ALL THINGS BRIGHT

After years of tweaks and touch-ups, Elisha Utley finally made her modern townhouse feel like home thanks to a bold use of colour

- KAREN WILSON AND HANNAH TIER

HOME TRUTHS

THE PROPERTY Detached townhouse, built in 2004

LOCATION Yorkshire

ROOMS Sitting room, kitchen, utility, family room, dining room, cloakroom, four bedrooms (one en suite), two bathrooms

PURCHASED 2017 PREVIOUS PROPERTY 'We lived in a 1930s semi a few miles from here,' says Elisha.

After 19 years in their previous home, it was time for a change for the Utley family. Elisha, husband Darren, daughters Imogen, 21, and Daisy, seven, and their two Pomeranians needed more space. So, when a four-bedroom townhouse in a nearby lakeside estate came to market, Elisha jumped at it. 'I made an offer straight away,' Elisha and told my says, husband later! He didn't even see it until four weeks before completion. Luckily, he liked it, despite being a bit daunted by its size.' Built in 2004 with shops and a playground on the doorstep, the house seemed a natural move before their youngest daughter started school. 'It had been rented out so looked a bit tired,' says Elisha. But the rooms were bigger than other similarly priced houses in the area and I loved having the sitting room on the second floor and a top floor walk-in wardrobe.