I’ve transformed my rented home Hazel used wall murals to completely overhaul her bland living room

Wall murals have

TRANSFORMED THIS ROOM

Keen to style up the bland décor in her rented home, Hazel Carruthers hasn’t let being a tenant limit her vision for a moody exotic-inspired living room

As she’s not a fan of matching suites, Hazel picked a mustard yellow sofa, emerald green love seat and coral chair from dierent stores. To make it work, they all have velvet upholstery in common and the mustard sofa’s wooden legs were sprayed gold to match the others

About me

I’m Hazel Carruthers, owner of Avalana Design @avalana.design, which specialises in wallpaper murals, cushions, lampshades and art prints. I rent a three-bed 1930s semi in Astley, Manchester, with my ancé, Derek Simpson, and our dogs, Zak, Deggy and Vinny. My room...

MY PROBLEM LIVING ROOM As I design wallpaper, the rst thing that had to go was the dated Laura Ashley cream and lilac oral wallpaper in the alcoves. I also wanted to ditch the cream curtains, which cut o the bay window and made the room feel smaller. The landlord’s chunky brown leather sofas dominated the space too, so I made sure he didn’t leave them behind when we moved in!

HOW I MADE IT WORK I started with an Eastern-style wall mural then brought out the rich jewel tones with an emerald green love seat, mustard sofa and coral chair, all in velvet. Gold accessories, black bamboo lanterns and animal print cushions really lift the space.

MY FAVOURITE PART It’s got to be the dining area with the mural behind. We love eating there with lamps and candles lit. It feels like we could be in a little boutique restaurant somewhere.

Before

Style idea Layer up large and smaller-sized rugs to disguise a bland carpet

‘If you start with a piece of art or wallpaper, as long as you stick to the tones of that colour palette you can get away with any print on soft furnishings’

TOTAL £4,000

Style advice

Three simple tricks to try in your home

MAKE REVERSIBLE CHANGES

Removing the heavy cream curtains has made space for an emerald green velvet love seat, which matches the dining chairs. ‘To make the window area tie in with the Japanese feel, I asked the blind tter to create a shutter says Hazel. ‘And I picked furniture with gold legs to tie everything together.’ Animal prints and botanicals make for a failsafe combination in the space, while elements of black give the new-look living room a designer luxe look. ‘Our landlord is happy for us to decorate, as long as we change it back before we leave,’ says Hazel. ‘I’d love to go dark, but the last thing you want to do when you move out is paint ve coats of white emulsion. Luckily, the wall mural can be peeled o in panels so it’s much less hassle and it could even be reapplied elsewhere. As renters, it’s a good idea to invest in things that you can easily take with you – like accessories – that will work

CREATE A COORDINATED LOOK

eect by adding black tape,’ in another space.’

TRY YOUR HAND AT UPCYCLING An IKEA bookcase, which doubles as a TV unit, has been completely revamped with gold spray paint. Hazel also sprayed the grey IKEA boxes in black and gold leafed the handles for a designer look. ‘You can’t go wrong with black and gold, which always looks more expensive than it is,’ says Hazel. ‘I’ve even given Clive the skull a makeover. Originally a white money bank from Urban Outtters, he’s now champagne gold and has been decorated with black glitter henna art so he ties in with the rest of the scheme perfectly.’

‘A holiday in Costa Rica – with its rich natural habitat – inspired my first wallpaper and fabric collection’

Hazel had a piece of reclaimed wood cut to size and stained to nish o the replace. She also splurged on a gold window mirror as it was the perfect size for this spot

The couple ditched their old grey sofa as the space needed a pop of cheerful colour to break up the grey mural behind. They opted for a coral feature wall to pick out the colour of the lilies and birds from the other mural opposite

Style idea Add a large mirror in a north-facing room to bounce light around

MY EXPERIENCE

After starting Avalana Design in 2018, we moved from Salford to this larger rented house further out of Manchester. The living room was rst on the agenda as it’s where we spend most of our time. I wanted somewhere that would double as a showroom and meeting space where I could show o my products.

Installing one of my newly launched murals across the alcoves and chimney breast was my rst job. The design was inspired by ancient Eastern art with great blue herons wading through a lily pond. Because of that, there’s a nod to Japanese and Chinese styles throughout the room. As it’s north-facing, the golden tones and raw silk textures bring a much-needed rich warmth.

Next, I bought a golden mustard sofa, emerald green love seat and coral chair to add pops of colour. Having three dierent backdrops works well for my business photography. I also created a dining zone by mixing up a table and chairs from dierent sets, upcycled an IKEA shelving unit and put up a wooden beam above the replace. I’m also planning to upcycle my drinks cabinet and switch up the grey rug to a bold geometric design.

Starting a business has been an exciting journey and I’ve enjoyed collaborating with other local makers on footstools and a luxurious dog bed, which are two of my favourite features in the living room. In the future, I’d love to donate a percentage of sales to conservation charities too. Although our priority is saving up for our wedding next year, I can’t wait until I own a house and can do whatever I want!

My shopping list

¯Black and Gold Orient wall mural, £285 per 7.5 sq m; Monochrome

Jaguar wall mural, £285 per 7.5 sq m; cushions, £105 each; art prints, from £32, all Avalana Design ¯Feature wall painted in Burnt Copper matt emulsion, £12 for 2.5l, Wickes ¯Avalana Design Golden Orient footstool,

£495, Loose Button

¯Avalana Design luxury pet bed, £450, Milo & Bertie ¯ For a similar table, try the Rhode Island small dining table, £149.97,

Furniture123 ¯For a similar dining chair, try the Genesis Metis chair in

Bistro Green, £54.95, RayGar Direct ¯ Leopard Deco fan cushion, £115,

May Rose Vintage ¯Ritz Light Grey rug, £352, RugVista

¯For a similar zebra rug, try the Kalispell Zebra rug, £83.99, Wayfair ¯ For a similar mirror, try the Rose Gold Pebble mirror, £65, Oliver Bonas ¯NYMÖ lampshade, £22, IKEA ¯Brass Tribal bison head, £79, The House of Beau ¯Monkey

tealight holder, £16, Dunelm ¯Edit Sitting Monkey Gold table lamp,

£69.99, Lighting Direct ¯Rattan eye mirror, £15.99, Yes I Want It