Kate unleashed her interior design passion when she decorated her Edwardian semi, so much so she’s now a fully fledged interiors blogger. We nipped round for a home tour of this stylish pad and found out what’s going on over at Kate’s…
We finally got the keys to our house almost a year after we made the initial offer. Just about everything that could go wrong in the process of house buying did for us – and then some, but as soon as we had the keys it all seemed worth it.
We were excited about buying somewhere that needed updating and that we could put our own stamp on – but that wasn’t going to be too huge a project as neither my husband nor I are particularly handy around the house. The plan was to do the house up gradually, over a few years as it was liveable, just not to our taste. However, as soon as we were in I became impatient and wanted to get it all done straight away.
The first project was our kitchen renovation as we decided it would be best to get the most major bit out the way first. Plus, the kitchen was by far the worst room in the house. If felt small, dark, and very dated. We decided to knock the kitchen and dining room into one to make a more sociable, open plan space as we love having friends and family over. I’m so glad we did as it’s made a huge difference – now the space feels light and bright. We chose pale grey units from Howdens and paired them with real oak worktops. My favourite part of the kitchen is the Rangemaster – I’ve always wanted one. It’s really great when cooking for lots of people, but I’m not going pretend I bought it for practical reasons…It’s just so pretty!
Once the kitchen was done we moved onto the dining room. I had always been a neutral girl until it came to decorating this room. I had my heart set on a dark, bold grey/blue shade and after getting through a lot of tester pots we opted for Little Greene Juniper Ash. I love Little Greene’s paints! The dining room was dark red beforehand and I thought it would take a lot of coats to cover it but it only took two. Most of the accessories in this room were from The Little House Shop or Mia Fleur.
I went back and forth with what to do with our living room, it’s not like me to be indecisive but for some reason I couldn’t settle on a scheme for this room. It wasn’t until I came across the vintage map that I finally decided. We chose Farrow and Ball Moles Breath as we thought it would act a good backdrop for the map as well as the tiles in the fireplace. We paired the grey with Crown Aged White which is a nice soft cream that isn’t too yellow. I really wanted to create a cosy space in this room so I’ve tried to add lots of texture through rugs, cushions and wall hangings. I still feel like I need a few more bits for my shelves though. House Envy is one of my favourite places to shop for knick knacks – they have so many lovely, interesting things so I’m planning a big shop soon.
The hall was decorated on a bit of a whim. Eventually we plan to tile the hallway in original Edwardian tiles (budget permitting of course!) so we agreed that we wouldn’t decorate this room until we had done that. However, armed with a spare weekend and a lot of left over paint from the living room, I went for it. I painted an old dressing table in the same grey as the walls and put up a mirror that I had originally bought for the dining room but had decided wasn’t quite right. The only thing I had to buy was the gold frames for the gallery wall – and they were a bargain from eBay. The whole hall was decorated for £15 – not bad really!
The bedroom is still a work in progress. I really couldn’t decide whether I wanted to go for soft pastels or a more eclectic and colourful boho look and think I may have ended up combining both! We haven’t bought any new furniture for this room yet but I’ve tried to update our old furniture by covering the headboard in pink fabric and making our wardrobe into a giant moodboard.
We still have lots of work to do, and knowing me by the time we’ve finished I’ll want to start all over again. I love planning projects and always like to have something on the go – much to my husband’s dismay!
Thank you so much Nicola! Ah I really feel for you going through the house buying process now – it can be so stressful! I’m sure you will have more luck than we did, our estate agent said ours was the longest sale they have ever seen! So hopefully yours will go through much quicker!! Love that you have a little Puggle too!! xxx
Absolutely gorgeous! Love a good home tour, thanks rms! We are currently renovating our kitchen in very similar shades of dark blue, cream and wood and just wondering where the tiles behind your stove are from? They are the perfect shade!
Thank you so much Bex! Your kitchen sounds dreamy!! We got all our tiles from wallsandfloors.co.uk – they were great, and really reasonably priced compared to others I had found xxx
I have basically just pinned everything in this post!! Such a beautiful house Kate. I love that it is so stylishly done but it still looks really homely – it totally doesn’t feel like style over substance. I never would have thought to go for a dark shade in the kitchen / dining room but it is really effective and looks beautiful. I also absolutely LOVE the wardrobe mood board.
So inspired to get my decorating on now, thank you for sharing!! xx
Ah thank you so much Emma, that’s so sweet! I was looking through the photos wishing I had hidden the tea towels / dog bowl / basket of dog toys but you’re right – a home is to be lived in! Good luck with your decorating 🙂 xxx
I’ve been excited about seeing this home tour as I love Kate’s house. I’m not a white box kind of girl and I love the bold colour choice in the dining room.
Oh my good golly gumdrops. I was about to start pinning some of these stunning images, and then realised that it was a pointless enterprise – I want to pin them all! Kate, your house is abso-bloody-lutely gorgeous! Will be revisiting this page for major interiors inspo!
