'Every room has A PATTERN POP'

Illustrator Mary's terraced home in Somerset provides the perfect canvas for many of her colourful designs

- LAURIE DAVIDSON

Ten years ago my husband Simon and I decided to up sticks and move from south-west London,’ says Mary. ‘We wanted to find a base for the business and a new home – and as soon as we visited Frome in Somerset we knew it was where we wanted to be based. It’s an independent market town with lots going on, surrounded by beautiful countryside.

On the day we visited, I saw the For Sale sign in the window of a shop at the top of Catherine Hill and I knew I wanted it to be my shop. We knew Frome would make a great place to have a young family and so the next step was finding a house. We were after somewhere with period features, a garden and that was close to town – luckily we didn’t have to search for long, and found a place pretty quickly.

COME ON IN!

ABOUT ME I’m Mary Kilvert, an illustrator, designer and shop owner (marykilvert.com), and I live here with my husband Simon, a procurement director, and our children, Milly, eight, Leo, five, and one-year-old Rose.

MY HOME A three-bed terraced period house in Frome, Somerset, which we bought in 2014.

WHEN WE MOVED IN The house was only a two bed and quite dated, with woodchip wallpaper, old carpets and ceilings that needed replacing.

AND NOW We opened up the kitchen to the garden, converted the loft and decorated throughout to make it lovely and light.

STYLE TIP It’s good to live in your home for a bit before making big decisions about what you want to do with it.