AD – This post is a paid collaboration with Trussle

I think you probably know this by now but I spend the majority of my time thinking up ways of making homes look and feel as good as possible on a budget; you could say I am a little obsessed. At home instead of watching the TV, I’m actually staring at the alcoves thinking about budget-friendly storage, instead of chatting at the dinner table I am most probably staring out into the garden thinking of DIY projects to do next year. During lockdown the ideas have been racing around my mind at record pace; the list of projects to update my home is very, very long but the budget is very, very small! It is far too easy to get used to things looking and working a certain way in our homes but with just a few tweaks we can make a dramatic difference.

In my work as an interior designer, I am constantly handing out little interior design tricks here, bits of advice there, as well as putting them into practice in my own home. That is why I am very excited to be pulling all of my tips to update and renovate on a budget into one piece for fee-free online mortgage broker, Trussle. Now more than ever after months of lockdown, we want to make changes after spending so much time at home. You can read my 9 Ways to Update your Home Interiors on a Budget now.

However, it is an uncertain time – with 1.8 million homeowners on a mortgage holiday and the end of the furlough scheme approaching – so many of us are looking to cut down on our outgoings where we can. Since the lockdown began, Trussle has seen a huge leap in enquiries for remortgages, with Trussle’s customers saving an average of £344 a month by remortgaging to a more suitable deal.

If you’re a homeowner wanting to make some improvements to your home but need to make some savings, why not see if you can remortgage to a better deal and cut down on your monthly outgoings? Trussle’s new remortgage calculator for homeowners shows you how much you could save and it compares the latest deals on the market every day,  alerting you if it’s time to switch your mortgage to a more suitable deal.

And what if you want to sell? There have been reports of a rise in property searches since the end of the property market freeze and with the stamp duty holiday announcement. With this in mind, homeowners need to make changes to add as much value as possible to their property, ensuring it looks great whilst spending as little as possible on renovations.

This is where I come in. I have shared lots of ideas for updating our homes post-lockdown to make them feel more spacious and more organised, as well as things we can do to make our homes feel more like us and less generic. I’ve also been looking at ways to fit in a home office whether that’s in a bedroom or living room. And for anyone who needs to do some budget friendly DIY to add value in order to sell, I have lots of advice on the best ways to do that, from quick and easy kitchen updates to bigger DIY projects that will make a dramatic impact when it comes to putting your house on the market. You can read my guide here.

As for me, I plan to carry on with our renovation inside after our huge lockdown effort in the garden. First up is a quick update in the living room by painting inexpensive laminate cupboards, next comes sanding the hallway floor and maybe the stairs (I’ve been dreading that job!) and then I will be moving on to some DIY wardrobes for the bedroom.

I hope my guide to budget friendly ways to improve your home will be useful for you whether you are planning changes to make your home work better for you or whether you want to sell. There are also lots of ideas that can be used if you don’t own a home and rent so please do take a look.

Katy x

Where do you stand on wallpaper? I feel like it’s something people either love or hate. I absolutely love it and have been longing since we moved here to wallpaper all of downstairs, the hallway above the dado rail as well as the spare room. However, wallpapering is not something I would feel confident about doing myself – I’m quite a slap dash DIYer and I don’t think that would work well with expensive wallpaper. It costs a lot and it can’t be changed anywhere near as easily as paint can be. I am 100% sure that I want a beautiful bay leaf design paper from Sandberg for our living room. I ordered samples last year and I still love it and have even started making decor decisions in my living room based on the idea that I will one day have it!

The Karolina paper is similar to the William Morris paper Willow Boughs that I have always loved and Brigette Romanek’s bathroom is up there as my favourite ever with this gorgeous wallpaper:

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Brigette Romanek (@brigetteromanek) on May 3, 2020 at 2:15pm PDT

I stopped in to my sister’s new house that is being renovated this week (see the post I wrote with the before photos and floor plan here) and she has chosen some very bold wallpapers. I particularly love these Ottoline wallpaper designs; the black and white paper is in my sister’s bedroom and the colourful pattern is in my niece’s bedroom. I can’t wait to see these rooms finished.

Elsewhere in the house a soft chalky pink with a good dose of brown has been used downstairs and that also runs upstairs into the bathroom, which creates a lovely warm ambience.

