‘I love using BOLD PATTERNS'

Channelling her love of mid-century modern design, Beth has created a home that’s full of personality and style

- ZOE BISHOP

Being priced out of anything in London (even a garage!), we decided to move away, to be able to provide a more stable future for my son Ned, whohas autism,’ says Beth. ‘We were both lucky enough to get job transfers to West Yorkshire, and I knew Wakefield vaguely, having visited for work previously.

‘I’d moved house a lot as a child, so the concept of relocating was very normal to me, and just deciding one day to move to Wakefield didn’t seem odd. I’m fortunate that Dave, who had never moved far from his family home, is very easy-going.

Finding our new home

This was the first of 11 properties I saw over a weekend of viewings. It had such a lovely feel, and I could see beyond the boring magnolia walls and lack of character. As we were making the step from rented accommodation to buying our own home, my wish list was realistic; I just wanted three bedrooms, some garden space, and to be situated in a nice area. This house seemed to tick all those boxes, and I knew it was a project we could do on our own terms, to turn it into a fantastic family home.

Making it our own

Once a specialist builder had done some of the basic renovation, including rewiring the electrics, we set about decorating. To start with it was just a case of overriding the existing decor in neutral shades, turning every room into a blank canvas while we decided what look we wanted to go for. I have one regret and that’s not redoing the plumbing when we first moved in. The radiators drive me mad as they’re proportionally wrong for the rooms, as do the knocking pipes under the floorboards. However, we’ve got used to it and it wasn’t on our initial budget list.

Style on a shoestring