Our living room is ready to party

‘We haven’t used the room much yet, because of lockdown, but this Christmas it’s finally going to be party time!’

‘I love how Farrow & Ball’s Hague Blue looks different throughout the day. When the sun is shining, the wall looks quite bright, but on a dark day it can look almost black, giving the room a completely different vibe. The gold table was a £10 bargain from our local recycling centre shop that sells furniture other people have thrown out’

MY EXPERIENCE

I’d never even seen this place when Gav came home one day and said he’d bought it. To be fair, we were looking to upsize, and I totally trust his judgement. When I finally got to see it, I could see how much potential there was.

We also have a family living room, so we used this space as a temporary kitchen while we did an extension, but when that was finished, I thought about how to decorate. I decided on a sophisticated, grown-up look, full of sumptuous furniture and luxe accessories. A Chesterfield sofa was on my wish list, and I bought this one before we even moved in, so it had to live in my motherin-law’s garage for a few months. The first thing I did was paint the walls in Hague Blue by Farrow & Ball, to create a bit of drama, and then I ripped up the beige carpets. The edges of the floorboards were painted black, which I liked, but, as seems to be the way with older properties, the middle was bare wood, so I covered the whole floor with a dark stain.

I was browsing eBay one day when this amazing retro bar popped up. At £200, it wasn’t the cheapest buy, but I knew it would be perfect in here. I filled the room with colourful cushions and quirky artwork, and my velvet curtains, a £10 bargain buy from Facebook Marketplace, finished off the look. We haven’t used the room much yet, because of lockdown, but this Christmas it’s finally going to be party time!

My shopping list

● For a similar sofa, try the three-seater Purple Chesterfield sofa, £689.99, Beliani ● Zebra patterned rug, £34.99, H&M Home ● Vintage-style Palm Tree floor lamp, £350; Midas bar stools, £185, both Rockett St George ● Large Sketched Female Figure velvet wall hanging, £150, Hilary and Flo ● For a similar mirror, try the Gold Hexagon wall mirror, £36.45, Melody Maison ● Pink Floral print, from £10, @lovesprint ● Walls painted in Farrow & Ball Blue Hague, £49.50 for 2.5L, B&Q ● For a similar cushion, try the Boho Floral Blue and Gold fringe cushion, £29, My Vintage Home ● Attitude art print by Marta Hutt, from £35, Lush Eclectic ● Large multicolour lip print, £38, House Of Neon ● Life Is Short Neon print, from £13, Ink & Drop ● I Came to Boogie wall art, £89.50, Oliver Bonas ● Gold Chunky stem wine glasses, £14 for a set of four, George Home ● For similar champagne glasses, try the Astrid cocktail glasses, £26 for a set of two, Homebase ● For a similar armchair, try the Strandmon Wing chair, £199, IKEA. Turn to p128 for stockist details