Ben and Rachel Mitchinson transformed their Kendal bungalow into a sleek, light-filled home designed for family life in just seven months.

A new kitchen, three new bathrooms, replacement windows and doors, an amended bedroom layout, a raft of energy-efficiency measures and building work which included new flat roofs and replacing exterior pebble dash with a modern, smooth render are among the major changes undertaken since they moved in last March.

The speed at which they tackled the work led some friends to question whether they would have done anything differently if they’d taken more time.

“The only thing that bugs me is the door on the master en-suite bathroom,” says Ben.

The door opens inwards but Ben says it would work better if they’d altered it to open outwards.

But it’s a small detail and Rachel describes the property as their forever home where they plan to stay for the long-term with their children Leo, three, and two-year-old Jessie.

Rachel researched and planned most of the interior design schemes. The result is a contemporary look that’s warm and cosy thanks to the use of colourful accessories, texture, clever lighting and pelmets to lower the ceiling height.

“It’s modern but it’s comfortable,” she says.

Ben says he loves living their new home: “I come home with a smile on my face - I can’t believe we live here.”

Ben, 36, and Rachel, 29, hadn’t planned to move house in 2016, having only just finished doing up their previous home in Kendal. They spotted the four-bedroom bungalow online when they were looking for a house for Rachel’s parents.

“I came home from work and she told me we were moving,” says Ben.

As well as the property’s spaciousness and potential, it’s located in an area of Kendal where Ben has always wanted to live.

However, he knew that they would be taking on a major project to make it their own: “I saw the potential but I also saw the sheer amount of work we would have to do to it.”

Having decided to move, their original plan was to tackle one room at a time. But Ben was concerned that they would never finish the work, so they opted instead to refurbish the whole house as one self-contained project.

Ben, who runs his own IT support and consultancy business, iTek in Kendal, grew up helping his dad, Paul Mitchinson, in his building firm and so was able to carry out some jobs himself, such as removing the majority of the exterior pebble dash render.

After using a pneumatic chisel every evening after work for about four weeks, Ben says: “I was incapable of lifting my arms up for a week or two.”

The replacement silicone-based smooth white render is self-coloured and is designed not to need re-painting - one of a number of low-maintenance features at the property.

Ben’s brother, Tom Mitchinson, of Windermere-based Varmr Construction, was the main contractor. Ben and Rachel say they can’t praise Tom and his colleague, joiner Steven Coward, highly enough for the amount of work they got through and the high standard of finish.

Steven put himself out to help Ben whenever there was a deadline to meet. The pair worked through last Easter weekend to fit an underfloor heating system, which included laying 1,000 metres of pipework, so that it would be ready in time for the kitchen fitters to start work.

To ensure their new home would be warm and cosy and to future-proof their fuel bills, Ben researched and planned a number of energy-efficiency measures.

The bungalow now has extensive insulation, solar PV panels, triple-glazed aluminium windows with UV coating to help keep the heat in and LED light fittings. To keep air circulating and to avoid any problems with condensation or damp, a MVHR internal heat recovery system has been installed.

The original master bedroom has been divided in two to create a room each for Leo and Jessie, while two bedrooms have been amalgamated to make a master bedroom, en-suite bathroom, walk-in wardrobe and a home office.

The kitchen, supplied and fitted by Webbs of Kendal, features a mix of contemporary design elements and practical solutions for family life.

Rachel and Ben, who collaborated with Ben Monaghan of Webbs on the design, knew they wanted a breakfast bar where the children and visitors could sit while meals were prepared, a high-level oven which would be safely out of the children’s reach and a combination of gloss and satin-finish units.

A Corian work surface with an upstand has no crevices to trap dirt and is easy to keep clean - which is one of the couple’s priorities throughout the house.

The kitchen and dining area are part of one large open-plan room. Ben Monaghan suggested fitting floating low-level cupboards in the dining area which extend the kitchen design and help to create a cohesive feeling for the room.

Rachel, who works part-time in admin, spotted the John Lewis Cosmic ceiling light, which hangs over the dining table, online but it was out of their price range and so she put it out of her mind.

However, the couple couldn’t find an alternative that they liked as much and bought the Cosmic light, which is now a focal point for the room: “We bit the bullet and I’m really glad we did.”

Ben and Rachel’s first choice for the flooring in the kitchen and dining area was to fit tiles. However, the underfloor heating had raised the level of the floor too high for tiles to work. The alternative wood-effect flooring, from Amtico, which was fitted in a herringbone design, was a practical and attractive solution. The flooring design also deliberately echoes the chevron patterned John Lewis wallpaper in the dining area.

An adjoining playroom for Leo and Jessie is decorated using adhesive stickers from Mamas and Papas and has an oak ceiling - something which Ben chose after spotting the idea in a magazine.

Rachel and Ben were concerned the sitting room, which is approximately seven metres square, wouldn’t have the cosy and welcoming atmosphere they wanted. A solution was to design a pelmet around the edge of the ceiling to lower its height.

“It’s such a big room we thought it might just help bring it in a little and make it feel a bit cosier,” says Rachel.

Rachel chose the orange and grey John Lewis curtains before they’d moved in and designed the room scheme around them. “I read you should find one thing you love in a room and work from it,” she says. “The whole room came from those curtains.”

They wanted to carpet the room to continue the cosy effect and Westmorland Flooring of Kendal was able to help them source a carpet which was large enough to avoid having a join.

The L-shaped sofa and swivel chairs were from Stollers in Barrow and a shelving unit and coffee table were from John Lewis.

Texture was introduced by covering one wall in slate tiles. The slate was bought from a national company - one of the few non-local suppliers the couple used - and was chosen because it has plenty of rust colouring to tie in with the room’s scheme.

The 65in television and Gazco electric fire are housed together in a bespoke box unit made by joiner Steven Coward.

The design for the master bedroom was originally planned around some copper paint but it turned out to be impractical to use because it showed every brush stroke. Instead, Ben built a headboard which they covered with metallic textured wallpaper.

A dark blue and pink colour scheme was chosen to complement the copper accessories.

The en-suite bathroom was supplied and fitted by Billington Design of Kendal, and the company also fitted the main family bathroom, the guest bedroom en-suite bathroom and the cloakroom toilet and sink.

Each is subtly different but they have common features such as wall-hung toilets. The family bathroom has a large resin bath which is big enough for Leo to swim in and which has a TV screen at one end - perfect for relaxing with a drink and catching up with a favourite programme.

Rachel says that apart from the guest room, the family uses every area of their home every day. They spend a lot of time in the kitchen and dining area and retreat to the sitting room after the children are in bed.

“It’s such a big house, the main thing was making sure we used all the space,” she says.

With only the outside landscaping and garden to complete, both are delighted with the end result. Ben adds: “I’m over the moon.”

* This interview first appeared in the latest edition of Cumbria Life, on sale now.