3 minute read
‘OUR HOUSE IS 50 SHADES OF
from Fdxcgv
by elloco2019
s fift y shades of PALE!’
Hayley has used warm whites, soft greys and plenty of textured accessories to create a home that’s full of style
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When Luke and I decided to relocate to Cambridgeshire from Bristol we initially moved in with my in-laws,’ says Hayley, ‘as we wanted to build up a deposit to buy our own home. When we finally started house-hunting I imagined living in a period property, but what attracted me to this place was that, although it was a modern house, it had been designed with high ceilings and sash windows, so it didn’t feel like a standard box-like new build. Also, there was no building work to do which also appealed, as by now we’d just got married and wanted to start a family, so didn’t want to embark on a massive renovation.
Accidents will happen
Every room needed an update, especially the kitchen, which was made out of orange pine and had a stained lino floor that always looked dirty. But after a major clean, we replaced the carpets, gave the place a fresh lick of paint and then decided to live with it for a while, as I was now pregnant. But unfortunately one day I left a tap running and flooded the en suite. It had to be completely redone but with a baby on the way we had no spare money, so we decided to do the work ourselves. Luckily, Luke has builders in his family, so he got advice from them, did lots of online research, and then installed a new shower and loo himself. Having got the DIY bug, he then retiled and painted everything, so although the flood was annoying, I got a lovely new en suite far sooner than I expected. We then put the decorating on hold while the children were babies.
Work begins
After a few years we started the renovation again, doing the work ourselves. But we still didn’t have much
SPACE TRICK
‘This room is just a square box, but adding sumptuous furniture, like this oversized bed from Time4Sleep, and the bedside cabinets from Oka, have given the room a luxurious hotel-style vibe’
IDEA TO STEA L ‘Use the designers’ rule of three to hang your prints’
Make it!
PENDANT WALL LAMP
1Select a wooden bracket with pre-drilled holes and find a small shade in proportion to your bracket.
2Choose some cable with a plug, switch and bulb fitting, and check the flex is long enough to reach your socket and bracket.
3Decide on the height and, using the bracket as a guide, drill the holes into the wall. Insert rawl plugs and screw the brackets to the wall.
4Plug in the light fitting and wrap the spare flex around and through the top of the bracket two or three times. Attach the lampshade and bulb. Adjust the flex if necessary.
a new oven and replaced the boiler with a smaller, more efficient version, which we hid behind a fake door, and we replaced the cheap veneer worktops with real wood. The old tiles were white but the grout was all dirty and discoloured so we decided to replace them with new ones, though we chose a vertical design to create a more contemporary look. Then we took off all the doors and repainted them over the course of a few sunny days, and finally added new chrome handles.
Final push
We literally continued from room to room until the house felt finished. I have a huge folder of pages from magazines that I’ve collected and used as inspiration, though I do of course get inspired by social media too. And even though the house is now fifty shades of pale, because of the clever paint choices we used there’s no area that the kids aren’t allowed to go, as even sticky hands can be easily wiped away. Finances did affect our decisions, as I know this isn’t our forever home so I’m conscious of making smart choices, and whereas we could have been a bit more extravagant, there were some compromises that we chose to make to save money. But I love attention to detail and enjoy thinking about how to style my home, and although I do follow and borrow from some of the latest trends, I have hopefully created a unique house with decor that will stand the test of time.’
