'We made our rental into a handmade home'
Your Home|November 2024
By buying up bargain leftover paint and making her own furniture, Kanza Borthwick has shown that you don’t have to break the bank to transform a rented new-build into a unique and beautiful home
Lisa Moses
'We made our rental into a handmade home'

‘Looking for a rental during the pandemic was really tricky,’ says Kanza Borthwick, who goes on to explain, ‘myself and my husband, Alex, were initially living in the centre of Durham but we were keen to move out of the city and get closer to nature.’ The couple were viewing as many places as possible but finding a property with the countryside environment they longed for was tough.

‘Luckily, we finally found a place in a location we loved and managed to move in between lockdowns,’ she says. The couple would have preferred a period property but couldn’t find one within their budget. However, Kanza adds, ‘this place was clean, which is so important when looking at rentals, and it was a blank canvas, being a new build, so was basically full of plain white boxes waiting for us to put our stamp on them.’

Kanza and Alex initially worried about the possible difficulties of injecting the character and cosy aesthetic they both love into the bland space, as Kanza admits they were decorating novices. ‘Our DIY journey started with the dining table,’ she begins.

‘We like to entertain, but the kitchen is small, and we struggled to find a table that could work in the space and seat six people, so we decided to try and make something ourselves.’ After doing some research, Kanza and Alex came up with the ingenious design of combining a narrow wooden worktop, to function day-to-day as a kitchen island, with a hinged piece that could fold out to create a six-seater dining table.

After the success of the table, the couple also decided to try and make a matching bench that, after a quick trip to get wood from B&Q , only took them a couple of hours.

DIY & DESIGN

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة November 2024 من Your Home.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة November 2024 من Your Home.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من YOUR HOME مشاهدة الكل
Something to sip...Sloe gin
Your Home

Something to sip...Sloe gin

Make up a batch of flavoured gin now for delicious gifts come December

time-read
1 min  |
November 2024
IS IT TIME TO SWITCH UP YOUR HEATING?
Your Home

IS IT TIME TO SWITCH UP YOUR HEATING?

Rethink your home's heating system to make it more efficient and in keeping with its style too

time-read
6 mins  |
November 2024
ART display
Your Home

ART display

Choose and hang art like a pro, like Kanza, with these tips for creating an at-home gallery on a budget

time-read
2 mins  |
November 2024
'We made our rental into a handmade home'
Your Home

'We made our rental into a handmade home'

By buying up bargain leftover paint and making her own furniture, Kanza Borthwick has shown that you don’t have to break the bank to transform a rented new-build into a unique and beautiful home

time-read
3 mins  |
November 2024
FLORAL centrepiece
Your Home

FLORAL centrepiece

Add drama and colour to your mantelpiece with a showstopping floral arrangement like Callieanne's

time-read
1 min  |
November 2024
Child's CANOPY
Your Home

Child's CANOPY

Create a magical hideaway for your little one with this easy-sew floaty canopy, like Holly's

time-read
2 mins  |
November 2024
I've used feel-good shades for a happy home'
Your Home

I've used feel-good shades for a happy home'

Interior designer Holly Scott brought this plain new build to life with a carefully curated colour palette, statement artwork and gold accessories for an elegant look

time-read
3 mins  |
November 2024
Industrial shelves
Your Home

Industrial shelves

Make practical log storage a stylish feature in its own right with this rustic shelving unit made from scaffold poles and boards, like Hannah's

time-read
2 mins  |
November 2024
'I'm so glad I took a risk on a bold wallpaper'
Your Home

'I'm so glad I took a risk on a bold wallpaper'

Hannah Hooper stepped away from safe neutrals in her living room, choosing a statement wallpaper in blue and gold as the starting point for her scheme

time-read
3 mins  |
November 2024
'My style is minimalist meets vintage chintz'
Your Home

'My style is minimalist meets vintage chintz'

Wowed by the period features of her Victorian home, Callieanne Major has embraced all things traditional with a dramatic yet muted colour palette and floral art

time-read
3 mins  |
November 2024