A woman who bought what she describes as an “ugly old house” in England more than a decade ago has shared how her friends quietly worried about her decision—only to later understand her vision after a years‑long transformation.
The story was detailed in a slideshow video shared on TikTok by Elizabeth Taylor, who posts under the username @thetaylormadehouse. The video, which features images of the property before, during and after its renovation, has garnered around 313,000 views since it was posted on March 1.
Taylor, who is based in West Sussex, told Newsweek that she runs her own wedding photography business, Elizabeth Ruby Photography, shooting weddings across the United Kingdom and internationally. She bought the house in 2012 after spotting it unexpectedly. “It’s a 1960s bungalow in a seaside village in West Sussex,” she said. “I actually stumbled across it completely by chance. I wasn’t looking to move at the time but happened to see it in an estate agent’s window and went to have a look out of curiosity.”
Text overlaid on the images explains that Taylor only recently learned how concerned her friends had been after she purchased the home. “I found out yesterday my friends all thought I was mad for buying this sixties bungalow over a decade ago,” the text reads. “They imagined me living here with 64 cats. And decided they would check in on me regularly to make sure I was ‘doing ok’.”
Taylor said she was unaware of their concerns at the time. “I knew nothing of their concerns, but did buy some dogs, and went about building my dream American home in England,” the text continues. “Inspired by my love of clapboard houses and porch swings. I still don’t have 64 cats (though am open to 64 dogs). But apparently they’ve stopped worrying now! (although it did take the full ten years!)”
The caption accompanying the post adds: “Our sixties bungalow is unrecognisable now and our friends finally understand why we bought this ugly old house!”
While the property itself wasn’t what she had envisioned, something about it stood out. “A 1960s bungalow was not my dream house, but the shape of the roof reminded me of the American homes I’d seen in New England when travelling there,” Taylor told Newsweek. “I’ve always dreamt of having an American-style home with a porch swing, and I could see that this house had the potential to become that.”
The setting also played a key role in her decision. The home sits at the end of a small private lane beside a river, surrounded by trees, giving it a sense of privacy. “I put my house straight on the market and moved in six weeks later,” she said.
Taylor’s long-term vision was clear from the start. “The vision was to create an American-inspired home in England, influenced by places we love on the East Coast of America and American films,” she said. She cited Nancy Meyers films such as It’s Complicated and Something’s Gotta Give, along with the romantic porch-and-garden feel of The Notebook, as major inspirations.
One design feature mattered more than any other. “One thing I’d always wanted since I was little was a porch swing, so adding a front porch became a key part of the design,” Taylor said. “It also helped transform the look of the house because the front was originally completely flat. The porch added depth and character, which made it feel much more American.”
Her husband, Jamie Taylor, is a carpenter and builder who runs his own carpentry and construction business and carried out all of the work himself. “I designed it and he built it,” Taylor said. The couple live in the home with their son and their dog, Ernest.
The renovation was neither quick nor easy. “It’s been a long, gradual project over about 13 years,” Taylor told Newsweek.
The original bungalow was largely untouched since the 1960s, with artex ceilings, dated carpets and condemned electrics. But its detached layout, large garden and convertible loft gave the couple freedom to reshape it. They reworked the interior to create an open kitchen and living space, converted the garage into their son’s bedroom, and added bedrooms and a bathroom in the loft while preserving the roof’s American-style shape. Externally, they extended the front, added the porch, and subtly reoriented the entrance to give the house more depth.
“Because we did the work ourselves and used a lot of reclaimed pieces, it evolved slowly over time rather than being a quick renovation,” Taylor said. “The house is now very close to the vision I originally had and I still can’t believe we actually did it.”
Her friends have “stopped worrying now,” she wrote in the post, “although it did take the full ten years.”
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