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At home with:
Charlotte Turner
High-end interior designer Charlotte Turner has a relentless passion for turning houses into homes. She creates timeless, custom interiors that can be enjoyed practically, while also achieving the wow factor. Most of Charlotte’s clients remain confidential, but she specialises in creating luxury residential homes across the UK, priding herself on her designs that result in long-standing client relationships. She talks to Lynda Clark about her career, her long-term plans and gives some advice on how to decorate a home on a budget Photos: Mike Prior FTB: Have you taken that first step on the property ladder? CT: At the moment I am renting, but I will soon be house hunting for a home around the Cheshire area, which is very exciting. I was living in a two bedroom apartment in Altrincham, but I needed more space for my office. I am now renting a four bedroom house, which is lovely and actually costs the same in rent as the apartment did! I can also have my little dog, Hennessey, live here with me – life just wouldn’t be the same without my pet. FTB: How did you start in the world of interiors? CT: I was an avid viewer of Changing Rooms on the BBC when I was younger and was constantly re-decorating my bedroom.
My poor mum had to live with lime green walls and once I painted it with navy blue spots! Eventually I did my degree in interior design, but a lot of what we did was for commercial properties and I have always been interested in working in residential homes. Actually, my lecturer told me there was no money to be made in residential,
which of course is quite wrong! I needed to get some work experience and a friend had contacts in an interiors company in Alderley Edge and they offered me a position. I started right at the bottom and worked on things like organising 50 shades of white samples and getting them in order. It was very good grounding though, and eventually
“I DECIDED THAT I HAD LEARNT EVERYTHING I NEEDED TO AND DECIDED TO START OUT ON MY OWN. IT WAS A BIG DECISION, BUT LOOKING BACK I THINK IT WAS COMPLETELY THE RIGHT ONE”
14 First Time Buyer October/November 2021
FTB 14-15 At Home With October-November21.indd 14
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