Couple boost the value of their dated 1970s home by £695,000 as they display vintage Porsche in their hallway - and have even had a famous actress rent it out during a holiday

When property expert Lexie Carducci and her husband moved into their £1.5million waterside property, she wanted to include a feature that would bring the 'wow factor'.But only after Lexie, 35, spotted a picture of a sports car parked inside a designer house on Pinterest did they decide to create a stunning showroom hallway – centred around a £40,000 vintage Porsche.To do so, the couple knocked down the wall between the hallway and the boot room to install a Crittall-style glass screen.Only then did they go car shopping, which led them to a sleek silver open-top 1970s replica of a Porsche 356 Speedster with a dashing red interior to put on full display inside their home.It was part of their £350,000 renovation, turning a dated 1970s concrete development into the pared-back Ibiza villa of their dreams The unique feature has helped push the house's value up from their buying price of £1,505,000 to £1.85million. And some estate agents have even put it as high as £2.2million.'I wanted to have a show-stopping hallway, so when people come into the house it's literally there for people to walk in and go, "wow",' said Lexie, who shares property tips and home tours on Instagram at @lexiecarducci.And it's certainly impressed, with even an unnamed famous face deciding to stay at the home in west London following its contemporary renovation.'We put it on for short lets over the summer to see if anyone would pick up on it and we ended up renting it to a celebrity actress who stayed in it for five weeks while we went off on holiday. It's so peaceful and private here and she loved it,' said Lexie. Before: As part of a £350,000 renovation, Lexie Carducci and her husband Luke turned a dated 1970s concrete development into the pared-back Ibiza villa of their dreams After: The unique feature has helped push the house's value up from their buying price of £1,505,000 to £1.85million. Some have even put the price up to a whopping £2.2million The couple created a stunning showroom hallway, centred around a £40,000 vintage PorscheThe statement feature has also earned Lexie a place as a finalist in the Best Hallway category in next month's uFurnish Home Awards, held by uFurnish.com, the UK's leading furniture finder website, to honour the best interior design projects and renovations around the UK. Recalling how the idea came about, Lexie said: 'When we were browsing through Pinterest, I saw a showroom concept where you had the car in part of the living space rather than a garage.'The people who'd owned the house before us had turned the garage into a boot room, so we had to convert it back into a garage and installed a glass screen from a company called Patishon between the hallway and the garage.'Once we'd created the space, Luke started searching for his dream classic car. He's always wanted a Porsche 356 Speedster but, of course, they're quite pricey, at around £250,000, so he started looking for replicas instead.'He found a 1970s kit car that looks like a Porsche but it's on a chassis of a VW Beetle – it's still a collectors' item but cost far less at around £40,000. We call her Nelly and, yes, we do drive her - we take her out on sunny days.'The unique feature also caught the eye of a celebrity actress, who rented the house for five weeks over the summer while filming locally when Lexie and Luke were on holiday.But for those who can't afford to buy a vintage car, let alone park it inside their home, Lexie, originally from Devon, advises looking for alternative 'hero' features.'A piece of art is a real statement piece,' says Lexie, who is a property developer, property content creator, investment landlord and property finder. Before: The couple have certainly transformed the house, which was built in the 1970s as part of a marina development, and was filled with floral and tartan curtains and colourful walls After: Now the space offers an airy, minimalist, contemporary feel Before: The old galley-style kitchen, where retro floor tiling, beech wood cupboards and dated worktops added to the home's uninspiring atmosphere After: The kitchen was ripped out and sold on Facebook Marketplace for £3,000, and replaced with a £35,000 German kitchen brand, Kutchenhaus 'To recoup what we've spent on it, we'll have to hold on to this house for ten years,' Lexie Carducci (pictured) says. 'But whether we'll live in it for 10 years or rent it out, is undecided' 'This could be in the form of something that you put on a wall, or it could be a sculpture, or something quirky – my father has turned musical instruments like trumpets into lights.'We don't have any art in the house, so we call our car the only piece of art in the whole house.'The couple have certainly transformed the house, which was built in the 1970s as part of a marina development, and was filled with floral and tartan curtains, colourful walls and wood ceilings when they first moved in.And after just 23 weeks of renovation their three-floor home got the neutral, zen retreat makeover that they'd pictured.'I love London, but I wanted to bring the feeling of living abroad to me,' Lexie explains. 