I could not believe it when the Interior Designer Abigail Ahern contacted me to say that they would like to feature my home on her blog House Crush. I guess I love her style because it features so many elements that I too am crazy about, mainly coloured walls, dramatic looks with a lot of eccentricity and personality.
I think about colour quite a lot, I'm constantly wondering why it makes me feel a certain way and I tend to pick up on the odd psychologists interpretations of this. Some colours can actually make you happy, seeing them releases Dopermine, the building block to motivation. The most powerful colour for this is Green so it's not surprising that we like to have plants in the house.
Last week I made more changes as I have a magazine coming to photograph the house and wanted to try some new looks. Also some things just need replacing like the hall carpet, particularly after I dropped black paint on it! ooops !
I painted the hall landing white, its a small landing at the top of the stairs with absolutely no character whatsoever. My home was built in the 1980s and because it looks Victorian from the outside, nestled between cottages dating back to the 1600's, I have made it my mission to introduce character to a very boring square featureless home. Adding floorboards, fireplaces, cornice, shutters etc.
So back to the white landing, well my other half said it looked clean and bright, but I just couldn't stand it. The white, I realised, emphasized how boring it was, and no amount of fancy cupboards of pictures were going to convince me otherwise.
Being a person of extremes, naturally my first thought was to go the complete opposite. So I reached for a tin of Graphite paint and slapped it on, much to the horror of the other half. Luckily for me two very stylish girlfriends have been here in the last few days and both commented on how fabulous it was, so the other half is now convinced that perhaps, yes, we are bang on trend!
This transformation from white to black made me realise why the dramatic works so well for me in this house. It's not just about my personal taste, but about the rooms themselves.
My dream home would be one with high ceilings, original features, some wood paneling, fireplaces in every room, a grand staircase .... yes you get the picture. But when you buy a house, compromises have to be made, location is the most important because you can change the inside but not the outside or the positioning.
I think if I had a lovely Edwardian or Georgian town house I would go with white walls to showcase the space and the features, but when you are adding your own features and looks, colour and drama are essential in my book.
I turned a small back bedroom into the bathroom, knocking through to a bathroom that you couldn't swing a cat in. The claw foot bath wasn't expensive, I got it on-line at one of those discount warehouses. After a few years I painted the bath with chalk paint, and then copper leafed over that, I just love those humungously expensive free standing copper baths, but well, that wasn't going to happen, so I created my own version. I hate showers, Im a lay in the bath person, with all my toiletries and candles around me, some art on the wall ... I live slow.
You can see more of my home and little styled vignettes over at the amazing website caled At Mine, where you can also see into the homes of people all over the world.
Thanks for taking the time to read, if you like my photos theres plenty more over on Instagram. Lots of love xxx
