Introducing our new monthly columnist, Lisa Dawson

I’ve been using Instagram for years, posting photos of my kids, untrained dog, mediocre

food, feet on patterned floors and, more recently, stalking my children. This is an essential activity for any parent with a teenage daughter; negotiating your way through emojis, pouting selfies and skirts that would barely pass muster as a handkerchief.

So when, two and a half years ago, we took full advantage of the Northsouth price divide and traded our semi-detached in Caversham, Berkshire, for a Georgian detached house in York overlooking the Yorkshire Wolds, it was the perfect opportunity to document how I was decorating rooms on Instagram, using hashtags for the first time.

I’ve always had a slightly eclectic decorating style, obsessed with vintage, colour and kitsch (think iconic religious images collection and you’re on the right track). I was a poor match to the Berkshire standard and was used to people looking at my décor in a) confusion and b) horror. But Instagram was different. Before I knew it, I’d started amassing followers, people who actually liked what I did and – gasp – wanted to know how I did it. I started writing a blog based on styling your home on a budget and soon gave up my previous, very boring, role as a transcriptionist and began running workshops, talking to fellow interior addicts about finding your own style.

It’s a bit of an understatement to say that I’m a transient decorator. I love mixing things up and I’m passionate about juxtaposition. My three children will often arrive home from school to repositioned furniture, or to find that what they thought was the dining room is now the living room. Many are the times they’ve been welcomed by another piece of vintage (old, cigarette fume-imbued) furniture or charity shop treasures (also known as old tat by Joe, my husband). My favourite piece is a mid-century sideboard that I picked up for £10 from a charity sale – I actually threw my body on top of it so that nobody else could whip it from under me! Thrift shopping ticks so many boxes. You’re repurposing a preloved item, you’re donating to charity and you can feel smug in the knowledge that as well as making your home look that little bit cooler, you’re helping to save the planet. Perfect.

Much to my family’s constant exasperation, however, I love change and I always have at least one room revamp on the go. We’ve just built two covered pergolas in our back garden in an attempt to replicate the cool, sociable, relaxed outdoor spaces that you find in the Mediterranean. I’ve painted all the walls in white, added big wooden lanterns and hung plentiful festoons from the ceiling but, I must admit, it’s not quite the same with your coat on and the sound of the A166 to Bridlington in the background. Although, after a few glasses of wine, a sundried tomato and stuffed olive, you’d never know the difference.

My current project? I’m about to start work on the kitchen, a room that I’ve already updated once since we’ve lived here by removing the wall units and painting the cupboards navy. I’m thinking bright, light with a 1970s edge and lots of texture, and, of course, a little bit of vintage. Because, like marriage, no room is complete without something old and something new.

‘much to my family’s exasperation, I love change and always have a room revamp on the go’