Living room

‘I love bright, white rooms, but they can feel stark – especially if you have black accessories. Using texture and detail on the walls and floor, and adding caramel and taupe colours visually warmed up this room.’ BUY THE KEY PIECES

Alexa four-seater sofa, £999; footstool, £289, both Sofology. White flower tree decorations, £2.99 each, Tony Almond. For a similar rug, try the Shaggy

Ebba rug, £322.95, Benuta.

Aztec Natural cushion, £16, Cushions.co.uk, is a good match

Calsey Banks, a personal assistant, lives here with her partner Mickey Figures, an electrician.

THE PROPERTY

A three-bedroom 1950s

Wsemi-detached house in Great Barr, Birmingham.

THE VALUE

Bought for £200,000 in 2018; now worth £280,000.

“There were a few tears and tantrums along the way, but I love the calm, relaxed home that we’ve created”

hen Calsey and Mickey first viewed this house, it didn’t exactly blow them away. ‘It wasn’t love at first sight,’ says Calsey. ‘We’d been looking for a place to buy together for a while and although the location was lovely, the exterior of this house wasn’t. Also, it had been empty for 10 months and clearly hadn’t been updated for a lot longer, so I didn’t have high hopes before I stepped inside. But, when I did, I could see it had good bones and could be a beautiful home. Looking beyond the mouldy carpets and swirly wallpaper, I knew what needed doing to make it a modern space that would work with our busy lifestyle. Other house viewers couldn’t see beyond the terrible décor and bad space planning, but I knew all it needed was a little thought and some love and attention.’

The house isn’t huge, so the couple had to think carefully about how to make the most of its footprint. ‘This meant putting new walls up as well as knocking some down,’ says Calsey. ‘The kitchen was tiny, but the living room was long and narrow. I wanted to create a smaller, cosier space, so we put in a dividing wall and knocked through to give the kitchen a dining area. We also rebuilt a bedroom wall and knocked down a small wall in the bathroom. When it came to the décor, I wanted Scandi elements, with graphic shapes and black accessories to give it an edge. I love moving things around to see how they look in a different room or from a different angle. I’ve kept memories of my journey on Instagram (@at.home.with.missb). We stayed with Mickey’s parents while doing the work ourselves, and I decided I wanted to be in by Christmas, which only gave us three months. Luckily, we worked together really well to get it finished on time. ’