Jim Chapman On His Cotswolds Home Renovation

In 2025, Jim Chapman left the London smog behind for a new pace of life in the British countryside. Whisking his wife and two children off to the Cotswolds – ‘a gorgeous part of the country,’ he tells C&TH – he set his sights on an empty Georgian house in need of a little TLC. Read: a whole new plumbing system and remodelled layout. ‘I think our house predates plumbing,’ he admits. But, a year and one month on from getting the keys, he says it’s really starting to feel like home. ‘We’ve done so much more than I thought we would have by now. I’m so tired [laughs.] The work is constant, but so worth it.’ Here, we catch up with Jim Chapman to talk about his home renovation highs and lows, plus his curated Little Black Book of brands and products.

Jim Chapman On His Home Renovation Progress, One Year On

Jim Chapman

How’s life going for you at the moment?

Life’s really good. It’s my daughter’s first day of school today and my son’s is next week, so after eight weeks of being ‘summer dad’ it feels a bit odd. But we made the most of the summer break.

You’re currently renovating your home. But before we dig into the details, can you tell us a bit about why you chose to move?

London wasn’t working for us anymore as a family. I’d stayed longer than I probably should have – mostly for my career – but our families are on opposite sides of the country, and we felt like one of us had to make a sacrifice. We were stuck in a bit of limbo, until one Christmas when my wife Sarah and I had lunch out while her parents had the kids, and we thought, ‘actually, this is really nice’. So in the new year we started looking, and decided to come here [to the Cotswolds].

Did you know that you wanted somewhere you could completely put your own stamp on?

We’d actually viewed one house that was much more modern, that didn’t need any work – it ticked all the boxes, other than that feeling of home. We put an offer in, it got accepted, and then we knew it wasn’t the one for us. We called up an hour later and said, ‘We’re really sorry, but we’ve made a mistake.’

The house we did move into had been on the market for two years, and I’d ruled it out early on. I’d looked at the floor plan and the square footage and thought it was too big an operation for us. But after that near miss, we realised we really wanted a Georgian property, because they’re beautiful and full of character and charm. There were only a few that needed work on the market – this was one of them, and it needed much more than we thought.

Were there any early challenges to tackle?

A lot of damp. There wasn’t any plumbing in it apart from in an extension that was done, I think, in Victorian times – so all the plumbing was at the back of the house. We had a tiny kitchen, and what used to be a bathroom was a stupidly big bathroom, with a weird layout for the rest of the house.

As it happened, the plumbing was in terrible condition, so we had to replumb everything anyway, which gave us the opportunity to rearrange the layout of all the rooms, and suddenly it began to function like a house should. By moving the plumbing, we’ve taken up less space and have more appropriately sized bathrooms. It’s also technically given us two more bedrooms, because the bathrooms were so big before.

How would you describe your interior design style, and how does it work with the family?

It depends on which part of the house, really. For my office, I wanted it to feel like I’m stepping out of the house and into work, so it’s slightly more mid-century, very eclectic. Art all over the walls, my books and bits and pieces.

The rest of the house we’re trying to keep fairly sympathetic to the era, but not to the point where it looks like the house isn’t lived in. The colours we’re bringing in are mostly from a Georgian-inspired heritage range. We’ve used a lot of Little Greene so far – my favourite combination has been in the living room where we have used ‘Clay Mid’ on the ceiling and all of the woodwork (including the original shutters that are gorgeous but cost me my soul to fix up!) and ‘Ashes of Roses’ on the walls. It just looks so rich and luxurious. Our bedroom is real showstopper, too. In there, we used ‘Rosy Dusk’ by Frenchic, and it was a dream to use – the coverage was fantastic!

We’re also trying to breathe new life into what was already there. Downstairs in the living room, for example, we spent about a month restoring our original wooden shutters.

Our sofas, which are hopefully arriving this month, are from quite a modern brand though: King Living. Although we want to be sympathetic to the Georgian period, we also want the house to function in 2026. There is a way of artfully marrying old and new, I think, and I’m hoping with the colours and textures we’ve chosen, it’ll look really nice.

What about the kids’ rooms?

So the house is fairly sympathetic to the Georgian property , up until you get to the kids’ area – and then it’s mental. My daughter’s bedroom is floral, wall to wall, ceiling to bed sheets. It’s a bit nauseating, actually, but she’s five and she loves it. My son’s room has a bit of a circus theme, dark blue walls with striped wallpaper for a big top vibe. We just wanted them to enjoy their space.

Did you have a timeline in mind for the renovation, or was it more off the cuff?

