‘I loved making This house ours’

Claire updated a dark and dingy house into a sophisticated, stylish interior with a calming palette

Back in 2003, we were living in a seventies semi that had zero character, but it was just up the road from here, so I used to pass this house daily,’ says Claire. ‘When I saw it was up for sale, I decided to view it and adored the high ceilings and feeling of space.

I fell in love with it straight away and could see its potential even though I had to look past the navy floral carpets, dark paint and Adam-style plaster fire surround with gas fire. All the doors were painted in dark varnish, as were the banister and spindles and skirting boards throughout the house, and the bathroom suite was floral avocado!

New beginnings

The sale went through in July 2004, and my children Tom and Millie and I moved into the house pretty much as it was. The survey had turned up a small damp problem in the sitting room, so it was made a condition of the mortgage that I put in a damp-proof treatment on the chimney breast. This was done when we moved in, and led to my biggest achievement, which was discovering the original stone fire surround and inglenook fireplace completely by accident.

I popped into the house the night before the wall was due to be reskimmed. It was already prepared for the work to be done the next day, with beading on the chimney breast, and I could see stone up to about three feet so I started chipping away at the older plaster above and found the original fireplace, which stands at over five feet high. It was such an exciting moment for me, as I had always wanted to have either an open fire or wood-burning stove.

My brother and his wife have very minimalistic taste and luckily they had just moved into a new house which had a log burner that they didn’t want, so they gave it to me. I installed it in the opened-up inglenook fireplace, and

it really adds a focal point to the room. Plus, it’s lovely to have lit during the winter months.

Updating on budget

Another room that needed work was the kitchen. It’s south facing, and as there was a solid wood back door, it wasn’t as bright as it could have been. When we first moved in, I painted the units to make it lighter until I got round to properly replacing the kitchen in 2013. I moved the room around, so I could fit bifold doors into the space. At the same time, I added the island. I adore the reclaimed wood worksurface and it’s totally transformed the look of this space, and best of all, it only cost £100!

My aim in this space was to create a relaxed social hub type area where Tom, Millie and I could catch up in at the end of the day, a relaxing space. I found the leather sofa on Gumtree for around £100. It’s super-comfy and I love sitting there and having a quiet moment to myself. My only disappointment is that the floor in the kitchen is concrete – I would love to have an original wood floor, so I’ve had

to compromise with wood-effect stone tiles instead, in the meantime.

I replaced the carpets with a neutral colour throughout, apart from in the kitchen and bathroom. Millie and Tom did their own thing with their bedrooms and for my bedroom, I wanted a neutral, calm scheme with white walls, from where I can lie in bed and enjoy the wonderful view of the fields. I layered my bed with different textured throws, fluffy cushions and hung different shaped frames and mirrors to add interest on the walls.

Calming palette

The sitting room is lovely and cosy in the winter, with the log burner crackling, but the kitchen is the room we spend most of our time in during the summer. I’m a huge fan of neutral shades with splashes of monochrome, lots of greenery by way of plants and flowers and as many different textures as I can throw in. I’m a total charity shop fanatic, I love a bargain and an upcycling project as much as I love anything mismatched or wonky.

I get loads of inspiration from Instagram and Pinterest, but I also like to make my home a representation of my own personality, with little individual, quirky touches, like my son’s first shoes on the sideboard as an ornament, and a hairdressing book that was given to my mum by her parents when she was

16, which has pride of place on the shelving in the sitting room. This way I can move things from room to room, to create a different look without having to spend money unnecessarily.

My next plan is to source reclaimed parquet for the sitting room and to have the porch floor tiled with grey-and-white tiles. But so far, I’ve loved every minute of updating this house, and making it a home for myself and my children.’