REAL LIFE VICTORIAN
A woman has taken her house back in time - by spending £10,000 to transform it into her Victorian dream home. Quirky spinster Julia Wood, 42, lives her life like a 19th century lady and can often be seen leaving her terraced house wearing ankle length velvet and carrying a parasol. The self confessed "eccentric" has transformed all five rooms of her property in Leicester with late 19th or early 20th century decor. Her lounge, bathroom, bedroom and kitchen are filled with antique furniture, fireplaces and artefacts and even nude portraits complete with lighting from the period. She has a large mahogany mantle piece in her lounge and sips tea from an 1890s crockery set she says she bought for just £10. Her kitchen, which also acts a sitting room, includes an Edwardian day bed, wood burning stove, antique tub chair, pine table and even a black fridge. The author and writer, who has lived in the home for two years, is an avid Oscar Wilde fan and says she lives her life like a character from one of this plays. She said: "I must have a Victorian or Edwardian aura. I was just born in the wrong era. But Downton Abbey has changed things lately. Sales of long gloves have gone up hugely, I understand. All of a sudden I'm in fashion.
Other great stories
AVATAR-STYLE WISTERIAS WILL LEAVE YOU FEELING TREE-UMPHANT
A TEN-THOUSAND square foot wide Avatar-style grove is such a beauty it will leave you feeling VINE .
DERELICT MANSION
With an abandoned tricycle sitting in an empty corridor, this derelict but once grand mansion could be the setting for The Shining .
BABY WORKOUT
FROM a Kung-Fu professional to a mini incredible hulk, these are the babies you wouldn't want to mess with .
FEARLESS CHEF SLAMS TRIPADVISOR REVIEWS WITH HILARIOUS INSULTS
FOR most restaurateurs, the phrase ‘the customer is always right’ is gospel .
I LOST 13 STONE AFTER EX SAID MY BELLY WAS TOO BIG FOR SEX
AFTER splashing out on sexy black lingerie, Paige Way was excited for a romantic night away at a swanky hotel with her boyfriend .
WOMAN GAINED 5ST IN A YEAR DUE TO CRIPPLING POSTNATAL DEPRESSION, BUT PHOTO SHOCK SAW HER LOSE 7.5ST AFTER SHE DIDN’T RECOGNISE HERSELF - NOW SHE’S A SLIM SIZE 8
A mother-of-three who weighed almost 16st has revealed how she lost 7 .
A-PAW-ABLE SHELTER DOGS POSE IN THE HOPE OF FINDING FOREVER HOMES
WE’RE all familiar with the heart-wrenching pictures of dogs abandoned in animal shelters, but one photographer has found an innovative way of showcasing the pooch’s personality .
COLOURFUL FROGS PRACTICE THEIR FROG CRAWL
GLIDING through the water, these delightful frogs show off their vibrant colours as they practice their FROG crawl .
COUPLE RECREATE ICONIC SCENES FROM THE NOTEBOOK
A Canadian couple celebrated their engagement by recreating iconic moments from the film The Notebook .
CHEEKY MONKEY COOLS OFF IN APRIL SHOWERS
This cheeky chappie is getting into all kinds of monkey business as he enjoys cooling off on a scorching hot day .
SEXY TRAFFIC GIRLS OF NORTH KOREA
WITH their robotic movements and pristine uniforms, these are the sexy traffic girls of North Korea that are becoming iconic figures in the secretive state .
LIP FILLERS NEARLY KILLED ME
A woman left disfigured and traumatised by an addiction to lip filler injections has issued a warning to others searching for the perfect pout after the plastic chemicals nearly killed her .