A bit of both. If a room needed rewiring or replumbing, we had to do it all in one go, by necessity. If not, we did it more slowly. Most of the rooms now function, but they’re not quite home yet – our bedroom, for example, has a gorgeous bed and somewhere to put our clothes, but no bedside tables, no rug, no artwork. It’s fine, because my coffee cup and phone charger just live on the floor for now. But I think that’s the hardest part; the jobs aren’t urgent anymore, so other things take priority. My concern is I’ll still be doing this in five years’ time.

Have you managed to stick to a budget?

My wife’s in charge, because I’m not the person to trust with the numbers – if I see something I like, I want to buy it. We’ve been very fortunate. There were a few schemes that helped us save some money when we bought the house – it hadn’t been lived in for a couple of years before us, for example – which took the edge off.

Because of what I do for a living, I’ve been documenting the whole process, so I’ve worked with a few brands here and there, or at least been given access to things that help me make informed decisions. So I don’t feel like I’m wasting money, time or experience. We’re further along than we thought we’d be, for less money than we thought we’d spend. That said, it’s all of our money at the moment – I have a beautiful house, but I haven’t got money in my pocket, let’s put it that way.

The home office was one of the first rooms to be finished in Jim Chapman’s new home

C&TH took a peek inside earlier this year as part of our Staying In With series

What’s the long-term plan for the house?

I think we’ll be here until the kids leave us. When they’ve got their own lives sorted, settled with their partners and have their own houses, we’ll sell this – and that’ll be their inheritance. Truly, the pride I have in giving them a life out here, and being able to provide this for them, is one of the best things I’ve ever done.

Last time we chatted, you showed us around your home office – any updates? Have you worked in here much since?

There’s a bit more dust in here now. It’s more lived in. This was weirdly the first room to be done, not entirely through choice – my wife and I have talked about it quite a lot, because we said we shouldn’t prioritise the office. But because this was a bathroom, and the first room to have all the plumbing stripped out, it was the first room available for me to do.

It’s remained pretty much untouched since we renovated it, and it’s beautifully cluttered. I think this room is complete now. It’s a much more mature take than my last office, which was gorgeous but felt a little undercooked. This one feels like something I can grow into. But having said that, I might redecorate it in a couple of years.

Bathroom before and after

Can you catch us up to speed on the rest of the house?

Yes, so far:

• We’ve got an entire basement, which is off limits. My kids aren’t allowed down there. It’s damp, it’s a mess. That’s a job for another day.
• The living room is pretty much done pending the furniture, hopefully arriving this month. Never buy a cream boucle sofa when you have little children – it’s disgusting – but ours has survived two renovations and two children from birth to now.
• The kitchen is very nearly there. We’re just waiting on the island, which is a dairy table style: on legs rather than solid, so light can travel underneath and it looks a little brighter.
• The hallway definitely still needs doing. You don’t actually spend long stretches of time in it, but it’s the first thing you see as you open the door. It’s the first part of the house you walk through. So it needs some TLC.
• The utility room is the one I have the most gripes with. I painted it a bright mustard-y yellow, which I love, but I don’t love the white alongside it, so I’m going to rethink that one.
• We’ve got a studio-slash-wardrobe-slash-spare room that’s currently a shit show – we haven’t even peeled off the lining paper yet.
• The bedroom just needs the rug and some stuff Sarah ordered from Pottery Barn to arrive.
• We’ve also got Nanny’s room upstairs, for when my mum visits. It’s pretty much done.

So what’s left is the hallway, the utility room, and the spare room – and then the whole basement downstairs. (We’ll cross that bridge another time.)

You’ve been fairly open about the renovation online – has documenting it changed how you approach any of the decisions, or is there anything you’ve deliberately kept off camera?

No, I don’t think so. Sometimes I just forget to film, because I’m so focused on doing the job. I really like making that content, actually. The thing with social media is that most people just want to show polished aspiration, whereas I want to show that you don’t just get things, you reap what you sow. I’ve physically put my blood, sweat and tears into it, and the fruits of that labour are so tangible, because I walk into a room and think, ‘this looks good.’

There are highs and lows, for sure – I’ll be decorating and cursing an architrave one minute, and within the hour thinking it looks like a hotel. But I think it’s nice for my audience. It’s like a diary for me, and I think it’s nice for people to see that I’ve done well, but I don’t take it for granted. I’m full of gratitude for it.

The kids’ bathroom, before and after

Has anything surprised you during the renovation process?

I accidentally burst the water mains once – that was a surprise. It flooded very quickly.

