The wish list

After living in an apartment, we were so ready to move into a larger home. When we stumbled across this one, we loved the generous size of the rooms and the high ceilings. With two young children we weren’t looking for a project that needed a total renovation so this new-build was perfect.

The house was pretty much all magnolia so I couldn’t wait to start decorating. We began upstairs with the girls’ rooms and worked our way down the house.

Three years after moving in, we tackled the kitchen, which was probably the biggest job as we knocked down a wall to make one space. I found an affordable Shaker-style kitchen in Magnet, which we customised with handles, taps and worktops we bought separately. It saved us a lot of money and gave the space a designer look. Next, we put in bi-fold doors to the garden, which are especially great during the summer months.

It took a while to put personality into this house and I made a few mistakes with colour along the way. It was during a holiday to Miami that I got my inspiration when I fell in love with the bold décor of the area. Instead of bringing back souvenirs, I returned with a love of colour and pattern. Since I’ve been braver in my home, it’s really taken shape. The palm-print wallpaper is the latest addition inspired by our trip.

The kitchen was inspired by The Colony Hotel in Palm Beach. The sage units complement the green palm-print wallpaper that Kel has used for a striking feature wall

Welcome TO MY HOME

A BIT ABOUT ME I’m Kel Harmer, a stylist and founder of award-winning interiors blog, Oh So Kel. I run creative workshops specialising in tablescaping and I’ve just launched an online interior shop too, ohsokel.com/ store. I live here with my husband, Dan, our two daughters, Isla, nine and Emmie, five, and our Goldendoodle, Cosmo.

WHERE I LIVE Our home is a five-bed new-build in Portishead, near Bristol, and we’ve lived here for six years. I post home updates on my Instagram @ohsokel.

WHAT I WANTED TO CHANGE The ground floor was split into a separate dining room and kitchen but I wanted an open-plan space that was better for our family, and then to add colour and my personality throughout.

HOW I MADE IT MY OWN We put in a new kitchen and created a built-in seating area at one end with lots of hidden storage. This allowed us to transform the old dining room into our family living room. I’ve decorated in pastels and neutrals with metallic accents and filled the rooms with a mix of on-trend pieces from the high street.

MY FAVOURITE PART The kitchen-diner with bi-fold doors out to the garden is the hub of our home. We love to entertain here for special dinners, BBQs and kids’ birthday parties.