Love it ‘our home was a blank canvas’
Gemma shows us how she transformed her new build into a stylish place to live
As with most house purchases, the process for us had plenty of twists and turns along the way,’ says Gemma. ‘At the time it felt like a bit of a nightmare with all the setbacks, but it just goes to show how things can work out for the best in the end. This house, it turned out, had everything we were looking for.
Having reserved a townhouse on a nearby new-build development, the sale of our flat fell through on the day of exchange, meaning we lost the property that we’d had our hearts set on. Back to square one, we managed to secure another buyer for the flat and in the meantime this three-bedroom terraced house on the same development had come back on the market after another sale had fallen through. I wasted no time booking a viewing and actually ended up reserving it the very same day! There was something about it that just felt right and I’ve not looked back since.
Adding our own style
Kyle and I had just returned from 14 months of travelling and couldn’t wait to get in and put our stamp on the property to make it feel like home. Luckily, we were able to liaise with the developer about the flooring as this part of the build wasn’t yet finished and it worked out much cheaper to source and fit it ourselves. Kyle installed the B&Q laminate downstairs and we used a local carpet fitter to tackle the upstairs. We then decided to focus our energy on decorating the living room, as this is the hub of the house, so our priority was to turn this into our cosy sanctuary.
Pattern and texture
As the layout of the house doesn’t allow for a separate dining room, I created a dedicated dining area in the living
‘MIXING INTERESTING CULTURAL PIECES WITH ORGANIC MATERIALS GIVES A BOHEMIAN LOOK’
room. The open-plan feel works perfectly for us, especially in the summer when we can open the doors onto the garden. My aim in this space was to make it somewhere we could kick back and relax, and host friends and family. With the property being a new-build, it meant we had a completely clean slate to work with and the fun part of decorating could begin straight away. I definitely started out with a minimalist approach but, as time went on, I soon found myself introducing more pattern and texture into the mix to build up a look that has a slightly bohemian feel.
Scandinavian interiors have always inspired me so there’s definitely a sense of simplicity in the way we’ve decorated – using clean lines and a cool palette as a base throughout. I found Instagram to be a great source of ideas, too; there are