‘I future-proofed our home with a timeless colour palette’ Bryony

floor, which had already been sanded, but wanted to give the whole house a paint job as there were strong colours everywhere. ‘The living room was bright teal, and our bedroom was a mustard yellow – not awful but not what we wanted in our home, as we prefer a softer, more muted look,’ says Bryony.

TIMELESS APPEAL

The first thing the couple did was decorate the living room, choosing timeless colours with a view to future-proofing their home. ‘If, down the line, we want a new look, all we have to change are the accessories rather than redecorating the whole room,’ Bryony explains. They chose Down Pipe and Pavilion Grey by Farrow & Ball to give the room a sophisticated look and did all the painting themselves. ‘We both enjoy it. We tend to earmark a weekend for it and get the work done in one go.’

When the couple first moved in, there was a wall where the open stairs are now, which made the room feel dark. ‘We were sat having dinner one evening, discussing how to brighten the room, and Mark started knocking on the wall because he thought it might be a stud wall that could come down fairly easily,’ says Bryony. ‘I’d also seen some images of under-stairs cupboards with panelling, which not only looked really useful, but also seemed like a stylish way to store our shoes and coats. So, we got a carpenter to remove the wall, attach a bannister and build in the cupboards to my design.’ THRICE AS NICE

Use the designers’ rule of three like Bryony has done, to add interest and balance when you hang prints on the wall

DINING ROOM

Bryony and Mark made the dining table and bench themselves. ‘We liked the rustic look of scaffold board tables, but they were too expensive,’ explains Bryony. ‘So we sourced cheap boards from a reclamation centre, fixed them together, then attached the legs – they were the most expensive part, but it only cost about £150 to make both’

OUR MUST HAVES Symbols rug, £195, Habitat. A-frame industrial legs, £140 for two, The Hairpin Leg Company. Nova large ceiling light, £100, Matalan. Pax rattan dining chairs, £169 for two, Dunelm. Seat cushions, £9.99 each, H&M Home THE POWER OF PAINT

When it came to the bathroom, Bryony admits there wasn’t much they could do, as the room is so small. That didn’t mean she couldn’t give it a splash of colour, though. ‘It was all too beige for my liking,’ she says. ‘So, we gave it a budget update by painting the walls green. We also painted the tiles white using a specialist tile paint, which, since we did it two years ago, has lasted really well.’

Then, during lockdown, the couple decided to give the kitchen an update. ‘We initially considered knocking through to the summer room to create a large, open-plan space, as I would have loved an island for when friends come over, but the costs and quotes kept spiralling. Although it’s not a huge room, the kitchen is actually designed well, so we

This space is bright and sociable; perfect for entertaining. ‘We would have liked an open-plan kitchen with an island at the heart of it,’ says Bryony, ‘but with the cost of materials and building works rising, we decided to stick with the original layout’

decided to paint the cabinets to give it a new look on a budget,’ says Bryony. ‘We painted the cream cabinets a soft green, but as soon as we’d finished, the paint started peeling off. We’d used the wrong primer, so had to sand it all back and start again, which was a pain. But it needed to be done and the makeover only took a couple of days – as we were in lockdown anyway, we had the time.’

The final update was the spare room, which was another lockdown project. ‘The room still had the pink walls, horrible old carpet and red velvet curtains from when we first moved in, so we decided to give the whole room a complete overhaul. We ripped the carpet up and then sanded the floor, which turned out to be a nightmare,’ explains Bryony. ‘It was a really hard job, especially as we only had a little electric hand sander and dust literally got everywhere, but the final effect was worth it.’ Then, the couple added the beautiful William Morris wallpaper that Bryony had spotted while browsing online. ‘It’s a bold pattern and I worried it might overwhelm the room. It was also really expensive, so we decided to just put it along one wall,’ she explains. ‘Although I still want to give the summer room a refresh, and maybe sand the bedroom floors, I’m really proud and happy with how we’ve transformed this house, especially as we’ve done most of the work ourselves.’

HALLWAY

‘Opening up this space was a game-changer,’ says Bryony. ‘I love the fact that we can now see through to the gallery wall that I’m gradually building on the staircase’

OUR MUST HAVES Estate emulsion in Inchyra Blue, £52 per 2.5L, Farrow & Ball. For a similar mirror try Wareham window pane mirror, £94.99, Wayfair. Bekvam step stool, £29, IKEA

Bryony has created a lovely dressing table area for herself in the spare alcove, choosing an inlay table and elegant velvet and gold chair to add to the eclectic look in this room

MAIN BEDROOM

The original bedroom had bright mustard-coloured walls and the fireplace was black, which didn’t fit with Bryony and Mark’s relaxed, sophisticated vibe. Bryony covered up the yellow with Home and Hearth by Valspar, then painted the fireplace in Farrow & Ball’s Down Pipe, left over from the living room, to soften the scheme

OUR MUST HAVES Luxe Duck Egg velvet chair, £275, Oliver Bonas. For a similar headboard try Josephine rattan headboard, £179, Tikamoon. Just Happy to Be Here print, £39, Fy!. Svenshult metal wall shelf, £15, IKEA

BLENDING IN

Take a leaf out of Bryony’s book and disguise plain shelves by painting them the same colour as the walls