We’re back today with Charlotte and her beautifully calm and casual home taking a peek around a few more rooms. I love so many details in this house but the utility room is a triumph, and the garden? Who knew UPVC could look so good?! Back to Charlotte to tell you all about it.
Utility Room
Although it’s the smallest room in the house, the utility took the most work. We sourced some beautiful reclaimed wood from a shop fitter for the cladding, worktop and shelves and Chris adapted another project to make the tap from copper pipe for just £12.50! The white metro tiles are from the Architecture range at Fired Earth.
We had the units made by a kitchen company in the Black Country to fit the space. The doors were cut at the local wood merchants and painted with Eggshell in Railings and Wimbourne White and finished with handles from Superfront. The downstairs toilet lights are from Newark Antique Fair and blue patterned tiles were from Fired Earth. We finished the room with a few vintage signs picked up from antique fairs and junk shops on my travels.
Master Bedroom
The Loaf bed was the starting point for the scheme as we wanted something with lots of storage. This seemed to be the only ottoman bed at the time which wasn’t leather and had a removable cover for washing. I have longed for floorboards in a bedroom since I was a child and finally we had the opportunity to uncover them. The drawers are oak Hana from Habitat and the chair was a bargain £99 purchase from Homesense whilst I stopped to use the toilet on a drive home! The built-in wardrobes were built by my amazing carpenter and then painted by us in a matching F&B Wimbourne White eggshell. The ceiling lights are from BTC and the wallpaper is Orla Kiely’s Multi Stem.
The Nursery
My favourite room was the last we decorated prior to the arrival of Ted, the nursery. The scaffold boards on the wall were a triumph; Chris had the idea as we were installing the wall to include shelves which were hugely helpful and fantastic to allow us to display items. To see the full nursery tour head over to Rock My Family.
Garden
The garden was landscaped two and a half years ago as it was completely neglected whilst we addressed the house. The fence was falling down and the layout of the garden meant the path to the end of the garden was nowhere near the back door and there was a limited area to sit. We had the patio relaid in black limestone and then created raised sleeper beds in a mix of blockwork and rendered walls. The pergola was painted Pavilion Grey and the render and raised beds in Strong White. The fence was painted in Farrow and Ball Railings and was a job I wished I had never started as it took me eight weeks by hand! That said once done and the garden started to flower it provided the perfect backdrop for my planting scheme.
The garden was south facing and was filled with beautiful plants my favourites being the Erysimum (which flowers for 10 months of the year) & Annabelle and Limelight hydrangeas which have beautiful pendulous cream blooms which grace many wedding bouquets now.
To create height we planted verbena bonaris at the back of the borders with lavender and salvia for beautiful scent. We added grasses for movement too. All the plants were selected for their sensory impact and to encourage wildlife in to the garden. We chose a colour scheme so all the plants flowered in either purple, lime, yellow or white.
The shed had its old roof removed and was reroofed with reclaimed slate tiles which were only £1.50 from eBay! However we had to load them all into a van and out again so we paid for them ten times over in blood, sweat and tears!. My husband, Chris also refurbished the exterior by recladding with reclaimed scaffold boards. He is really skilled at making things and decided that he wanted box opening windows so he made them from scratch with plywood and then painted them in F&B Railings to match the fence. After I saw the cost of hardwood for the deck which I had lusted after for so long, we used the same approach to make the deck and the fence behind the chicken coop.
After the garden was finished, the back of the house didn’t quite fit in and the conservatory looked dated and out of place in white UPVC. After some investigation I discovered a company (http://www.technispray.co.uk/) who paint UPVC to any colour match (in this case F&B Railings). The work is guaranteed for ten years and made the conservatory look modern and in keeping. We then painted part of the back on the house in the same colour to make the whole patio area feel like an outdoor room.
For part one of Charlotte’s ex-authority (yes, really) home then take a look over in our archives.
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Obviously I love so much about this house but the planting is just perfection. Can you outline what order you put the plants in in? Did you grow from seeds or put in plants? Did you order from a nursery or buy online? I know erysimums look amazing straight off but how long did it take to have a coherent look and stop looking new and scrubby if it ever did? We have inherited a big garden which is not to our taste but very established and are slowly trying to reclaim it while saving the things we do like. It’s a long process and everything looks so bare with earth between plants and a constant weed battle- I need some idea of how and when the magic happens!
Lucy, when the garden was complete there was literally no plants at all, it did look very bare! I dealt with a bed at a time, and worked around the garden over about 4 months. I had an idea of the plants I wanted in terms of colours and size and then worked from there. I brought a bulk of plants from a wholesale nursery local to us (miles cheaper than anywhere else!) and then placed then for a few weeks on the bed I wanted to plant them in, taking into consideration eventual height. Moved them around a few times and then planted, crossed my fingers, waters and prayed that everything would survive! Somethings didn’t, the bed in front of the shed was a nightmare, but we persevered and 2 years on when were moving out the garden looked amazing! I am about to face the long process again as our new garden is 3 times the size of the old one! Good luck and just shout if you want some advice!
Charlotte, I’m not even sure if you’ll see this post now but if you do, I wanted to say that I’ve been in awe of your house on Right Move since last year and I was gutted we weren’t in a position to buy then.
We’ve just had an offer accepted on a house a few doors up from your old one and coincidentally, whilst going Pinterest mad, I found photos of your house on RMS. I can’t tell you how much I’ve wanted to see more of the house!
You and your husband have created such a stunning home. I’ve really enjoyed reading how you sourced different materials and planned each room. I’m definitely going to ‘borrow’ all your ideas for the garden!
If you do see this, a very boring question indeed but how much did the council charge you to extend the lowered curb at the front and how long did it take for them to come out and do it?
I hope you’re enjoying designing your new home and I hope RMS show a home tour soon.
Naomi, this is lovely to read! Congratulations on having an offer accepted on No 8 you’ll love Bellfield we did, and it hold many many happy memories. If you pop over to Instagram you’ll find me Wherelottielives and drop me a message. Hopefully I can help with dropped kerb advice and maybe even some interiors, in
exchange for tea xx
This has just come up on Pinterest and I love the garden just as much as the first time I saw it. Which company in the Black Country made your kitchen cabinets? I also live in a 50s ex-council house in the Black Country, so this is very interesting to me. My house looks similar, though perhaps not quite so wide. Love what you did with it!