The other place my sister has chosen wallpaper is above the dado rail in the hallway, which is something I have always wanted to do in my own home. I love the idea of something dramatic to go with the Inchyra Blue on the woodwork (you can see some very early pictures of our hallway in this post, which was shortly after we moved in so it looks a bit different now). I recently discovered Mitchell Black designs and I think his Orange Grove wallpaper would be amazing in our hallway. I’ve also lusted after this print for ages:

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by MAIJU SAW / Maiju Saha (@maiju_saw) on Nov 2, 2019 at 4:20am PDT

Anyway, just some random wallpaper rambling for you this week until the day comes when I can actually get it up on the walls!

Katy x

Hello, hello! I have to be honest and say that I have completely dropped all of the balls in the childcare/work juggle of late and the thought of painting a wall (albeit just half a wall) would tip me over the edge right now! I actually did this mini-makeover a few weeks back when I was pumped with motivation for the garden and we were in the middle of a long break waiting for deck boards so I turned my hand to Mimi’s room in my frustration to get things moving. I do not predict any more projects until schools re-open, believe me.

Ahyhoo, if you remember I had started doing a big shift around in Mimi’s room pre-lockdown to transform it from a baby’s room to a toddler’s room. I am SO pleased that I did do this because her room has been a little sanctuary for her over the last months of being at home all of the time and it has worked perfectly as a place to play rather than just a place to sleep and dress, which it had been before. I had intended to do a big re-decoration project in here BUT I decided a quick fix would have to do using only what I had at home already (as this was during full lockdown) just to make the room feel more ‘finished’ after changing up the furniture.

I had a load of holes to fill where I had removed shelves, which meant getting paint out so I decided to paint half of the wall in the same colour as the woodwork as I had left Light Blue Estate Emulsion from my bedroom. I hoped the colour would unify the room more as it felt disjointed and jumbled since I changed the furniture around (often a problem when you disturb an existing ‘scheme’). So, this is how I did it…

Use frog tape (the green) to mark where you want your line to reach. I used a tape measure to mark the height of my line at several points along the wall and then used those marks to help me place the tape.

There is no right or wrong on how high the line should be – I was guided by the IKEA Trofast cabinet on the wall as I didn’t want to paint too near that and it ended up 105cm from the top of the skirting board. When you are in the middle of lockdown and you run out of frog tape switch to normal decorator’s tape (blue) and it will work just as well! Make sure the tape is stuck down really well to the wall on the bottom edge where you paint up to as this is where you don’t want paint to creep beneath. Good tip for painting is to line your roller tray with foil so you can throw this away at the end and avoid cleaning out the tray.

I always think three thin coats in better than two thick coats – the first coat you can see above is very thin as I think my old paint was watered down for the last job it was used for – and thin coats dry much quicker too. Roll or brush down the wall so you don’t end up pushing paint beneath the tape.

It took me a total of about two hours start to finish (I’m not one for leaving paint to dry as long as it should do!) and it really has helped to unify the room and make it feel a bit more interesting.

There was a play kitchen here but I swapped it out for this children’s table and Olli Ella Pollie shelf that had been in our living room and since relegated to the loft. Mimi wasn’t playing with the kitchen at all but she’s suddenly really into colouring in and drawing so this works perfectly. I’ll get the kitchen down from the loft in a few months time and it will be like Christmas 😉

The other big change was swapping the white rug that we had in here that was from her first nursery in our flat for this round jute rug (PR sample). There were two reasons for this: firstly, the colour and texture is much more forgiving and doesn’t show up mess and dirt and secondly, I think it helps make the room feel more grounded and less airy fairy baby style.

I layered the jute rug with another mat that I bought from H&M a while back and had downstairs in Mimi’s play area just to add a bit more interest (it is no longer sold in H&M but try this one). We also took down her fabric canopy as she asked me to (sob!) so I took the opportunity to put up some shelves in the alcoves using some old inserts from a book shelf that we had in the loft and some very old brackets (don’t look too closely as they have been in the outdoor storage boxes and are very stained). I kept a bit of pink with the OYOY duvet cover (PR sample), which is currently out of stock but try this blush pink duvet cover set instead if you are looking for something similar.

The thing that has kept her occupied more than anything the last few months is this fancy dress corner. By positioning one of the IKEA Trofast units at a right angle to the wall I created a cosy corner for her fancy dress bits, which are in the drawers as well as the rail. She chose this cute OYOY leopard rug (PR sample) to go in this corner (it’s actually out of stock but this lion rug is similar) and it’s nice to have more neutral colours instead of all the sickly sweet pinks that had been creeping into the room 😉

I would still like to paint the secondhand wardrobe a nice vibrant colour maybe taking a colour from the princess and pea poster but the change of rug has really helped to make the room feel more grown up.

I’m really pleased with how much more functional the room is for her now; there is space to play, storage for toys, and everything is accessible so she has complete control.

