A reader shows the part of her home she loves the most

natalie mcmurtrie lives in a 1930s semi-detached house in the West midlands with her husband, Paul, and daughters elsa, seven, and iris, four

‘Our living room is the cosy space at the front of our home, and it really comes into its own in the colder months. During summer, we spend most of our time at the back of the house where we’ve extended to create an open-plan kitchen-diner with bi-folding doors leading out to our decked terrace, but in winter, you’ll usually find us curled up in here, watching TV. I love the bold colour of our vintage armchair, which has been reupholstered in a gorgeous velvet material for a more up-to-date look. It formed the basis of the scheme for our living room, with the warm tones of Farrow & Ball’s Stone Blue giving the walls the inviting feel we were after, while the restored fireplace is now an elegant focal point in the space. The chair used to belong to Paul’s grandmother, and has been passed down through his family. He clearly remembers sitting in the chair on his grandfather’s knee as a child and reading stories, so it’s lovely to see our two girls using such a treasured item of furniture in the same way. Before bedtime, they’ll often come in here and read their latest story book from school – it’s a few minutes of welcome calm in the usually chaotic bedtime routine!