Ed & Alice are taking one weekend at a time

Meet Ed & Alice (@asouthlondonhome), an ambitious couple with full-time jobs attempting to transform their South London home. Not afraid to share the behind-the-scenes of their renovations, we chat to the hardworking couple about their journey, covering everything from their vision and ambitions to their dynamic as a team.

Ed & Alice (@asouthlondonhome) assembling their HOLST Knobs to their cabinets.

Small sacrifices

For the past six months, Ed and Alice have given up their weekends to make time for renovations. “It’s noisy work, so we’re not very popular with the neighbours,” says Ed. An electrician by trade, he’s helped install the hardware in their new home. Alice, who works in comms and writes a travel blog, is documenting their journey “like a diary” on their renovation account.

Starting from scratch

Ed & Alice love South London and were looking for a place which they could “get their teeth into”. It’s no surprise that making time for renovations between jobs has been challenging. The first six months have been full on. “It’s a 1930s house that hadn’t been touched since the 70s. So lots of textured wallpaper, polystyrene ceilings, floral carpet,” Alice says. “We spent the first few months ripping everything out — with purpose – and curating the bits we’ve kept.” 

The dream team

When it comes to DIY, Ed will give anything a go, armed with how-to videos “for all jobs, big and small.” Alice thinks of herself as the creative director, she’s “big on the little details.” With their previous flat they went for a neutral pallet to “try fit into a trend.” In this place, they’re embracing their personality more. 

They’ve already restored some of the 1930s features like picture rails and discovered great floorboards hiding under that ugly carpet. For Alice, finishing touches bring it all together: “Nice hardware makes it easy to elevate simple DIY” – “and takes people's eyes off my dodgy carpentry,” Ed jokes.

A clear, cosy goal

The pandemic highlighted the importance of home life, and building somewhere nice to “escape from work and the news cycle,” Alice says. Currently they’re making the living room an extra cosy space, separating it from the dining room and reworking a cast iron fireplace with a marble mantlepiece and matt black knobs. 

They’re working hard for the payoff, looking forward to “not having DIY to come home to,” says Ed. Alice agrees that “a free weekend would be a nice goal.” They continue to take one room at a time, until their home is fully transformed. For the meantime, the next projects on the list are the bedrooms. 

A big thanks to Ed & Alice for joining us for a TEA BREAK. Why not follow their renovation journey at @asouthlondonhome? 

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