THINK PINK

AND BLUE AND GREEN AND YELLOW: INSIDE A HOME THAT’S BUILT ON FRESH, BEAUTIFULLY BALANCED COLOUR

- Judy Diamond

DETAILS

What A five-bedroom Victorian terraced house

Interior Design Jessica Buckley Interiors

A lot of the time we decorate out of necessity: the upstairs neighbour’s bath has overflowed and your wallpaper has peeled off, or because you wake up one morning and realise you can’t take another day of tasteful grey, or because your bold new sofa has just been delivered and it clashes horribly with every other colour in the room. But these are reactions against what is already there. You are remedying a problem and the solution is nearly always obvious. What happens when there is nothing to react to? Facing a completely blank canvas, it seems, is what we really find difficult.

That was certainly the case with the owner of this house, in a Victorian terrace in London. She’d moved down from Scotland with her young family for work and had settled into this five-bedroom property. There was a lot to like here, but the decor was just so plain and uninspiring, with every wall a smooth stark white. She wanted to add colour and pattern but wasn’t sure how to go about it or where to start.

Happily, the first person she turned to is someone who lives and breathes colour and pattern. Jessica Buckley has built a flourishing business by skilfully adding both to her clients’ homes up and down the country. “I love fresh pretty colours and relaxed patterned fabrics that make rooms look inviting and cosy,” she says. “I’m not interested in rooms that are grand, formal or too perfect.”