My Houzz: At Home With… Carole King of Dear Designer’s Blog
Take a tour of Carole King’s Norfolk cottage and enter to WIN a cosy grey striped bed linen set
This cosy Norfolk cottage is a rural escape for interior designer and blogger Carole King and her boyfriend, and everything about it is cosy, warm and welcoming. “It’s just north of the Norfolk Broads,” she explains, “and about three miles from the coast, so it’s the perfect location for long walks, pub lunches and boat trips at any time of the year.”
When Carole took on the cottage in 2015, it needed a total overhaul, so she travelled up every weekend for six months to renovate and remodel it. Take a tour of the finished home below.
COMMENT FOR A CHANCE TO WIN
To celebrate some of the most creative and inspiring UK and Irish bloggers and their homes, we ask each blogger in this series to choose a giveaway gift that reflects their personal style. Carole has chosen an Elements grey stripe bed linen set from Dunelm as this month’s prize. All you have to do to enter is comment below, telling us what you love about this home.
When Carole took on the cottage in 2015, it needed a total overhaul, so she travelled up every weekend for six months to renovate and remodel it. Take a tour of the finished home below.
COMMENT FOR A CHANCE TO WIN
To celebrate some of the most creative and inspiring UK and Irish bloggers and their homes, we ask each blogger in this series to choose a giveaway gift that reflects their personal style. Carole has chosen an Elements grey stripe bed linen set from Dunelm as this month’s prize. All you have to do to enter is comment below, telling us what you love about this home.
What do we need to know about your blog?
Dear Designer’s Blog is my own little corner of the internet where I can collect and collate anything I find interesting or inspiring. I trained as an interior designer, so it feels natural to help other people translate current trends and high-end designs, so they can integrate them into their own homes. It’s also a useful place for me to share my own projects.
Walls painted in Milky Pail, Dulux.
Dear Designer’s Blog is my own little corner of the internet where I can collect and collate anything I find interesting or inspiring. I trained as an interior designer, so it feels natural to help other people translate current trends and high-end designs, so they can integrate them into their own homes. It’s also a useful place for me to share my own projects.
Walls painted in Milky Pail, Dulux.
What made you start blogging?
I’d been reading mostly American blogs for some time (this was more than seven years ago, when blogs in the UK were still quite new) and just felt compelled to write one from a UK perspective.
I’d been reading mostly American blogs for some time (this was more than seven years ago, when blogs in the UK were still quite new) and just felt compelled to write one from a UK perspective.
How long have you lived here and how did you and your house meet?
We bought the cottage at the end of last summer as a country bolthole. Buying a second home was one of those decisions we now can’t remember making – it was probably after a glass too many!
I originally viewed it on my own in March, when it was freezing cold and bucketing with rain, and discounted it. But a friend persuaded me to give it a second chance because, she said, “You will never find another cottage with a view like that.” The rest is history.
Discover how to make cut flowers last longer
We bought the cottage at the end of last summer as a country bolthole. Buying a second home was one of those decisions we now can’t remember making – it was probably after a glass too many!
I originally viewed it on my own in March, when it was freezing cold and bucketing with rain, and discounted it. But a friend persuaded me to give it a second chance because, she said, “You will never find another cottage with a view like that.” The rest is history.
Discover how to make cut flowers last longer
What was the cottage like when you first moved in?
Although it wasn’t very old – about 20 years – it hadn’t been decorated in all that time. We literally gutted it and started from scratch. Of course, we soon regretted ripping out the kitchen so hastily, as it took us longer than we expected to get it all done. In all, it was around six months, working every weekend, until we could sit back and welcome guests.
What’s your favourite spot in the house and why?
Sitting on the sofa, watching the geese and other wildlife on the lake. If my boyfriend is in the kitchen making dinner, and I have a glass of wine by my side, it’s even better.
Although it wasn’t very old – about 20 years – it hadn’t been decorated in all that time. We literally gutted it and started from scratch. Of course, we soon regretted ripping out the kitchen so hastily, as it took us longer than we expected to get it all done. In all, it was around six months, working every weekend, until we could sit back and welcome guests.
What’s your favourite spot in the house and why?
