Greg is cut from a different cloth. Not your traditional property developer, Greg describes himself as an eternal optimist blessed with the “how hard can it be” gene. He has a genuine passion for learning and discovery, paired with a sturdy belief in his ability to do a half decent job of anything – except plastering.
You may already know him by his Instagram handle, @ManWithAHammer. And if you’ve been following his journey so far, you’ll know that he has found his calling in restoring the magnificent Admirals House.
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Admirals House is not his first property renovation. He had previously restored a Victorian terrace in Darlington, transforming it from an orthodontist's office into his stunning home. Documenting the process on Instagram gave him access to inspiration and support, while also growing a healthy following.
Life took him down to Devon, so his home in Darlington was sold. He was on the hunt for his next home when he stumbled across Admirals House and arranged a viewing, “to get it out of my system, of course”. While Greg might be the eternal optimist, he is also realistic and level-headed. He recognised that the property was, to put it kindly, “absolutely knackered”.
Still, it had obvious potential and was “absolutely crying out for someone to love her.” He submitted a low ball offer, hoping that the universe would make the decision for him and allow him to walk away. But the universe had other plans. After some back and forth, and the sale almost falling through entirely, the estate agent handed him the keys and he officially became the new custodian of Admirals House – pigeons and all.
Built in 1804 to house the inspector general of the Royal Naval Hospital and his staff, Admirals House had seen numerous residents come and go, each one adding a fresh layer of magnolia paint over the original Georgian features.
The near derelict Georgian mansion offers 8,200 square feet to play with, with 30 rooms set out over 5 floors. But if you ask Greg, it’s really just a rather spacious four-bedroom house. From the outset, Greg could see the potential in the floorplans. Documenting the process on Instagram has allowed us all to follow his progress over the years.
Greg first got in touch with the Cast Iron Radiator Centre to find out about sourcing traditional cast iron radiators for the home. Heating a home of this scale is no doubt daunting, but a combination of wood burning stoves and highly efficient cast iron radiators allows him to heat the rooms individually.
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We recently sat down with Greg to talk about the power of social media, how he found his decorating style, and some practical tips for using cast iron radiators in your renovation.
Documenting his journey on social media, Greg has amassed over 300,000 engaged followers. He makes a point to reply to every comment and every message, offering advice and encouragement where he can.
Since his first post in December 2016, Greg has seen the social network change and evolve. But rather than chase followers and engagement, he takes a more authentic approach. Asked about the pressure to feed the beast with more content, and to adapt his content to the algorithm, it was clear that he has managed to sidestep the darker side of social media.
“I'm slow because renovating takes a lot of time when you do it yourself in a house this size and this age. I post once a week – if I'm lucky. I've deliberately been quite a grumpy old man about a lot of that sort of thing.
My account hasn’t soared in the way that some others have, but to the ones that have found me and like what I do, I think it has integrity and authenticity, which is really important to me and the kind of work that I'm doing.”
Likewise, Greg has found the social media space to be – on the whole – a supportive and encouraging space. “It feels just like a really nice community, and people are really helpful and you can learn and you can share ideas.
You can also just share when things aren't going to plan, and something's leaked, or something's broken, or you find rot. It can be quite cathartic to see people going through the same challenges.”
His commitment to social media has not only amassed him support, but it has also allowed him to quit the day job, giving him time to run his Instagram account – which is of itself a full time job – whilst still finding time to renovate Admirals House. Far from an overnight success story, Greg’s journey on social media is a testament to remaining true to yourself and sharing from an authentic place.
His relationship with social media is not just about connecting with a community. It also provides a visual document of the evolution of his style. Scroll back to his first property renovation, and you’ll see a home decorated confidently with solid colours and statement furniture pieces. Fast forward to the latest posts from Admirals House, and you can see that Greg has clearly found his stride with interior design.
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“The house has definitely made me braver, in particular with patterns. I've discovered I really like patterns and I really like colour, but mainly I like listening to the house and the age and the period of the house and the architecture. I don't want to be a slave to it. I don't want it to be a museum. But at the same time, my starting point is always the architecture and the period of the house. If your starting point is something that is period appropriate, it's going to look right.”
In terms of practical steps he takes to land on the final decor scheme for a room, he revealed that it is often more organic than planned.
“My starting point is usually the wallpaper or the colour of the walls and then the actual layout of the room. I'll work out where the furniture is going, how I want to use it, where I'm going to be sitting, what I’m going to be looking at, how I’m going to move through the space. And then the rest just comes together naturally.
I'll get to work, and I won't worry about having to choose the curtains until I've got the wallpaper up, because I can then see the space with the wallpaper up. And then I can make the decision much more informed than just looking at a little swatch.”
This method is clearly one that has proven successful, and one that he would recommend if you don’t possess an interior designer’s capacity for planning ahead.
It would be remiss of us to not round out our conversation with a little chat about how Greg has put his radiators from the Cast Iron Radiator Centre to work in Admirals House. When designing a space, Greg starts with the floorplans, and this will usually mean that he has to decide the placement of the radiators first.
Greg shared one horror story of the radiators he found in Admirals House when he was handed the keys. “They were really horrible, 1960s kind of stamped steel radiators. They were knackered and had been painted a million times.”
It wasn’t just the layers of magnolia gloss he found offensive; the placement also caused some distress. “There was this beautiful, original Georgian marble fireplace, and they drilled into that fireplace surround to hang a radiator directly in front of the fireplace. Absolutely insane.”
Thankfully, we were able to step in with some suitable upgrades. “It made complete sense to use a radiator that was period appropriate. They’re just beautiful objects in their own right. They are actually attractive things to look at, and they still allow you to see the architecture behind them. As well as being thermally efficient and giving off a really nice radiant heat. It made complete sense. They look like they've always been there.”
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To finish our chat, I asked if he had any advice for our customers thinking about including cast iron radiators in their property renovation, and thankfully he had plenty.
“You need to be thinking about radiators almost before anything else. You really have to think about the use of the space and also, obviously getting the pipes to those radiators is something you need to be doing quite early on.
Try to see them as part of the scheme. Don't see them as an afterthought. Remember that they can become really, really beautiful things in their own right, and something that will enhance the scheme.”
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Admirals House is a long-term work in progress. At the time of our chat, Greg was preparing to get started on the lower floor of the house. This started with uncovering the original cook’s hearth hidden behind layers of plasterboard and in-built shelving.
Uncovering this was clearly a source of excitement for Greg, but also added months to the estimated timescale for completing the project. We look forward to following along as Greg continues his renovation journey, and we’re excited to see how he includes cast iron radiators in the rest of the house.
The book is a beautiful source of inspiration for anyone thinking about embarking on a property renovation journey. It is packed with visual references, practical advice and a healthy dose of realism about what is really involved. Greg invites you to go beyond the highlights reel and see the passion and hard work that goes into period property restoration. Get your copy here.
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