‘I like mixing VINTAGE AND NEW'

By introducing colour through artwork, painting and furniture hacks, Jen has given her bland new build a vibrant fresh look full of personality

- ZOE BISHOP

COME ON IN!

ABOUT ME I’m Jen Watkins, 35, a sales director in the beauty industry and artist. I live here with my three children, Rowan, 12, and twin boys Arthur and Oscar, seven, and our dog, Dottie, and cat, Saffy.

MY HOME Our home is a five-bed detached new-build property in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire. We moved here in June 2017.

WHEN WE MOVED IN As this was a new house it was very white, clean and neat, and lacked character.

AND NOW It’s taken six years of constant evolving, by painting walls, then repainting, adding colour through fabric, texture, lighting, wall prints, and building up a collection of vintage and quirky accessories that have helped the house feel like a home. I like using a mix of modern, vintage, old and new.

When I first moved into this house back in 2017 it was because the boys were growing up fast, and I wanted a home that would grow with our needs,’ says Jen. ‘I loved the style of this house, as it offered lots of space, especially the open-plan layout downstairs and the walk-in wardrobe was a big draw for me!

I work from home some days, so the house needed to offer enough rooms that I could use as an office space, guest room for family and all be very versatile. I have a passion for interiors, finding inspiration through Pinterest and Instagram, so having a white canvas as a backdrop didn’t frighten me at all. I’m very eclectic and I’m not concerned about things clashing, having my own maximalist style, so I was ready to get going.

Starting from scratch