A fun family home is the subject of our house tour today and what better way to liven up our lives at this stressful time than be transported to such a bright and quirky home. Lucy lives here with her husband Steve and their 2 daughters, Darcy aged 7 and Alice aged 4 in a small village near Henley. Lucy’s style ethos is ‘colourful, happy and quirky’ and she has achieved this and more – it’s quite magical.
What sort of condition did you buy the house in?
The house was ok when we bought it, just very beige and brown. Everything we have done so far has been decorative. For example the kitchen was brown and beige, we painted the cupboards pale blue changed the handles and laid a white floor. It completely transformed it.
Your use of washi tape around doorframes and shelves is ingenious! Do you have any other tips for adding colour quickly and cheaply?
One of my favourite things is colourful tile stickers. Can add them to your bathroom or kitchens. Colourful pompoms sewn on cushions. Spray painted picture frames, colourful and fun prints, tassels on shades are all great ways to add colour in your home.
We love the way you’ve used to totally different wallpapers in your living room! Do you think care needs to be taken when clashing wallpapers like this, or did you just pick them and go for it?
I do think you have to be careful. When using two different wallpapers I tend to go for one very busy and interesting and then paired with one that’s more stripes or geometric. For example flowers with stripes are great together. I’ve gone for butterfly’s and stripes in my bedroom, it’s out there but I love it!! It’s the thing I spend the most money on. I always go for quality papers.
What’s your favourite room in your home and why do you think it works so well?
I love the little toilet I did for the girls. It was just a horrible dark tiny room. I put a monochrome black and white Lino down from eBay for £30. and paired it with a beautiful moth wallpaper by Christian Lacqoix. I even wallpapered the ceiling. Small toilets are a great place to go for it with colour and patterns. My girls love it!!
Have you made any decorating mistakes over the years which others could learn from?
Yes I have I laid a bright purple carpet on my landing, it looked awful, I just couldn’t live with it had it replaced the next day!!!
Top tip: Don’t lay a bright purple carpet.
Where do you start when you’re pulling a new room scheme together? Do you create a mood board with the finished vision, or do you tend to figure it out as you go along?
A bit of both. I start with the wallpapers and fabrics. I love wallpaper so that’s where I start. I usually use an online mood board to see how it all looks together.
You manage to use lots of different colours within one room, whilst still making it look considered and edited. What’s your top tip for pulling this off?
Honestly I spend hours faffing to get it just right. My biggest tip is just go for it. If you don’t like it, change it. I think people are so scared to be brave in their homes which is why grey becomes the popular choice. I’m not sure people even like everything grey it’s just the safer option. My advise is choose a small room like a laundry room or spare bedroom and just go for it, build your confidence Then you become brave and end up living in a home filled with colour!
I love Lucy’s home – it really is like a ray of sunshine. How magical for 2 little girls to be brought up in such a fun family home. And so many ideas for quick fixes of colour that can be achieved so easily and cheaply. With so many of us self-isolating or furloughed it’s a good time to ring some changes and bring some sunshine into our homes. Who knew washi tape could look so amazing? I hope this fun family home inspires you to revitalize your living space, and do go and give Lucy a follow on instagram @lucyhamiltonathome for more inspiration, or take a look at some of our other house tours.
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Image credits: @lucyhamiltonathome
