My inner interior designer

When my husband and I bought our house, I had so many ideas as to how I wanted to decorate.  My husband is very patient (and trusting) so I was able to run riot and design everything the way I wanted it.  We bought a period home so I wanted to try and be as true to its 1920s roots as I could, we even have the beautiful original stained glass window panels but not the original door unfortunately.  It seemed like a travesty and definitely not in our taste to keep it the farcical colours in which we bought the house. 

There is a lot of monochrome in my house with little pops of colour but a very subdued palette generally. Our hallway and landing is monochrome with a grey bound stair runner, my intention is to put up mint green hooks on the wall and display a mint green (hopefully functional) 1920s style phone although I have been leaning more towards the 1950s phone styles. 

In our lounge which was the last room to be finished, we have grey walls and have added white georgian panels to the bottom half of the walls painstakingly created by my Dad, our armchair and sofa are both grey and we have a black tv unit and side table.  I spray painted one of the chandeliers which were left behind in a matt black and my intention is to get a grey and white geometric rug for under our coffee table which is my husband's pride and joy! We have a couple of geometric cushions in a deep pink and some plain cushions in grey but in different fabrics.  The focal point of the room would be a wingback chair in a plum colour which is finally on sale so we bought it and it's being delivered in the next week.  I'm so excited! 

Our kitchen opens out into the dining room with a little breakfast bar in the middle.  The kitchen is a work in progress and we're hoping we can afford to replace it in the next few years but it's not a priority as it still works. The dining room I have been trying to create an oriental feel as a nod to my husband and my love of Japan although it has become more Chinese in decoration.  We have a dark brown ceiling and cream walls to create warmth and a cosy environment.  The light is inspired by lanterns but is brassy coloured and has glass lightboxes which still show off the original ceiling rose painted in white.  We also have two round picture frames and I am in the process of getting a third as 3 is a lucky number in China.  I will be purchasing a brass coloured sunburst mirror to go over our fireplace to finish it off and the garden doors have cream voiles which hang from ceiling to floor to frame the windows which will be hung higher when my son is more mobile.  

The bathroom is my husband and my favourite room in the house.  It is a merger of both of us and we put so much love into designing it to be the best of the best for us.  My husband and I are very opposite in our tastes but this just works!  My husband figured out the layout to make the best of the space so we could fit both a bath and shower.  The bathroom is also monochrome, the shower tiles are devon stone with a traditional victorian floor pattern.  The sink which is my pride and joy is an original iron singer sewing machine base with a granite top and the basin mounted onto it and more of the devon stone as a splashback.  It sits below a geometric mirror which reflects light everywhere.  Our bath sits under the window surrounded by black brick tiles and has a white tongue and groove panelled front. 

Just after we had moved in (note the lack of bath panel).

The study which used to be the old bathroom is painted a grey green which I like to call a gentleman's club green and is masculine office themed, the guestroom is predominantly white with textured wallpaper and gold and copper accessories, the master bedroom is a pale blue and is beach themed with a fisherman's lantern and sand coloured carpet and finally the nursery which is beige with a beige striped ceiling and orange accessories.  

I dislike the fact the house to me is still unfinished, it feels like there is a never ending to do list but i love looking at the decoration and how "us" as a family it truly has become. Maybe we will finish before it's time to decorate again but one things for sure, we owe a huge thanks to my dad who did the majority of our building work to get us to this point.   

~AB~