Mimi now has a completely accessible bookshelf, a desk for drawing, a storage unit for toys and a dressing up corner whereas before it was just a big chest of drawers along this wall for clothes.

I’m quite pleased with that for two hours work and I think we’ll leave it at that until she’s five or so other than adding some prints for the walls. We will then pass her bed onto my new niece and get her a bunk bed so that she can have sleepovers…eeek!

Katy x

I first came across Siobhan’s home mid-renovation. I think I had searched for a paint colour and up came one of her rooms and I fell in love with the bare bones of her home that she featured on her Instagram @home__stead. As time went on and she and her husband finished off room after room I loved every single detail that they added and it became a huge source of inspiration for me (she was the first person I asked for advice when choosing a white for my bedroom!). Siobhan’s use of whites and neutrals is so skilful and enables her to create the perfect warm and welcoming backdrop for her beautiful antique finds and characterful furniture and unexpected additions like the Willow Boughs wallpaper and Bancha Green provide the perfect contrast. Siobhan has very kindly sent over some of her gorgeous Instagram shots and is going to tell us a little more about her home and how she has made it so beautiful. I hope you love it as much as I do.

How long have you lived in your home and what made you decide to buy it?

We bought & moved into this house in July 2017. Location was the number one attraction when buying this property. After relocating to Edinburgh from Ireland almost 9 years ago for work we have always lived in the west side of the city. We have lots of amenities on our doorstep, good schools, shops, cafes, etc. & we are only a 20 minute walk from the city centre. Also close to airport (Rory travelled a lot for work at the time so that was important). The size was also perfect for us. We were a family of 3 when we moved in & had started to outgrow our 2 bed apartment. We needed more space. House prices in the area are expensive so if we wanted to stay nearby we had to take on a property that needed a lot of work which we could undertake ourselves. This house was perfect for us (& nobody else wanted it!! It was THAT bad!!). 

What was your vision for your home and how much work did you do yourselves?

Prior to the moving day we started working alongside a kitchen designer at Howdens to come up with a layout to best suit the space. We knew the first thing we wanted to do was to take down the wall between the two rooms to create one big open plan family kitchen/diner. Once this was done we could visualise how the space was going to come together! It is a north facing room & because of its function it was important to us that it didn’t feel cold or dark. Taking down the wall helped us to achieve this as best we could.  Bringing things back to their former glory is important to us. We have reinstating the vestibule, mantlepiece in the bedrooms, Edinburgh presses, etc. We also painstakingly stripped & sanded the staircase back to bare wood.  We undertook all of the work ourselves except for plumbing, electrical work & plastering. 

What colours have you used in your home and why did you choose them?

I love colour but I prefer a neutral back drop to spaces we use on a daily basis. Our colour pallet consists of mostly green based neutrals, these give a feeling of calm & cleanliness (Wimborne White, Slipper Satin, School House White, Shadow White, Shaded White & Hardwick White – Farrow & Ball). It isn’t a big house so I wanted to keep the pallet simple & introduce colour in accessories ie painted furniture & soft furnishing. I have accented with blues, greens, pinks, mustard & rust. I  have used some statement colours in small spaces like the Studio Green partition in the vestibule. Inchyra Blue under the stairs & Bancha in the utility room. 

How do you add character and personality to your home whilst using lots of neutrals and whites?

We retained lots of character in the ornate cornice, the picture rail & the architrave. We also have sash & case windows, an Edinburgh press in most rooms, a wooden staircase & the beautiful glass cupula on the landing. We also uncovered the original fireplace & tiled hearth & the original Edwardian floor tiles in the vestibule. I have always loved the William Morris wallpaper ‘Willow Boughts’ & decided to use it in the vestibule where it can be appreciate by everyone who comes to our door. I love anything old! Be it an enamel bowl or a great big chesterfield. I quite like to mix old & new. I like using free standing furniture & I am always on the look out for the perfect piece. I enjoy moving furniture around the house & painting it in a muted tone to give it a new lease of life. 

What items do you prioritise spending money on when decorating a home and where do you think you can scrimp?

We spent a lot of money in the beginning having the whole house rewired & then a few walls skimmed. We also spent a lot on salvaged cast iron radiators (purely for aesthetically reasons but we are so glad we splurged on them in the beginning). We had a wood burning stove fitted. This was life changing during the cold winter months. We actually scrimped on flooring. We exposed the original pine floorboards, sanded them back & treated them with a product called Treatex to take the yellow tones out & used a hard wax oil on top for durability. & sanded them back & waxed them using a product called Treatex. We painted a runner in the stairs using Farrow & Ball a Modern Eggshell in a Hardwick White. 

