The Walls Are A Showstoppers

Claire brightened up her magnolia bedroom, using a vibrant, floral wallpaper as her starting point.

When we moved house, we stayed in the local area and bought a same-sized house that was in desperate need of renovation,’ says Claire. ‘The property wasn’t really fit for habitation but my partner Richard and I found a builder, who came highly recommended.

In fact, he originally told us he could do the upstairs in just three weeks. It was great timing because it was the Easter holidays, so we went away for a couple of weeks during the renovation, then stayed with friends. However rather than being able to skim the walls, as we first thought, everything had to be stripped back to the bare brickwork and replastered, adding another two weeks to the project.

Neutral territory

When we first viewed the house, it was so drab and uninviting, I wanted to push the boat out and make an effort with our bedroom. During the renovations, I chose the soft vanilla shade of Lead White from Little Greene for the walls, which I felt had a lovely warmth it and a mushroom coloured carpet from Brintons.