the property from top to bottom, with the view to turning it into an eight-bedroom home for all the family. Charlotte said that might require “moving some walls,” but she is up for the challenge.
“Our biggest challenge so far is the vastness of work that needs completing. The level of work needed and schedule required to complete this task. It’s incredibly rewarding, and we have no regrets,” Charlotte said.
Every day brings with it new discoveries, like the original stone flooring in the hallway, and a selection of vintage glass baubles and suitcases that had been gathering dust in the vacant property.
“I feel like a child in a sweet shop and in awe of its beauty and craftsmanship,” Charlotte said. “We love it! It’s a big sacrifice of time, energy and money, but we are invested in it for the future of our children.”
TikTok/theoldmanorhouse
Juggling renovations with looking after their three school-age kids has proven relatively straightforward so far. “Renovating with a family is always a challenge. However, they are in school while we are at the house,” Charlotte said. “We collect them from school, and life goes back to normal.”
It is clear, however, that the family is just as excited about the project as mom and dad though. “We’ve only had the house a couple of weeks and the children ask if they can go to the house nearly everyday,” Charlotte said. “One of our sons is helping us with the renovation. Seven of our children will be living with us.”
Though renovations can be daunting, Charlotte and her husband are no strangers to these kinds of challenges. “This will be our fourth home,” she said. “We have had to do lots of work to each of these homes but nothing like what we have taken on.”
There is no timescale on the project as yet, but the hope is they can “bring it back to life and fill it with love and laughter.” In the meantime, Charlotte is ready for whatever may lie ahead. “We’ve bought an old house. I’m sure there will be surprises along the way, perhaps ones that we haven’t budgeted for so we’ll take every day as it comes,” she said.
In the meantime, the family is chronicling their journey with regular updates posted to TikTok under the handle @theoldmanorhouse. Charlotte ended their first video on the channel with a simple yet powerful message that sums up their ethos perfectly: “You’re never too old to follow your dreams.”