By: Caroline Cunha
CHANNEL 4’s Selling Houses Abroad programme sent a TV crew to the Algarve this week to film the makeover of a villa close to the village of Gorjões, Santa Bárbara de Nexe.
In December 2006, The Resident carried an appeal from the show’s producers asking British homeowners in the Algarve to get in contact if they needed help solving a property nightmare or assistance in selling a home.
There was a big response and the producers selected a property owned by Amanda Evans and Simon Cheetham from Surrey. The couple are keen to sell their Algarve holiday home in order to buy a bigger house in the UK to accommodate their expanding family.
Their three bedroom, three bathroom holiday villa with pool, had been on the market at 380,000 euros for 10 months and there had been little interest. It was time to call in the experts!
The Resident met up with the programme’s assistant producer, Kate Evetts and the six-strong British makeover team to find out more about the project.
“We have five days to get the house in shape ready for viewings, our budget is 1.5 per cent of the asking price (5,700 euros), provided by the homeowner, but the labour and design is free.”
Design
The team thought the bathrooms were letting the property down, so they were re-tiled and new bathroom fittings were purchased. The designers gave the house a new colour scheme and the interior was painted throughout.
Various cosmetic improvements were made, such as the replacement of some ugly wardrobe doors and a new dining suite was also purchased.
A range of accessories were handmade on site by the show’s designers, including bed covers, cushion covers, a table runner and curtains. Chief designer Emma McKelvie and her assistant Megan Wright were whizzing away on sewing machines to have everything ready on time. After five days of hard work, the house was ready.
Following an advertisement in The Resident, lots of viewings from potential buyers were arranged and filmed on Monday of this week. At the time of going to press, two people were very interested and have already arranged second viewings.
The programme featuring this villa will be shown in the spring but the exact broadcast date is still to be announced.
