Gilles Baudet: “Transforming Our House Into A Family Home”
In 2013, Gilles Baudet and his wife Nicola bought a 100-year-old Glasgow house on Lubnaig Road on the south side of the city as their first family home, which they would share with their two children, Lewis and Sienna.
The four-bedroom family home hadn’t been touched for years, and as a result, this wasn’t just a house that was ready to move into. In fact, a lot of work was undertaken by the entrepreneur and his wife, Nicola, to transform this unique sandstone property into a real family home.
The first thing that initially attracted Gilles and Nicola to this gorgeous property was the fact that it overlooked Newlands Park; a real gem of an outdoor space and an ideal place to go for walks and play with the children. Additionally, the gorgeous green gardens that surrounded the house not only added a sense of privacy, but the kerb appeal was nothing short of astonishing. At the time, this was incredibly important to the couple as although they were keen on transforming the property, they did not assume this to be their forever home so they certainly had to consider the saleability of the property in years to come.
When they moved into the property, a lot of work had to be done to modernise the house and bring the décor into the 21st century. To begin with, the bathroom had an old avocado suite in situ. Of course, this was somewhat of a trend at the time – but the time was 30-40 years ago and now, the bath, sink and toilet seemed nothing short of dated. As well as this feature, the house was covered in Artex; another popular design trend of the past which would be problematic for more reasons than one in this day and age.
At this point, the list of ways in which to modernise their new house on Lubnaig Road, Newlands, was seemingly endless, but they began work almost immediately to ensure that this out-of-date property would soon become their dream home for both themselves and their children to enjoy.
As an entrepreneur with multiple businesses to attend to and a busy lifestyle, it was important to Gilles to know that his family had an ideal space to enjoy, as well as ensuring that he himself had a clear working space within the property, giving him the opportunity to effectively work from home where possible.
In every room of the house, as renovation work continued, light was arguably one of the most vital factors that the couple considered. By creating clear open space through colour schemes, furniture placement, windows and skylights, the couple managed to create the exact look and feel they desired.
As well as this, they removed internal walls to create larger living spaces, including a more open plan kitchen with a utility area. Features like this ensured that not only did they construct the illusion of much larger spaces with the clever use of light, but they slowly began to create exactly what they set out to do – a functional, fit for purpose family home.
No expense was spared as they began to furnish and finish each room either. They chose elegant, modern pieces from a range of contemporary designers to really bring their home into the 21st century. Gilles and Nicola chose a freestanding copper bath and sink from William Holland, along with slate flooring from Blyth Marbles and imported French furniture from Lucy Willow. The combination of all of these distinct design choices ensured that the home they desperately wanted to create was finished in a delicate and fashionable manner.
They also chose statement pieces in the form of Aboriginal wall art to add a personal touch to their home. As Gilles is half-French and half-Australian, it was important that his heritage could be incorporated into the design of their living space.
Following 18 months of renovations, Gilles and his family completed their desired upgrade works to their house, and continued to enjoy the fruits of their labour as a family living in a modern home with a clean and personal aesthetic to suit all.
Despite all their efforts in transforming this property, they soon after decided it was time to move on. In 2016, just 3 years after they moved into their home, Gilles and Nicola sold their house on Lubnaig Road after having found a larger, more suitable property in Newlands that met their needs more appropriately at this time. With Gilles’ family living abroad and often coming to visit, it was important that they now had more space for visiting family to stay with them on regular basis.
