‘My home makes me smile’

The starting point for the living room was the yellow IKEA sofa, which led to a contrasting teal design from Habitat. Both colours are picked out in the speckled rug by Benuta

My home is filled with things that MAKE ME SMILE

First-time buyer Emily Smith has used rainbow colours and vibrant artwork to transform her new-build on a budget

Living room

‘One of the first decisions we made was the bright yellow sofa. I loved it but was worried it wasn’t very sensible. Luckily, Jake liked it as much as me, so we went for it. That was the starting point and then we chose the green sofa to contrast. It was definitely influenced by our wedding colours from 2018 when I picked sunflowers and then dark green to go with them. I assumed that we’d paint the walls, but I quite like having them white, as you can fill the room with other colourful things and you know that it will work. It’s the perfect backdrop for a gallery wall. The prints all have different frames, but everything has a bit of pink or yellow to tie into the colour scheme.’

‘I like bold colours, maximising natural light and giving each room its own distinct feel’ Welcome

TO MY HOME

A BIT ABOUT ME I’m Emily Smith, 26, an NHS medical imaging physicist. I live with my husband, Jake, 25, who’s head of tech for an advertising and media company. I share our renovation story on Instagram @coloursofnumberone.

WHERE I LIVE Our home is a three-bed new-build semi in Nottingham. We moved here in November 2020.

WHAT I WANTED TO CHANGE I wanted to add as much colour and personality as possible to what started off as a very plain white box.

HOW I MADE IT MY OWN We’ve put up fun, colourful art prints, painted feature walls and fitted banquette seating in the dining area, as well as turning the smallest bedroom into a dressing room and the second bedroom into a home office.

MY FAVOURITE PART The living room as there’s a wall of windows and doors onto the garden, so it’s always light and sunny in there. Of all the rooms, this is the one that I’m happiest with.

MY STORY

Buying our first home was a spontaneous decision. We’d been renting a house in Bingham but went for a nosey around this new-build development. We hadn’t planned to buy for a year or so, but it was in the perfect location and there were only two homes left for sale. Luckily there was a 5 per cent NHS discount, and we could use the government’s Help to Buy scheme, which gave us a five-year interest-free loan for 20 per cent of the 25 per cent deposit. This meant it was cheaper to buy than rent.

Since moving in, we’ve spent around £5,000 making it our own. No major work has been done but we’ve painted walls, bought furniture, hung artwork and gradually added accessories. It’s been a lot of trial and error. We’ve not rushed to paint over every white wall though, as they’re a great backdrop to maximise light and make our colourful furniture, accessories and feature walls really pop.

Although we won’t be here forever, we’re in no hurry to move. We can walk into the city centre in half an hour or to the river in five minutes. I love that every room gets used every day and it’s such a joy and privilege to have our own space where I can express my personality.

make

PAINTED PLANT POTS p56

Kitchen

‘We picked our kitchen from the builder’s options, but by the time it was due to be fitted, the range had been discontinued. As a result, we ended up with a better kitchen for the same price. I love the kitchen, but it needed some colour, so I covered the plain glass splashback behind the oven with mint green tile stickers. That led to matching accessories in minty green. We could’ve got a built-in fridge-freezer but it was cheaper to get a free-standing one instead. In future we might change the sink, tap and handles for a fresh new look, but we’re pretty happy with it for now.’

Steal my style Get Emily’s happy-go-lucky

Pink throw, HomeSense

love we

Cuckoo house clock, Red Candy

‘I’m really glad we went for built-in appliances and having a dishwasher for the first time is a game-changer,’ says Emily. ‘I also love the strip lighting that Jake installed around the base’

Yellow Shell cushion, Mint & May

Style idea

Create a display of your fave cookbooks with picture ledges

IKEA picture ledges hold the couple’s collection of recipe books. ‘We both love cooking,’ says Emily. ‘Jake does all the weekend roasts and dinner parties’

Emily painted a feature wall in Delicate Blossom by Wilko with complementary prints from Etsy. ‘We created a faux foliage wall to liven up the pillar using panels from eBay with more fake plants added in,’ she says

Rather than getting a joiner to create built-in banquette seating, the couple bought flatpack bench seating from Wayfair to save money. ‘It took hours to build, but we were lucky the measurements worked perfectly with the space,’ says Emily. ‘It’s also got handy storage underneath.’ The pair took their time finding the perfect extending table to match. ‘We’ve had eight people sitting around it, but you could probably fit more,’ says Emily. ‘The bench makes it a bit more casual. If someone’s cooking, it’s a lovely place to sit, have a drink and chat.’ An IKEA pendant, found on Facebook Marketplace, finishes off the space. ‘We bought a set of two lights, but they turned out to be much bigger than I’d thought,’ says Emily, ‘so we just sold the other one’.

