At an age when many are preparing to retire one Monmouth-shire woman and her best friend are setting their sights on taking the business world by storm. Lisa Stevens reports

SARAH-JANE Gillespie and best friend Meg McNair were brought together by their passion for renovating houses.

Now the pair, who first met when Meg bought some salvaged roof tiles from Sarah-Jane, have decided to take the plunge and turn their hobby into a way of making an income.

Meg, 59, a learning support assistant, explained: "I'm due to retire this year and needed something to do.

"Last September we were contemplating a project to throw ourselves into. As we've always been involved in renovating or decorating houses and it's something we love, we thought it would be an ideal business move."

The result is "Changing Spaces" - a complete home design service.

From simple decoration and storage tips to total house remodelling, the business is aimed at time-poor professionals.

The company will organise everything from the planning stage, right through to hiring builders and adding the finishing touches.

But the women are keen to emphasise their services are not only for the cash-rich.

Former commercial artist Sarah Jane, 55, from Lydart near Monmouth, said: "We want our business to be for everyone.

"It can be something really simple like decorating a room or organising storage, but we can also handle extensions and more complex renovation work too.

"Someone might need a house adapting after an accident or want to re-model rooms to rent out when their children have left home. We will have a go at anything."

And the pair see their advanced years as a benefit rather than a hindrance.

"Between the two of us we have had so much experience in this field over the years - we feel we ought to put it to good use and benefit from it," explained Sarah-Jane. "It's not daunting at all, when you are confident that you know what you are doing and are able to do it well, there's no fear involved.

"I'd recommend starting a business to anyone no matter what their age. If you've got something you've always wanted to do you should do it."

The women already have two projects in the pipeline, one an extension and decoration of a house in Sussex and the other to re-arrange storage at Llangattock School.

The women certainly have the experience for the job.

Meg explained: "I first caught the renovation bug more than 30 years ago when I bought my first house.

"It was a cottage covered in pebbledash but we pulled it all off to reveal the original stonework and timbers.

"Then in 1994 we bought an old farmhouse with barns and renovated them into holiday cottages."

For her part, Sarah-Jane has just completed work on a large extension to her Monmouthshire home.

With an enormous kitchen, complete with reclaimed units and decorative antique barn door, the house is a testament to her individual style.

She said: "I am a regular at reclamation yards and am a great haggler. You don't have to spend a fortune on designer stuff, with a little work and rooting around you can get the same look for much less.

"I get an enormous sense of satisfaction from it. I love seeing what a house or room has come from and what it's turned into."

Despite their obvious personal preferences and sense of style the pair say their business will cater to all tastes.

"We love both modern and old and everything in-between," said Sarah-Jane. "But it's all about what the customer wants - we listen to them, their tastes and needs."

Sarah-Jane admits she is the more artistic of the partnership while Meg is the business brain.

Meg said: "We complement each other. Sarah-Jane has a really good eye for things, she is much more visual than me, but I can put her ideas into a business plan."

Together they hope they can give the likes of Lawrence Llewellyn Bowen and Linda Barker a run for their money.

* For more information on Changing Spaces contact 01600 716 153 or 079 4914 2523.