Leeds United TV and Raceday TV presenter Emma Jones shows us round her gorgeous Yorkshire home

“My partner and I used to take Teddy for walks in this area and I said ‘if a house comes up for sale here I want to buy it,” says Emma, a former print and radio journalist who is now Leeds United TV presenter who also presents for Raceday TV run by Racing TV and is a Planet Sport Bet ambassador.

She spotted the for sale sign when she and her partner were driving to a gig late in the day and slammed on the brakes to ring the estate agent, who brought music to her ears when he agreed to show them round immediately.

Looking from the outside, she fell in love with the windows and, once inside, with the period features and while property needed updating and changing to suit the couple’s lifestyle, she says: “I just said ‘I need that house’ and after that there was no point haggling so we offered the asking price and it was accepted.”

That was just over a year ago and since then a remarkable transformation has taken place in double quick time.

The Grade II listed house in a village near Leeds has been changed and modernised where needed to suit the couple’s lifestyle and their decor preferences which are tasteful with some added va va voom.

Now, just over a year later, the property is picture perfect, super smart and glamorous with a relaxed and friendly feel, so all in all very much like Emma herself, who says: “We have spent a fortune on the house so far but that’s because it’s a forever home.”

She was determined to use Yorkshire suppliers where possible and she did with over 80 percent of what she invested in feeding the local economy.

The boiler was replaced and a new central heating system with smart new radiators were installed, while her dad, an electrician, helped out with the electrics.

The old kitchen was swapped for a new one from Howarth Timber in Leeds and says Emma: “The girl there who helped me design it was amazing.”

It is in shades of grey and black and there’s a large island that doubles as a place to sit and eat with family and friends.

Howarth Timber Leeds also replaced the old internal doors while new panelling in the property was done by York Decorator.

The enormous, light-filled sitting room is now a real show stopper with a huge white sofa that Emma bought online and a beautiful abstract painting by artist Rajan Seth.

“I wanted to buy local but the size of sofa I needed for the room was so big I couldn’t find anything that was the right fit,” she says.

She had the same issue with the extra large chandeliers in the sitting room and main bedroom, which she had to source online, though the smaller chandeliers in the hallway are from Harrison Lighting , which has showrooms in Halifax and Bradford.

What was a dining room has been converted into a snug/cinema room, aka the fun room, with music plus a projector from Leeds based HiSense for cosy evenings watching movies.

This space is painted in a soft grey/black with a huge, squashy sofa also in black, while strip lighting around the ceiling brings a twinkle and framed movie posters and a cushion branded with “Elland Road” add more colour.

The new blinds and curtains throughout are from family business Robson Interiors in Guiseley and all the flooring in the property was replaced.

Upstairs, the main bedroom and its windows are the most striking element. It is enormous but feels cosy thanks to a variety of textures all in soft neutrals and lit by chandeliers. Storage is not a problem thanks to built in cabinetry.

While in the past she hasn’t been over confident in her interior design skills, this home has helped Emma have more faith in her abilities. Her idea to paint the bannisters black to add a modern touch and to lean a large arched mirror at the bottom of the stairs to enhance the feeling of light and space has made a big difference to that “dead” area.

All in all it’s a long way up the property ladder from her first home, a one bedroom house in Liverpool, where she was a student. It cost £40,000, which was the money left to her by her late mother.

“For me it was a way of knowing I had invested the money wisely,” she says.

When Cheshire born Emma moved away from Liverpool for work, she turned the house into a buy to let to generate an income and invested in a few more, which she says helped her get to the house she has today.

She had just turned 18 when her mum died and she later established The Dead Parent Club podcast with her friend Kat. It has helped many listeners practically and emotionally with their grief and with the difficult situations people can find themselves in when it comes to everything from wills and the cost of funerals to coping with the loss of a loved one. Visit www.deadparentclub.co.uk.

Now busy as ever with work, Emma, who has spent most of her working life in Yorkshire, which she loves and where she intends to stay, is saving and planning to complete the final project at home.

“The only thing we haven’t done is the bathrooms but they are next on the list,” she says, adding: “I loved this place when I first saw it and I love it even more now. I can’t see us ever moving. It has everything we need.”

You can find Emma Jones on Instagram at @eljonesuk and posts on her home can be found on a separate Instagram account @emmasgaff