Our Home Tour — Blossoming Birds

Last month and this month we had the privilege of being asked to have our home featured in 2 magazines, they are both only available in Northern Ireland and I have had a few requests for it so I thought I would share a little tour on the blog.

*disclaimer- these pics were taken the day the photographer was in, the house may not be sitting this way today... Or tomorrow but the magazine will be on display on the coffee table for reference.

When we originally bought the house most of the rooms were dark green and had wall paper, except for the living room which was Aqua blue with a mahogany fire place. The kitchen had a DIY mdf cupboard in the corner of it that seemed like the previous male owner was adding another toilet to the side of the kitchen... Don't get me wrong I love the open plan idea but that along with your spag bol in the evening is a step too far!

Thankfully I can see past decor when it comes to looking at houses and we put an offer in the next day! The house is a 4 bedroom detached chalet bungalow that is about 20 years old and is in a small, quiet estate. We were first attracted to the house due to its location being close to the town and we are within 3 miles of both sets of parents. Due to how run down it was ceilings were brought down and replastered, walls replastered, new bathroom fitted, new kitchen and we are still in the process of getting through the to do list (are you ever finished in a house? You just keep going around in circles.)

Living room

Our priorities have totally changed since the arrival of the girls... The ensuite that resembles more of a public toilet has took a back seat and the garden took priority for the girls this summer. Great storage and making small spaces work is a focus as with the 2 girls it can be easy to have a lot of toys and equipment in every room of the house.

Playroom

There were no big structural changes, however if in the future we decide we will not move (we would love to build) we may consider adding an extension on to the back of the house. We have done all the interiors ourselves, from the painting to the tiling with some help from family along the way. At first our home was very very basic, it's only been the last year when we decided that we definitely won't be moving in the foreseeable future that we have decided to really put our own stamp on it.

Annie's nursery, the smallest room in the house- we really have to make the most of the space here.

I love Scandi style, it's always the first thing I am drawn too, I love the simplicity of it however I like to add the odd traditional element too as I love the mix of old and new.

We painted most of the house white (much to Colin's delight as he stared at white paint for a week) as we really have to work for the light inside, originally we painted it colours with deep tones and the house felt very dark. Turning the house like a blank canvas and adding character with the furniture and accessories has brightened the entire place up while leaving a calm and serene feel which is perfect for coming home to after a busy day at work. The house itself is very basic so we have added character with the furniture and miss matched wood I also love adding colour with flowers.

Our bedroom

Along with planning a wedding at the time we bought the house and being fresh out of university to having 2 years off work on maternity leave since we have bought the house money was tight, much of our furniture was from family that we upcycled, since then we have gathered a lot of our furniture in local furniture shops we have also added some IKEA and high-street too. I am drooling over some items from Made.com and Swoon at the moment too.

We have grown to love 1960s furniture especially ercol and g plan, I inherited some ercol chairs and a sofa bed that was my grandmothers. The chairs are a mix of woods that we originally were going to paint but think the mix match adds more character and I didn't want to regret painting them.

We are drawn to greys and whites and make a concious effort to add more colour as to keep the house homely and not clinical looking. We covered the Ercol sofa in pink fabric and coloured cushions for a fun bright feel in the playroom. We also painted the front door blue in the inside too as we wanted to break up the 'all white' feel in the hall.

Hall The kitchen really is the heart of our home, there is nothing like making breakfast on a Sunday morning with Colin and the girls dancing and carrying on in the kitchen and in the evening having all the family over for a Chinese. With our family being so big whenever we have a get together there can be up to 14 eating in the kitchen, furniture is dragged in and the atmosphere is brilliant. I also love looking out at the garden and watching flowers bloom. You can find our garden blog here.

Kitchen/ utility

I am currently doing lots of research on Pinterest to finally get around to that ensuite bathroom and I will share with you all when we are finally underway!

The most asked questions from my pictures on instgram are

What colour of white is your walls?

The walls are Timeless by Dulux. What colour is Bellas Room?

Bellas room is needing repainted, we painted it 4 years ago now and I can't remember exactly the colour but I think it is Cornflour white by Dulux

Bellas bedroom

Where is Bellas bed side table from?

Bellas bedside table is from IKEA a storage cube that was £5 and is painted with Annie Sloan white chalk paint. I can't get the exact link for the cube but here is the series IKEA.

Where is your sofa from?

Our sofa is the 4 seater and cuddler chair from DFS French connection collection in Zinc and grey.