Interiors: A perfect place in the city that became home

Feb 21 2008 by Debbie Johnson, Liverpool Daily Post

Debbie Johnson visits the Dukes Terrace apartment of a man who watched it being built from scratch

LIKE many before him, and probably many after him, Lee Gilligan first moved to Liverpool as a student.

A decade later, he is still here – and now very much considers the city his home.

Originally from Leeds, the 30- year-old has an apartment in historic Dukes Terrace, which he watched being built.

The process was an interesting one for Lee, who is a qualified quantity surveyor and works for Gladedale Homes as a land manager – which means he sources land for new housing developments, and liaises with architects, planners and builders to move the plans forward from an empty plot of land to new homes.

He says: "I love my job, and am interested in the whole process. With Dukes Terrace, it was originally a merchant’s house but was in a real state of disrepair.

"It basically had to be rebuilt, but was done really beautifully so it is practically an exact replica of the old building but with all mod cons and up-to-date materials."

Lee bought his home off-plan in a shared equity scheme, which allowed him to get his foot on the property ladder and to buy a flat that he truly loved.

"I liked the look of them straight away," he says. "The style, the design and the location were all perfect.

"I had lived in a lot of student places – halls in Kensington, which were fine, and various houses around Smithdown Road and Allerton in various states of disrepair.

"As soon as I got a job, I started saving for a mortgage, because I knew I wanted to buy somewhere."

Lee looked on as the building took shape – and even occasionally snook in to have a look.

He laughs: "Well, through work I had a hard hat and a high- visibility jacket . . ."

The two-bedroomed apartment is currently being shared with Benji – the 16-year-old Shitzu dog who has been the Gilligan family pet for a very long time.

Lee says: "He’s just here while my mum and dad are away on holiday in Spain – but I must admit it’s nice to have him here, he’s a lovely old fella."

The entrance hall to Lee’s flat has a floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall mirror which opens it up and gives it a sense of space.

The whole apartment has high ceilings, which also add to the feeling of spaciousness.

The living room is painted in white, with light brown wool carpets and brown leather sofas. On the wall is a brown and cream canvas painted by Lee himself.

He says: "I’m not particularly artistic but it is nice to do something creative, and it is quite a cheap way of decorating your home with artwork that nobody else is ever going to have!"

The apartment comes with a separate dining kitchen – something which really appealed to Lee when he looked at the plans: "A lot of places these days come with open-plan kitchens and living rooms, but I definitely wanted mine to be separate."

The kitchen – where Lee can make a "mean curry" – has apple-wood units white walls.

A splash of colour is brought in with a bright red canvas, again painted by Lee, and red glass vases and bowls.

The dining table is a lovely brushed steel frame with highly polished dark smoked glass.

The main bedroom is painted white, and has a super-kingsize low-level bed frame, with brown and cream bed linens, and white blinds on the windows.

There is also a walk-in closet/dressing room.

The bathroom is done with white mosaic tiles, with wooden cladding on the bath and sink units. The second bedroom, meanwhile, is used for guests.

"The whole place is quite minimalist and unfussy," says Lee. "I like to keep it simple, white walls, neutral colours. I enjoy being here, watching TV or listening to music, but I also have a very active work and social life so I’m pretty busy."

That social life includes visits to places like Magnet, Alma de Cuba, Geisha and club nights like Chibuku and Circus – another reason why a home in Dukes Terrace is just perfect.