All change

HIGH ceilings, bay windows, large, spacious rooms with stunning views over Harrogate's Valley Gardens - Richard and Catherine Cousley's two-storey flat had all the components of a des res. Apart from one thing: the entire place was filled with vile, chintzy, Sixties decor.

But the couple could see the potential behind the floral wallpapers, printed borders and kaleidoscopic carpets.

"The decor was dreadful, but it was a lovely size, and what a view," says Richard.

The couple, originally from Northern Ireland, were looking to move to Yorkshire from London, to enable Richard to continue his orthodontics training in Leeds and York. They settled on Harrogate as it was handy for both cities, and Catherine got a job in a local dental practice.

They spent one afternoon flat hunting before settling for the classic Victorian terrace in Harlow Moor Drive.

They admit it was a lot to take on. They knew Richard's training programme would last two years, by which time they might well be on the move again.

So to get the most from the flat, they decided to revamp it at break-neck speed. And during all this, they had to fit a wedding in as well.

Together, the newly-weds drew up schemes for each room, and to save time, hired professionals to create the desired look. In just seven months, the transformation was complete.

To remind them of their achievement, they took lots of pictures before the workmen arrived.

Looking at these now, and snaps of how the flat appears today, you can see what a considerable challenge the young couple faced. Their achievement is even more laudable, when you consider it's the first time they have had to revamp a home.

Which explains why they've just won a runners-up prize in a Decorator of the Year competition with national interiors magazine Your Home.

The couple are delighted with the accolade - and their prize of £1,000 of flooring.

"We are really chuffed," says Richard. "Lots of friends and family have been to stay and said how lovely it is. But the prize is a nice confirmation of what we have done. It's nice to get good feedback."

In terms of the overall look, the couple wanted to bring back or enhance some of the key Victorian features of the flat, while bringing it up to date with furniture, fabrics and wall colours.

One of the first things to go was the glass-panelled stair banister.

"It was a horrible, built-up staircase in crinkly glass - I took a hammer to that," recalls Richard.

Luckily, some of the original spindles and newel posts were still present, so the Cousley's had them copied and restored the staircase to its former glory.

They put back a fireplace into the dining room and laid an oak laminate floor in the lounge and sanded and varnished the floorboards in the bedrooms.

The first room they completed was the lounge: their "sanctuary" as they call it.

Taking their cue from a large, velvet sofa, they created a warm and classically-modern scheme with a second sofa in leather, Indian-style furniture and warm, yellow walls. An ethnic-patterned rug and thick, deep-red curtains completed the look.

The red colour was carried through to the dining room: its blood-red walls and dark wood furniture creating a dramatic, gothic atmosphere.

On a roll, they decided to paint their bedroom in the same colour - only to realise it was too over-bearing. They quickly changed it to a soft cream.

"That was our biggest mistake," confessed Richard. Smaller annoyances included hanging doors the wrong way and putting light switches in the wrong place.

But errors were far outweighed by clever tricks, such as using narrower wall-height units at base level in the kitchen so as not to overcrowd the room and tiling over old tiles in the bathroom.

The couple say the experience was a "steep learning curve" in which they learned what works and what doesn't, often through trial and error.

But what they've garnered about home improvement will not go to waste. Richard has a new job in Peterborough, so the couple have just put the flat on the market and are house hunting again.

"Ideally, we would prefer to find somewhere pretty basic so we can do with it what we want," says Richard.

And judging by their success in Harrogate, they are sure to create another place which would be quite at home in an interiors magazine.