‘we used our wedding look’
Rachelle and Ben brought the happiest day of their lives home with them through their decor
Ben and i met when we were students and, after years of living in rented flats, we bought this three-bedroom flat together in 2013,’ says rachelle. ‘it has an attic, which is unusual for Scottish tenements, and we liked the dual character of the building, with its high-ceilinged, spacious living areas downstairs and then the cosier, sloping roof in the bedrooms and bathroom upstairs.
Although the flat had already been renovated, the decor was bland and dated, with magnolia walls and oatmeal carpets that looked tatty and tired.
Colours we love
We rushed in and decorated a lot of the rooms straight away, going for a mainly grey colour scheme throughout to give it a cohesive look. But when we started planning our wedding in 2016, we decided on a gold and blush theme and then found that inevitably some of the wedding props found their way back into our home after the big day, so the decor changed to grey, gold and blush, which we love, although it did mean that we then ended up altering everything else!
Taking our time
Attention to detail is important to us both. We believe that if you’re going to do something, you do it properly, and you don’t take shortcuts. We rushed things when we first bought the flat, as we felt we had to do the bedrooms and the sitting room straight away, then we slowed down and took our time over the kitchen and bathroom, and once
‘ With a more minimal look, you rely on small details to make an impact. Finish is very important as it’s harder to disguise snags’
they were done we realised that the rooms we’d completed earlier were not quite right, so we re-did them.
Luxe layers
The overall look is quite simple and stripped back, with lots of natural materials, but then a top layer of luxury with the added accents of blush and glamorous gold. We both find the uniformity of the decor soothing and quite practical, as everything goes together and you can move things around quite freely. We’ve learned that less is more and we try to stick to quality pieces that will last. We also tend to
‘go for AN INDUSTRIAL FEEL IN THE KITCHEN WITH CHUNKY OPEN SHELVING TO KEEP CROCKERY AND COOKWARE EASILY TO HAND’
choose beauty over practicality, much to our parents’ dismay!
Considered purchases
Friends do laugh at us as they find our commitment to our colour scheme hilarious, but they do love our home and we love having visitors, so it’s a win-win. Ben says I have a gift for display, as there are little vignettes on every surface, such as shelves, noticeboards and mantelpieces. Even the books have been chosen for their jackets. Although where once I used to buy knick-knacks impulsively, now I’m far more considered and only buy for a specific purpose, preferring to wait for just the right thing.
Café inspiration
For inspiration, I use Pinterest and then create mood boards and scrapbooks. I find I usually have an overall idea of
‘Baskets Add A naturally warm note to the grey And white scheme And provide lots of storage – you can never have too many!’
school as to whether to study maths or art, as he was talented at both, but he chose maths and works as a teacher now, but spends his summer holidays on creative endeavours, so he can enjoy the best of both worlds. We love our home, but we also love a project, so now that the flat is complete, we almost want to move house – just so that we can have the fun of starting all over again. We love plants and greenery and always have some dotted about the place, so perhaps finding somewhere with a garden will be our next project.’