WHEN it comes to redesigning, the Milton sisters don't do things by halves.

The sisters, from Poole, will be appearing on Channel Four's Property Ladder programme on Wednesday as they transform their run-down house in Lilliput into a miniature palace.

What started out as a £100,000 project to reinvent their 1937 art deco home turned into a mission that cost them £240,000 - and the results are breathtaking, if not a little off-the-wall.

When Channel Four got wind of what Natalie and Tanja were up to they could hardly contain themselves. With two sisters - one a creative designer who has worked for stars such as Jade Jagger and Harry Enfield and the other a financial businesswoman - joining forces for six months of hard graft, sparks were bound to fly.

"Six months ago the house was falling down and now our dreams have come true," Tanja said. "We have a Moroccan-come-Bohemian-style home that we hope to sell very soon."

But not everything went according to plan. In fact there were fireworks between the two sisters, and they ended up spending £140,000 over budget.

"It's difficult sticking to a budget when your sister sees it as monopoly money. It was also hard liaising with the TV company and the builders to make sure they coincided."

The final crunch came when the Property Ladder crew enlisted the expertise of three estate agents, who valued the property at £550,000 to £650,000 - just £175,000 more than the initial evaluation.

Tanja added: "We weren't happy with it and called in local estate agents who valued the house at £650,000 to £725,000. We have already had an offer of £700,000, but the programme is refusing to say this.

"So far reports in national TV magazines have been rather scath-ing. I dread to think how they have made us look on screen but at least it's a record of all our hard work."

Property Ladder starts on Wednesday at 8pm

Check out October's Dorset Society to find out exactly what happened when C4 met the Milton sisters.

First published: Sept 20