'My husband's favourite hue was my starting point'

To surprise her husband with a new office, Anne Tiainen-Harris mixed warm terracotta with retro wallpaper to put the bounce back into this once-bland room

- Jane Crittenden

STEP INSIDE

WHO LIVES HERE? I'm Anne Tiainen-Harris, 49 (on Instagram @nordiclivingincolour), an interiors PR and business consultant. I live in a 1920s detached home in the Chiltern Hills with my husband, Christian Harris, 49, MD of a digital marketing agency, and our daughters, Elsa, 16, and Hilda, 14.

WHAT WAS UPDATED? During lockdown we had to turn the topfloor bedroom into a home office, but there wasn't time to decorate.

WHY THE CHANGE? Christian had a foot operation in November 2021 and was unable to climb the stairs for a while, so I surprised him by giving the office a makeover.

HOW LONG DID IT TAKE? A couple of months, as I was busy with work and family life, and I wanted to take my time to avoid mistakes.

TOTAL COST £1,221:

Having outgrown their previous home, Anne and Christian were keen to buy a bigger property in the nearby countryside, but didn't want to take on anything that required building work.

Anne, who is from Finland, fell in love with this newly-renovated, neutral house, but she soon craved colour. The white walls and hardwood floors instantly reminded me of houses back home,' she says. Although I love the minimalist look, it began to fight with my deeper love of colour and need for vibrancy, which began to emerge as I decorated.' The attic office was crying out for a punchy new hue. So, Anne decided to redecorate as a surprise for Christian while he was recovering from a foot operation that meant he couldn't climb the stairs up to the office for a while.

THE PROJECT

The office, which is tucked into the attic with a small dormer, felt closed-in beneath the sloping ceilings, while the pale blue decoration lacked warmth.