I love Kate’s house and have already interrogated her via instagram about her kitchen! Love the pink door in the bedroom and may try and cover our bed with fabric to update it until I can afford a new one – great idea!
Thank you so much Sarah! I have to find ways to update things in my home without buying new furniture as I’m forever wanting to change things!!! Even since these photos were taken I feel like my bedroom in particular looks so different! xx
Oh so very, very lovely! Don’t mind me, I just stopped by to pin EVERYTHING to my Pinterest boards…. Where is the fox print in the dining room from?! It’s the best thing ever and I must have it! X
Ahh this is just so beautiful. I feel that I could sit and look at each picture for hours and hours just to take in all the shapes and the textures… and that blue is stunning! I just finished painting my whole house white last week… is it too early to freshen it up and order lots more new things from all those new shops you’ve just introduced me to?? This has been a very dangerous post for me to see Kate!
Oooh lovely! We have that same light in our dining room (from Next I believe?) except that ours is currently down due to the transformer being knackered!
I have to be honest, as much as I love how that light looks, it has been nothing but trouble for us – we’re already on our second one from them and as we’re not handy either we have to get someone to put it up and take it down each time so we avoid electrocuting ourselves.
Have you had any problems with it? I don’t know whether to contact Next again to see if they will replace (electrician said new transformer would be £90 plus fitting which is more than the bloody light cost!) but I’m sure we’ve had it over a year :-/
Oh no what a nightmare Kitty! We haven’t had any problems (yet!!) other than smashing a few of the bulbs! Which was more me being clumsy! I would say contact Next! xx
Oh my. I love it so! That deep blue is divine. Also, thanks to you Kate, I finally managed to make my own wire noticeboard. I had spent an alarming amount of time searching for a wire skeleton before your blog post gave me a handy link to the perfect one! I’ve taken an embarrassing number of instagram shots with it semi-blurred in the background. That’s how much I love it!
As a big fan of her Instagram feed, I’m very familiar with Kates gorgeous house, but it’s fantastic to see it from different angles. Great post! And thank you, Kate for mentioning us…. Yippee! xx
Hi Kate, your house is beyond dreamy, am very much enjoying your instagram feed! I was wondering if you can remember where you got that stargazer banner from? Looking for some extra touches for our nursery before baby hopefully appears in the next week! Thanks xx
Hi Rachel, thank you so much and so sorry for the delay! The banner was from Darwin and Gray. Congrats on your bundle of joy! Has he/she arrived yet?? xxx
Love love love your style! We’re currently buying and I’m trying to get a bar cart ready so that we can throw the mother of all parties with it when we arrive… But I can’t find a bar cart i like (other than Anthropologies £468 one ouch!). Can I ask where yours was from?! Thanks!
I have the same dressing table which you have in your hallway and have been wanting to paint it for some time now. Can you tell me if you had to prep the table in anyway before painting it and what type/finish of paint you used? Thanks so much!
Hi Kate- your house is brilliant, you have done such a great job. We have just bought a house and I’m very keen to have cupboards fitted in the alcoves in my living room just like yours. Can I ask if you had a joiner fit bespoke cupboards or did you source yourself? We are now on a tighter budget so I know these can be super pricey! Thanks 🙂
Love love love your home, Kate! You’ve created some seriously swoon worthy style! Xx
Thank you so much Laura! xx
Everything is beautiful! We’ve had an offer accepted on a house recently but things aren’t moving yet. The idea is waiting a year is killing me!
And as a fellow Puggle mama, this one has a gorgeous little face!
Thank you so much Nicola! Ah I really feel for you going through the house buying process now – it can be so stressful! I’m sure you will have more luck than we did, our estate agent said ours was the longest sale they have ever seen! So hopefully yours will go through much quicker!! Love that you have a little Puggle too!! xxx
Absolutely gorgeous! Love a good home tour, thanks rms! We are currently renovating our kitchen in very similar shades of dark blue, cream and wood and just wondering where the tiles behind your stove are from? They are the perfect shade!
Thank you so much Bex! Your kitchen sounds dreamy!! We got all our tiles from wallsandfloors.co.uk – they were great, and really reasonably priced compared to others I had found xxx
I have basically just pinned everything in this post!! Such a beautiful house Kate. I love that it is so stylishly done but it still looks really homely – it totally doesn’t feel like style over substance. I never would have thought to go for a dark shade in the kitchen / dining room but it is really effective and looks beautiful. I also absolutely LOVE the wardrobe mood board.
So inspired to get my decorating on now, thank you for sharing!! xx
Ah thank you so much Emma, that’s so sweet! I was looking through the photos wishing I had hidden the tea towels / dog bowl / basket of dog toys but you’re right – a home is to be lived in! Good luck with your decorating 🙂 xxx
Absolutely love it! Lovely details everywhere
I’ve been excited about seeing this home tour as I love Kate’s house. I’m not a white box kind of girl and I love the bold colour choice in the dining room.