What or who influences your style?

I would describe my style as an eclectic mix of old & new. I am greatly influenced by Scandinavian design. I love classic Scandinavian furniture with elements of old furniture. 

What’s your next project in your home?

The next room we are going to tackle is the wet room that we plan on building into a space gained from the hallway/kitchen. I am very excited about this as we will be designing from scratch again. It will be a small space with no natural light, however I will opt for keeping it an off white to create a clean & calm space. 

Thank you so much, Siobhan! Do pop over to Siobhan’s Instagram @home__stead for more info on the paint colours in each room (check out her highlights).

Katy x

My new work shift is 6.30-9am before I take over childcare for the day and I’m finding it very difficult to focus this morning and just not sure what to write about. For lack of inspiration I’m bringing you the second part of the blog post about what we did to our internal doors. If you missed it the first part of the blog post is here. Today I want to cover how I decided whether to paint the doors or leave them bare and how you paint doors different colours on each side.

To paint or not to paint

To make the decision you need to ask your this question:

1. Do you love your doors? Are they a feature you want to emphasise?

NO: My advice would be to paint them the same colour as the woodwork and walls in your home. This is the best way to make them ‘disappear’. I did this in my old flat as the doors were a horrible veneered wood and it made such a difference:

YES: If you do love your doors and want to make them a real feature then I would advise either leaving them bare wood or painting them a different colour to the walls. That is what we have done in our current home and it has worked so well. Originally I had planned to paint all of the doors but when they came back from being stripped (see more about the stripping process here) I was able to see the texture and the tone of the wood for the first time and I fell in love with them so I changed my mind and decided a mix of painted and bare doors would work well.

Where to go bare

I chose to leave our bathroom door bare wood because I knew the room would be very white and have a tiled floor so it would be lacking texture and warmth. A bare wooden door with this type of decor is perfect. If you have a room that needs more of a balance in terms of texture and warmth, the door is a good place to start. We also have bare doors in our hallway (on the hallway side only). The hallway is painted in a very dark colour below the dado rail and there are three doors going off a very small space that doesn’t get much light so I decided that to paint the doors as well in Inchyra Blue may have been overwhelming and made the space feel dark and closed in. So think about the colour, how much light and the number of doors in one space you have when deciding if it’s right to paint. In many cases leaving the doors bare can be a good way to break up colour or lighten a space.

Choosing a colour:

Once you’ve decided it’s right to paint a door you need to consider a few different things when selecting colours.

• what is the overall palette of colours in the house? Do you want to tone in or make a bold statement?
• how many doors are there in the room? If you have lots of doors (like in my old hallway) be very aware that painting all of them in a contrasting colour will be very ‘noisy’.
• if you choose to paint the door different colours on each side what will the exterior colour look like when it is opened up into the room? You need to consider whether you are happy with how the ‘exterior’ colours look with the ‘interior’ room they open on to.
• are there wardrobe/cupboard doors in the room? If you have fitted wardrobes, for example, think about whether you want to paint these the same colour as the door to help unify the room.

In my house, I chose to use Inchyra Blue, which is a very dark colour, in the hallway below the dado rail as well as on all of the doors on the landing side upstairs. I wanted the hallway to be quite dark so that opening up onto all of the bright rooms would be that bit more impactful. Therefore, I didn’t want to use Inchyra Blue on the room side of the doors as I wanted to use much lighter colours so I chose to use different colours on each side of the doors: Light Blue on the living room and kitchen doors as well as in Mimi’s room, Brilliant White in my room (due to change at some point, I think) and Shaded White in the spare room. In each room I was happy that Inchyra Blue toned in well with the ‘interior’ colours as we have our doors open a lot. By painting the doors the same colour as all of the woodwork they have become a feature and added a dose of colour in just the right amount.

How to paint the door frame if the door is different colours on each side

A question I have been asked a lot is at what point do you stop painting with one colour and start using the second colour if you choose two different colours for your door. There really is no right or wrong here but the convention is pretty tricky to explain so bear with me!

The theory is that from the landing if the door is open you see as little of Light Blue as possible because the hinge edge is Inchyra Blue and that’s what you see when the door opens. From the bedroom side if the door is slightly open you see as much Light Blue as possible and as little Inchyra Blue as possible as the lock edge is Light Blue. Does that make any sense?? It’s such a tough thing to explain. There is a diagram in this post about How to paint a statement door that may help a bit more.

I hope some of these thoughts help if you are debating what to do with your doors. I also hope that everyone is managing to stay well.

Katy x