KEEPING it in the family
Christina Easton moved into her childhood home and stamped her own dark and edgy style on it
How one owner transformed her parents’ former home in Yorkshire using dark, edgy colours and boho-style accessories
Christmas is all about family for Christina and Craig Easton, who bought Christina’s childhood home in North Yorkshire from her parents five years ago. ‘I just love how our home transforms at this time of year,’ says Christina. ‘It’s a cold house so it suits having the logburner and coal fire roaring, and the rooms are big enough to hold large real trees. Decorating them always brings back fond memories.’
Before committing to buying the house, the couple moved in for a six-month trial run. ‘Craig thought it would never feel like home, but I knew we could make it look really different,’ she says. As it’s an ‘upside down’ house with sitting room, kitchen, bathrooms, conservatory and three bedrooms on the first floor, the pair concentrated their efforts there – using the three additional bedrooms below for storage. They’ve gradually transformed the space room by room, and electrician Craig has carried out much of the work himself with help from a joiner friend.
Before the sale went through they started experimenting in the living room, removing bright pink wallpaper and discoloured flooring to make way for white floorboards and walls. The floor was later replaced with a dark parquet-effect vinyl flooring and the walls re-painted inky blue.
‘We’ve re-done this room about four times as we rushed into it to begin with,’ admits Christina, who was studying textiles at university when work began. Since opening an interiors shop in Saltburn-bythe-sea called The Lilliandaph Store, she has become bolder in her choices.
Adding a double-sided, multi-fuel burner linked the sitting and dining area to the neighbouring conservatory. ‘It was one of our biggest expenses, but it’s solved the problem of the conservatory being
decorating tip‘ Hang a chandelier in the bathroom and paint the wall san unusual shade to lift the room and make it somewhere you would want to linger’
almost unusable in winter, and has really transformed both spaces,’ says Christina. Another clever idea was to replace a window in the living room with a set of French doors, which has allowed Craig to build a balcony and maximise the distant sea views.
The last room to be transformed – after several experimental quick fixes – was the kitchen. ‘I never liked it, but it’s a good quality Treske design so I didn’t want to rip it out,’ says Christina. ‘At first we tried painting the walls in charcoal, but the units dominated so much that it hardly changed the feel of the room.’ Instead, they painted the oak units dark green and replaced the freestanding white dishwasher and washing machine with black appliances. The couple undertook the work themselves. ‘It took us a month of evenings and weekends, but it’s made such a difference,’ she says.
The final additions were a copper island worktop, kickboards and an oven splashback made by Dave O’donnell of The Light Shack. ‘I came across him through my shop,’ says Christina. ‘He’d made metal and light installations for carnivals, but had never done anything like this. These finishing touches have been a real game changer.’
Christina’s happy that she could keep the house in the family. ‘It really feels like ours now and I can definitely imagine staying here long-term as we’re expecting our first child in December. I’m so excited to decorate the nursery, which will have a giraffe-inspired scheme with walls painted in Abigail Ahern’s Mercer Green.’
Although Christmas is always a busy time in her shop, Christina is looking forward to closing up for a few days and winding down. ‘My birthday is Boxing Day so we tend to carry right through with an “open house” once we’ve blown away the cobwebs with the dogs on the beach. I love our house at Christmas – it really comes into its own and feels so special.’