Thank you so much Claire 🙂 xxx
Oh my good golly gumdrops. I was about to start pinning some of these stunning images, and then realised that it was a pointless enterprise – I want to pin them all! Kate, your house is abso-bloody-lutely gorgeous! Will be revisiting this page for major interiors inspo!
Thank you so much Emily! That is just so sweet of you – you’ve made my day 🙂 xx
I love Kate’s house and have already interrogated her via instagram about her kitchen! Love the pink door in the bedroom and may try and cover our bed with fabric to update it until I can afford a new one – great idea!
Thank you so much Sarah! I have to find ways to update things in my home without buying new furniture as I’m forever wanting to change things!!! Even since these photos were taken I feel like my bedroom in particular looks so different! xx
Oh so very, very lovely! Don’t mind me, I just stopped by to pin EVERYTHING to my Pinterest boards…. Where is the fox print in the dining room from?! It’s the best thing ever and I must have it! X
Ha ah thank you so much Ems! The fox print is from mashka.co.uk xxx
Ahh this is just so beautiful. I feel that I could sit and look at each picture for hours and hours just to take in all the shapes and the textures… and that blue is stunning! I just finished painting my whole house white last week… is it too early to freshen it up and order lots more new things from all those new shops you’ve just introduced me to?? This has been a very dangerous post for me to see Kate!
Haha sorry about that Amanda! I am known for being a bad influence when it comes to encouraging people to buy housey things!! Xxx
Oooh lovely! We have that same light in our dining room (from Next I believe?) except that ours is currently down due to the transformer being knackered!
I have to be honest, as much as I love how that light looks, it has been nothing but trouble for us – we’re already on our second one from them and as we’re not handy either we have to get someone to put it up and take it down each time so we avoid electrocuting ourselves.
Have you had any problems with it? I don’t know whether to contact Next again to see if they will replace (electrician said new transformer would be £90 plus fitting which is more than the bloody light cost!) but I’m sure we’ve had it over a year :-/
Oh no what a nightmare Kitty! We haven’t had any problems (yet!!) other than smashing a few of the bulbs! Which was more me being clumsy! I would say contact Next! xx
What a gorgeous house! I have proper kitchen envy!
Also I love a dog in a photo of a home tour! I subscribe to Elle Decoration and there are some great dogs featured this month (and homes!) hehe.
Thank you so much Lynn! I also love seeing dogs pop up in home tours! Couldn’t resist sneaking Molly into a few of the pics 🙂 xxx
Oh my. I love it so! That deep blue is divine. Also, thanks to you Kate, I finally managed to make my own wire noticeboard. I had spent an alarming amount of time searching for a wire skeleton before your blog post gave me a handy link to the perfect one! I’ve taken an embarrassing number of instagram shots with it semi-blurred in the background. That’s how much I love it!
Thank you so much Lisa! So glad you had a go at the memo board – would love to see it if you feel like tagging me in the pic 🙂 xxx
Kates house is perfect, I especially love the dining room and love that we have the same chairs and almost the same colour on the wall too.
Gemma x
The British Feather – Life, Travel, Home Decor & Beauty
Thank you so much Gemma! Sounds like we’re house twins! ?? xx
As a big fan of her Instagram feed, I’m very familiar with Kates gorgeous house, but it’s fantastic to see it from different angles. Great post! And thank you, Kate for mentioning us…. Yippee! xx
Ah thank you so much Hollie! xxx
I love the blue artichoke vase in the living room where is that from?
Hi Susie, the vase was from Rockett St George xx
I am in love with the Mr Fox print, please share where I can get my hands on this?
The print was from mashka.co.uk 🙂 xxx
Wow, I love everything about this! So much colour and personality and lots of great art work on the walls. Definitely given me some ideas!
Thank you so much!! 🙂 xxx
Hi Kate, your house is beyond dreamy, am very much enjoying your instagram feed! I was wondering if you can remember where you got that stargazer banner from? Looking for some extra touches for our nursery before baby hopefully appears in the next week! Thanks xx
Hi Rachel, thank you so much and so sorry for the delay! The banner was from Darwin and Gray. Congrats on your bundle of joy! Has he/she arrived yet?? xxx
Love love love your style! We’re currently buying and I’m trying to get a bar cart ready so that we can throw the mother of all parties with it when we arrive… But I can’t find a bar cart i like (other than Anthropologies £468 one ouch!). Can I ask where yours was from?! Thanks!
Such a gorgeous house and so much inspiration!!
I have the same dressing table which you have in your hallway and have been wanting to paint it for some time now. Can you tell me if you had to prep the table in anyway before painting it and what type/finish of paint you used? Thanks so much!
Hi Kate- your house is brilliant, you have done such a great job. We have just bought a house and I’m very keen to have cupboards fitted in the alcoves in my living room just like yours. Can I ask if you had a joiner fit bespoke cupboards or did you source yourself? We are now on a tighter budget so I know these can be super pricey! Thanks 🙂
Hi can I ask where you got this lovely globe wall art? thanks Al