STARTING OVER
The owners of this Nottingham semi decided to rethink their neutral schemes and add colour
Katy Emmerson didn’t think twice when she and her husband Duncan viewed a Victorian semi on the outskirts of Nottingham. ‘Our daughter Annabel, now 14, was a toddler and I was expecting again so it was the right time to look for a family home,’ she says. ‘The area had great schools, a thriving high street and great connections into the city and surrounding countryside.’
The property had been converted into seven student flats years before so it needed a lot of work to return it to a family home, but it was within the couple’s budget. ‘The place was in a terrible state and needed gutting,’ says Katy. The scale of the work was overwhelming initially and as it was impossible to stay in the house, they lived with family for six months while the renovations took place. ‘We moved in during the summer of 2008, and with so many decisions to make, we decided to keep the decor neutral at first, with every intention of revisiting each room. But time
passed,’ says Katy. ‘Alice, now 12, was born and then our son Patrick, nine. We had demanding jobs and never seemed to find the time for anything else.’
Then the family’s lives changed dramatically when Annabel became ill in 2016 with an autoimmune condition called PANDAS. It was tough time for them all. As Annabel started to recover, Katy wanted to make changes in the house so that it felt like a new beginning. ‘Part of Annabel’s illness meant she was unable to sleep in her own bedroom and so we were keen to make her room feel like a place she’d want to be in again. And as Annabel’s illness had such an impact on the other children, we decided to surprise them all with new-look bedrooms, but we just had no idea where to start.’
Katy got talking to her neighbour, interior designer Helen Wallace (@madeupdesign) who was keen to help. ‘Helen worked with our limited budget, spending time with each child to find out what they liked, and designed their bedroom around their ideas. We unveiled the new rooms on Christmas Eve, and they were absolutely thrilled!’
After the success of the bedrooms the couple asked Helen to help with the rest of the house, as the downstairs was definitely looking tired. The playroom needed redesigning, the sitting room was pale and uninteresting, and although they had been thinking about extending the kitchen, they didn’t have the budget for a new one. ‘Helen and I came up with simple but effective solutions. Bold colour choices, for example, and ways of freshening up the rooms to make them work better for us as a family.’
Katy says there are still areas they would like to update – with Helen’s help, of course – but all in good time. ‘It has been a long journey, but we couldn’t be happier with the transformation,’ she says. ‘All we have to do is sit back and enjoy our beautiful home.’