We embraced BOLD PATTERN'

Julia played the waiting game before transforming her rabbit warren of a house into a colourful, maximalist family home

- ELLEN FINCH/GEORGIE RODGERS

COME ON IN!

ABOUT ME I’m Julia Eldon, 48, owner of home decor business Suburban Salon. I live here with my husband James, 50, a head teacher, our children Fred, 18, and Amelia, 14, and our dog Teddy.

OUR HOME A four-bed 1960s detached house in Stockport, Cheshire. We moved here in 2007.

WHEN WE MOVED IN The layout was a mess. There were lots of thoroughfares that didn’t make sense, but it had a big floor space.

AND NOW We’ve extended to create a kitchen we can entertain in, redecorated with colour and pattern, and have even found space for me to have my own dressing room.

STYLE TIP Find your colour palette by assessing patterns you love and picking out a shade to inspire your scheme.

This was one of those houses that had been extended and then extended again, without a thought for design or flow,’ says Julia. ‘There were lots of doors and thoroughfares that didn’t make sense and the layout didn’t really work for us.

The previous owners had made the front room into a study, while the long galley kitchen wasn’t big enough to swing a cat. Then, there was the poorly converted garage with a low ceiling and a separate entrance that they’d used for lodgers. Despite all this, we recognised the house’s potential and were excited to get started on the refurb.

Waiting game