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Room Tour: Colour Packs a Punch in a Sociable Broken-plan Space
Bright walls and fun accents add personality to a couple’s seaside home
When the owners of this new-build home moved into their property, the décor was what interior designer Beth Grace of Start With Art Interiors refers to as “a blank canvas”. “There was cream everywhere,” she says. “The couple wanted a quirky, funky look and to add a bit more of their personality.”
The owners found Beth by using the Houzz Concierge service and hired her to redesign their whole house. “I’d signed up two weeks before and it went really smoothly,” she says. The bright, bold kitchen-diner and living space below sets the tone for the rest of the home.
The owners found Beth by using the Houzz Concierge service and hired her to redesign their whole house. “I’d signed up two weeks before and it went really smoothly,” she says. The bright, bold kitchen-diner and living space below sets the tone for the rest of the home.
“With the darker palette, I wanted to add an element of layered lighting,” Beth says. She changed the existing spots to soft bulbs and added LED strip lighting below the base units and above the worktops. Three bright pendant fittings were installed above the island to make a feature in the centre of the room.
A mirrored black splashback above the new range cooker complements the worktops, and Beth changed all the switches, taps and handles to matt black for a consistent look.
Pendants, Wayfair. Bar stools, Cult Furniture.
A mirrored black splashback above the new range cooker complements the worktops, and Beth changed all the switches, taps and handles to matt black for a consistent look.
Pendants, Wayfair. Bar stools, Cult Furniture.
An existing dresser was sanded down and given a lick of teal paint.
Kitchen walls painted in Tempest; dresser painted in A Day by the Sea, both Fired Earth.
Tempted to revamp your home? Find a local architect or interior designer on Houzz.
Kitchen walls painted in Tempest; dresser painted in A Day by the Sea, both Fired Earth.
Tempted to revamp your home? Find a local architect or interior designer on Houzz.
“The dining table and chairs were one of the few things the clients had already bought,” Beth says. “So we drew the palette from the bright chairs and used the industrial pipework table legs as inspiration.”
The floor lamp in the corner was a lucky find. “It was one of the first things we sourced and goes perfectly with the chair colours,” she says.
Floor lamp, Lights.co.uk. Yellow rug, Iamfy.
The floor lamp in the corner was a lucky find. “It was one of the first things we sourced and goes perfectly with the chair colours,” she says.
Floor lamp, Lights.co.uk. Yellow rug, Iamfy.
The wall colours become livelier as you make your way through the space. A calm blue in the kitchen contrasts with the brighter hue in the snug, while a rich, serene blue in the dining area creates a bridge between the two zones.
Dining room walls painted in A Day by the Sea (wall with opening) and Tempest; snug walls painted in Hummingbird; all Fired Earth.
Dining room walls painted in A Day by the Sea (wall with opening) and Tempest; snug walls painted in Hummingbird; all Fired Earth.
In the family seating area, Beth positioned a comfy sofa beneath a skylight and opposite the wall-mounted TV.
“We wanted to make it more communal, so we positioned more chairs [see last photo] and a sofa towards the centre,” she says.
The low TV cabinet adds an extra zingy yellow element to the room and provides useful storage.
Cushions, Hello Fern. TV unit, Dunelm.
“We wanted to make it more communal, so we positioned more chairs [see last photo] and a sofa towards the centre,” she says.
The low TV cabinet adds an extra zingy yellow element to the room and provides useful storage.
Cushions, Hello Fern. TV unit, Dunelm.
Here’s the room before Beth’s vivid colour injection.
More accent colours were added with textiles and lamps to really display the couple’s upbeat personalities, and Beth made the most of the radiators to bring in hot pink to match the rug and blinds.
“They’re so happy with it. The design process took two months, as they were keen to get it done by Christmas,” says Beth, who used Houzz Pro software to project manage the renovation. “It was tight for a full house, which included renovating three bathrooms, but they were so prompt with feedback and they were really on it.”
Pink rug, Wayfair. Sofas; chairs; footstools, all Ikea. Radiators painted in Magenta Oaks, Fired Earth.
Tell us…
Are you a colour fan? What do you like about this vibrant home? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
“They’re so happy with it. The design process took two months, as they were keen to get it done by Christmas,” says Beth, who used Houzz Pro software to project manage the renovation. “It was tight for a full house, which included renovating three bathrooms, but they were so prompt with feedback and they were really on it.”
Pink rug, Wayfair. Sofas; chairs; footstools, all Ikea. Radiators painted in Magenta Oaks, Fired Earth.
Tell us…
Are you a colour fan? What do you like about this vibrant home? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
Who lives here? A couple
Location Whitstable, Kent
Property A three-bedroom new-build house
Room dimensions Kitchen: 29.2 sq m; dining area: 20.4 sq m;
snug: 21.9 sq m
Designer Beth Grace of Start With Art Interiors
Photos by Christopher Chung
“The kitchen was one of the first things I designed for the home,” Beth says. “It was already fitted, so we gave it a facelift. Budget-wise, we didn’t want to change the dark quartz worktop, so we complemented it with a soft, muted blue on the cabinets.”
The dark flooring was also already in place, so Beth added industrial bar stools with rich leather seats to tie in with the wood. The dark tones were then lifted with vivid accents. “I added a core palette of bold shades throughout the entire property and chose a few of those colours for the kitchen,” she says.
Cabinets painted in Carbon Blue, Fired Earth.