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A century home gets a personality makeover with bold colours, quick decor fixes and contrasting styles.

A century home gets a makeover with vibrant colours and contrasting styles

The house, built in 1865, was an attractive, five-bedroom semi with high ceilings, ornate fireplaces and elegant proportions that Caroline loved. Stretching their finances, Caroline and Ian bought the house and moved in shortly before their daughter, Erin, was born.

Inside, the rooms had been painted a bland cream colour and outfitted with uninspiring budget fixtures and floors. “I was desperate to add some character to the house,” recalls the designer, “so as soon as we were settled and Erin started sleeping through the night, I was ready to spring into action.”

Those first few months gave Caroline plenty of time to get to know their new home and work out her plans. Opening up the space, boosting light and adding colourful furnishings were main priorities, as was thinking creatively to achieve her vision on a limited budget.

Caroline tackled the dark, narrow kitchen first. The integrated range, with a door on one side and a window on the other, looked unbalanced, so she designed a symmetrical run of Shaker-style cabinetry and a slim hutch opposite to boost storage space. Having splurged on quartz countertops, she cut back when it came to the flooring. “We lifted the

laminate, re-laid it horizontally to accentuate the width of the room, and then painted it,” she says. “The plan was to replace it later, but we really like it,” says the designer, “so it’s staying.”

To maximize light, Caroline knocked out the wall between the small library area at the front of the house and the larger living room at the back. “When there’s limited natural light, strong colours really stand out and energize a room,” she says.

Investing in their home for the long term has certainly proved to be the right decision for Caroline and Ian. “I wouldn’t want to move from here,” she says. “We’ve put our heart and soul into it.”