Sitting on the sofa, watching the geese and other wildlife on the lake. If my boyfriend is in the kitchen making dinner, and I have a glass of wine by my side, it’s even better.
What do you think is the next big interiors trend and why?
There seems to be a quiet revolution happening in homes. Minimal and Scandinavian-inspired interiors are lovely to look at and are very photogenic, but they can be quite soulless. I think darker, bolder colours are becoming more popular and, with them, more layering.
Houseplants are, of course, enjoying a resurgence in popularity and, to my amazement, so are homespun things such as crocheted doilies and macramé plant hangers. Interiors are becoming more and more eclectic and I love it.
See more on-trend inky dark walls
There seems to be a quiet revolution happening in homes. Minimal and Scandinavian-inspired interiors are lovely to look at and are very photogenic, but they can be quite soulless. I think darker, bolder colours are becoming more popular and, with them, more layering.
Houseplants are, of course, enjoying a resurgence in popularity and, to my amazement, so are homespun things such as crocheted doilies and macramé plant hangers. Interiors are becoming more and more eclectic and I love it.
See more on-trend inky dark walls
What’s the first thing you do when you get up in the morning?
Shower, dress, make-up, hair, feed the dog.
Shower, dress, make-up, hair, feed the dog.
What makes you happiest at home?
Just pottering about. I’m not really one for relaxing (sofa sitting for a few minutes aside), so I’ll soon be up, rearranging flowers, tidying or preparing the next meal.
Elements grey stripe bed linen, Dunelm.
Comment below for the chance to win a set of this bed linen.
Just pottering about. I’m not really one for relaxing (sofa sitting for a few minutes aside), so I’ll soon be up, rearranging flowers, tidying or preparing the next meal.
Elements grey stripe bed linen, Dunelm.
Comment below for the chance to win a set of this bed linen.
Do you have a design rule you live by?
Comfort first; style second. A home should be a place where you’re comfortable and relaxed and should reflect your personality, not the latest trends.
Small Juliet chandelier in grey, Cox & Cox
Comfort first; style second. A home should be a place where you’re comfortable and relaxed and should reflect your personality, not the latest trends.
Small Juliet chandelier in grey, Cox & Cox
Do you have a mantra you live by?
Yes! You have a right to be happy – whatever that means to you.
Yes! You have a right to be happy – whatever that means to you.
What’s your proudest DIY achievement?
The whole cottage. To turn it around in six months, just working at weekends, was hard, but totally worth it.
The whole cottage. To turn it around in six months, just working at weekends, was hard, but totally worth it.
What do you love to do on Sunday afternoons?
I’m usually blogging.
Is there anything you couldn’t live without?
My boyfriend. My dog. Coffee.
I’m usually blogging.
Is there anything you couldn’t live without?
My boyfriend. My dog. Coffee.
Are you a UK or Irish interiors blogger? Talk to us! If you’d like to submit your home for this series, please send details to ukeditor@houzz.com or irelandeditor@houzz.com.
Visit Carole’s blog.
COMMENT TO WIN
All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is post a comment below on what you love about Carole’s home. A randomly drawn entry from all comments that were submitted in the contest period and approved by Houzz UK Ltd will determine this month’s prize winner. Approved comments will be included in the draw automatically.The prize winner will receive an Elements grey stripe bed linen set from Dunelm worth up to £39.99. If out of stock, a gift voucher will be issued. Closing date 23.59pm on 4 November 2016. View the full competition T&Cs here.
Visit Carole’s blog.
COMMENT TO WIN
All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is post a comment below on what you love about Carole’s home. A randomly drawn entry from all comments that were submitted in the contest period and approved by Houzz UK Ltd will determine this month’s prize winner. Approved comments will be included in the draw automatically.The prize winner will receive an Elements grey stripe bed linen set from Dunelm worth up to £39.99. If out of stock, a gift voucher will be issued. Closing date 23.59pm on 4 November 2016. View the full competition T&Cs here.
Who lives here Carole King, her boyfriend, and her dog, Storm
Blog Dear Designer’s Blog
Property A country cottage
Size 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom
Location Norfolk
That’s interesting The flat is completely off-grid, with no Wi-Fi and no phone, either, so there’s no choice but to relax