But more often it’s the jobs I’ve never done before that get me. I’ll spend days prepping, watching YouTube tutorials. I also spend a lot of time calling my brother, who’s a carpenter.

I don’t sleep the night before, because I’m thinking about how I can’t mess it up. I’m spending money on materials that could go elsewhere in the house. But then I start doing it and think, actually, I’m all right. When I had to lay the underfloor for upstairs, the first couple of hours were shocking, but then I found shortcuts and smarter ways of working, and by the time I’d finished I was quicker, more efficient, and working to a better quality. I feel like my repertoire’s increased, and I’m a much more capable DIYer now.

What advice would you pass on to someone about to start their own home renovation?

I really think a lot of it isn’t as hard as you might think. As long as you’ve got the physical capability to lift heavy things, you can probably give most of it a go – there’s not much YouTube can’t teach you now. As long as you’re not doing anything with danger involved – plumbing, electrics – you can probably have a crack at it, and it’s really rewarding, satisfying, and so much cheaper.

So my advice would be: don’t be scared, give it a go. And if it goes wrong, you can always sand it back and try again. The reward, compared to the effort I’ve put in, is so much greater than I expected. I’ve aged doing this – it’s been one of the hardest things I’ve ever done – but the pride I feel, and the pleasure I feel in my house, far outweighs the work I’ve put in, and I’m hoping it will for a long time.

WATCH

Marking one year in his new home, Jim Chapman shows us around (and tells us what’s still on his fix list):

Jim Chapman’s Little Black Book: DIY Edition

We asked Jim to share his go-to brands, designers, products and people for his home renovation:

Paint… Little Greene – my favourite combination has been ‘Clay Mid’ and ‘Ashes of Roses’ in our living room.

Wallpaper… Our daughter’s bedroom is floral from floor to ceiling. It’s a lot, but she’s only going to be five years old once! The wallpaper is from ‘No Two Houses’ by Cath Kidston and it’s very cute.

Furniture… We don’t have much furniture yet! We recently picked a beautiful chest of draws dating from 1860 from Vinterior for less than buying new. It’s the same age as the house and fits the vibe wonderfully.

Antiques, Vintage & One-Off Finds… The thrill I get out of finding something on Vinterior and discovering it’s the right dimensions for the spot I want it in is unmatched! We’ve only started looking at furniture recently because we’ve been in the depths of the renovation, but those pieces have history, they were crafted to last, and they’re stunning!

Linens… My wife asked for some Piglet in Bed linens for her birthday and they are lovely. The room is big with very high ceilings, so I feel like we have the space to play with patterns without it looking overwhelming.

Curtains & Blinds… We are currently curtain-less which must be a hoot for the people who live across the street from us! The good news is that we have some beautiful linen curtains on order from Pottery Barn.

Rugs… Rugs will be our friends in this house. We have the original floorboards and want them to be a feature, but we need to soften the rooms too. I have a lovely Persian-type one from Castlery in my office, we have another on order for our bedroom coming from Pottery Barn, and we were given a stunner by my wife’s aunt which is enjoying its new home in our spare room.

Lighting… Corston! And not just for lights but for switches and sockets, too. We had to get the whole house rewired, so we wanted to do it once and do it right. We invested in brass everywhere and it just suits the house so well. It’s a little thing to many, but it’s important to me, and I just think a grand Georgian room with white plastic sockets would take you out of the aesthetic.

Art & Prints… My taste is quite eclectic, and my little collection has been slowly growing for year. My go-to place is Nelly Duff on Columbia Road in London.

Kitchen… Our Kitchen is from Olive & Barr and it’s delightful! When we moved in, we had a very old galley kitchen that has since become our utility space, and we moved the kitchen to what used to be the dining room. It now adjoins to the living room which helps the house flow better and we kept the same ‘Clay Mid’ paint colour running through.

Bathroom… Our bathrooms have very different aesthetics. The kids’ is super fun with striped tiles from Ca’ Pietra, and roll-top bath and toilet from BC Designs, alongside a wicked little yellow vanity unit from Roper Rhodes. Meanwhile, mine and Sarah’s uses all the same brands, but it’s much more muted and very elegant. Sarah’s brief was: ‘I want it to look like hotel bathroom.’ I think I nailed it!

People… All of the tradespeople we used came from recommendations (which is an absolute must, because I have heard so many horror stories!). We used a company called MW Building Conservation Ltd, and I would trust Mariusz with my life! Not only is he brilliant and honest to fault, but he’s excited by ideas and gives super constructive feedback. We have recommended him to three people since.

More From Jim

Keep up with Jim Chapman’s home renovation journey over on his YouTube and Instagram.