Dining area

HOW TO... Create banquette seating

Tips for space-saving dining

First, consider the style you’re going for. Do you prefer a rustic, farmhouse look with painted tongue-and-groove panelling, a more minimalist Scandi vibe with vertical wood slats, or perhaps a modern industrial style complete with faux leather upholstery?

If you need to incorporate storage there are several options, from flip-top benches to sliding doors or straightforward cupboard doors underneath. If you don’t have much tall storage in your kitchen, this space can be invaluable for hiding away a brush, mop and bucket, vacuum cleaner or ironing board horizontally.

Most joiners will be able to create made-to-measure bench seating to your exact specifications. This can include upholstered seating and backing. Alternatively, you could ask them to make the wooden base, and then create your own seat pads using just foam, fabric and a staple gun.

You can often save money with flatpack corner bench seating. Wayfair’s Hayley corner bench seat, from £402.49, is a good ready-made option that comes with flip-top storage that you can paint yourself. Alternatively, the Hardy corner bench in tan faux leather from Woods Furniture has both right- and left-facing options with black steel legs for £645 or try the stylish Medina upholstered corner bench from Barker & Stonehouse.

Master bedroom

‘This was the first room we decorated. I didn’t want to paint the whole room and I was a bit bored of feature walls, but I loved the idea of extending the blue onto the ceiling. We got the Next bedding for Christmas from my in-laws, and it was a complete stroke of luck that it matched the walls. Next, we plan to replace the curtains with a full-length design in a similar pink colour. I think it looks more luxurious when they cover the whole wall. I also love the pendant lights as they have a hotel-like feel.’

A navy feature wall brings a calm, sophisticated feel to the main bedroom. ‘I love the blue herringbone cushion from Maemara, that’s made from recycled plastic,’ says Emily

‘I saw some expensive wallpaper that I liked but didn’t think it was a good idea in a bathroom,’ says Emily. ‘Instead, I made a cardboard template using a cup and painted some flowers on the wall. Everyone thinks it’s wallpaper’

Style idea

Paint a section of the ceiling above your bed for a cocoon-like canopy feel

Orange accents have added warmth to the neutral bathroom. ‘All it took was a £1.50 tester pot to transform the window,’ say Emily

The walls have been painted in Copper Blush by Dulux up to threequarter height. ‘We’d bought a lovely scaffold board shelf, but I was worried it was too heavy for the wall,’ says Emily. ‘Instead, we got some lightweight MDF and painted it’

Office

‘We thought about using this room as a guest bedroom, but it seemed a waste to only use the large space occasionally. Since lockdown, we’ve both been working from home most days. We bought IKEA drawers for either side and a kitchen worktop with a support leg for the middle. Luckily it came in a 3m length, exactly the same length as the room. There’s a sofa bed opposite so we can still have guests in here. I’m really pleased we did it. We really like working together in the same room. It’s nice having someone to chat to.’

Bathroom

‘We very rarely use this bathroom, as we have an en suite shower room. I think the paint rollers have had more baths in here than I have! It’s really handy for guests to have their own bathroom though. After choosing neutral wall tiles and flooring from the builder’s options, all we’ve done is put up some shelves and painted an orange stripe around the window. I thought it would be a fun way to add some colour without having to paint the whole room. As I already had an orange print that I loved, it helps tie the colours together. If I was starting from scratch, I’d probably get rid of the plastic bath panel and fit a separate shower.’

WHAT I LEARNED...

I’ve loved learning about the different ways design impacts mood and well-being, as well as the theory behind colours, textures and lighting. Now I’m confident to run with fun ideas because paint can always be changed and I’m more likely to regret playing it safe than trying something a bit more colourful.

If I love something and it makes me smile, I just go for it. I can work out how it fits in with the rest of the décor later.

It’s better to buy decent paint. It’s not actually much more expensive when you factor in how many coats of cheap stuff you might need.