'Once we knew that we wanted to go for that kind of Mediterranean villa style, we designed everything using Pinterest.'That's where the idea of micro-cement came in, to create a neutral look throughout, we poured micro-cement on the ground and first floors. It cost around £20,000 from Woody's Concrete Company, making it one of the single biggest spends but I absolutely love it.'We then matched all our paintwork to the micro-cement, using Farrow & Ball Skimming Stone on many of the walls.'Lexie and Luke, a property developer and owner of estate agency Aston Rowe and construction company Sima Projects, took down the walls on the first floor to create a large open-plan living room connected via a couple of steps to the dining and kitchen space on a mezzanine. Lexie and Luke, a property developer and owner of estate agency Aston Rowe, took down the walls on the first floor to create a large, open-plan living room The living room connects via a couple of steps to the dining and kitchen space on a mezzanine After just 23 weeks of renovation their three-floor home got a neutral, zen retreat makeover As the trend for 'texturemaxxing' continues, Lexie is an enthusiastic proponent of creating depth while keeping the palette neutral and harmonious For people who can't afford to buy an actual vintage car, let alone park it inside their home, Lexie, originally from Devon, advises looking for alternative 'hero' featuresThe old galley-style kitchen was ripped out and sold on Facebook Marketplace for £3,000, and replaced with a £35,000 German kitchen brand, Kutchenhaus.Another big ticket item was the £2,500 modular cream boucle sofa in an art deco style that they found after stumbling into the Delux Deco furniture store during a weekend away in Windsor.But Lexie was careful not to let costs spiral. 'Our biggest savers were removing storage. So, for example, we included storage on one side of our kitchen island, and opted for four drawers instead of six.'We also downgraded our Bosch appliances from range eight to range four, as we're just normal cooks, not professional chefs, and felt we'd just be paying for features that we wouldn't be using.'The third floor is the main bedroom suite, with a dressing room for Luke and an en suite shower room.'Off that there's a terrace, which overlooks the marina and that's where you will find my Ibiza-style big sunbeds, almost like beanbags, by Armadillo Sun.'But while Lexie and Luke's house have made sure the house is top spec, they've made one decision that might blow many people's minds. 'We have no curtains or blinds in the whole of our house,' says Lexie.'I just love the light. I like waking up to the sun, instead of my alarm clock. And the last thing I see at night is the lights on the marina. Luke's up at 4am every morning anyway, so he loves it too.' Lexie said: 'We wanted to make sure we were really minimalist. That's why I love moving house – you can get rid of all the stuff that you've accumulated over the past few years' Before: A bedroom with a busy blue and violet colour palette and an old metal bedframe After photograph of the renovated house Lexie was careful not to let costs spiral, adding: 'Our biggest savers were removing storage. So, for example, we included storage on one side of our kitchen island, and opted for four drawers instead of six' The third floor is the main bedroom suite, with a dressing room for Luke and an en suite shower Before: The bedroom suite was once decorated with floral curtains, powder-yellow walls and dated white drawers After: But while Lexie and Luke's house have made sure the house is top spec, they've made one decision that might blow many people's minds – no curtains and blinds The study offers a breathable space with minimalist wooden storage and bottle-green walls Lexie said: 'There's a terrace, which overlooks the marina, where you will find my Ibiza-style big sunbeds, almost like beanbags, by Armadillo Sun'They've also gone for a clutter-free environment. 'We wanted to make sure we were really minimalist. That's why I love moving house - you can get rid of all the stuff that you've accumulated over the past few years.'It's not everyone's cup of tea, but I love the feeling of being in a spa - it's zen and calming, and feels like a place to relax - without distractions.'But as the trend for 'texturemaxxing' continues, Lexie is an enthusiastic proponent of creating depth while keeping the palette neutral and harmonious.'We've used texture instead of colour, so we have boucle, wood and in our kitchen the cabinets have a slate effect, so the cabinetry is touchy feely,' she says.So is this their forever home? 'To recoup what we've spent on it, we'll have to hold on to this house for ten years,' she says. 'But whether we'll live in it for ten years or rent it out, is undecided.'Ultimately, I love knowing that there will be more exciting home projects to come, but this is our dream home for now.'The winners of the uFurnish.com Home Awards 2026 will be announced on October 19. How to create a conversation piece in your home - without breaking the bank in the process By Deirdre Mc Gettrick, founder of uFurnish.com1. Go big on art. The key is choosing one genuine 'hero' feature and letting it do the talking, rather than filling a room with lots of smaller pieces. This could be anything from a poster you love, a single oversized painting, a sculpture or even one gallery wall, which will more of an impact than several smaller pieces.2. Choose texture over colour. 'Texturemaxxing' is the latest interiors trend and will provide the perfect subtle backdrop for your statement piece. Boucle is becoming increasingly popular, while natural materials including wood and slate create textural interest while maintaining a harmonious palette.3. Use statement lighting. A bold chandelier or sculptural pendant instantly elevates a space and draws the eye up. The rule of thumb is that the bottom of a chandelier or pendant light should hang 75 to 90cm above a dining table or kitchen island.4. Keep the space around your feature simple. Once you've bought and displayed your art, bespoke piece of furniture or sculpture, remove clutter, mess and smaller pieces – let your statement breathe.5. Reflective surfaces. Mirrors, metal and high-gloss finishes are a low cost way of making a room feel bigger and more dramatic.