‘We eat together every
day, so in the winter we’ll
be in the dining room and
in summer we eat at the
nook in the sun room.’
http://www.yourhomemagazine.co.uk August 2019 89
REAL HOME
to get into it,’ she says. ‘So we’ve had
the brickwork put right, as well as a new
roof, windows and doors.’ The space also
includes a utility room with tumble dryer,
freezer and wine fridge, which frees up
more cupboard space in the kitchen, and
there’s a sofa bed for occasional guests.
Luckily, the existing kitchen and
bathroom were fairly new so Lorraine
simply refreshed both rooms with budget
makeovers. She had the existing oak
kitchen units professionally painted to
lighten them up and kept everything
in the bathroom except for the
ancient shower.
At first the couple had their bedroom
on the first floor at the rear while their
daughters shared the front bedroom,
which had a Mary Poppins theme.
However, they’ve since created their own
luxurious master suite in the loft. ‘The
previous owners had it as a cinema room
with a projector and built-in bar, but we
added a walk-in wardrobe and en suite,’
says Lorraine. ‘We call it the parent trap
as you go up there to get something and
end up missing for half an hour. I’ll be on
Instagram and my husband, who plays in a
band, ends up playing music.’
Lorraine has enjoyed renovating the
house so much that last year she decided
to turn her love of interiors into a business
called Willow & Maine offering design and
styling advice, which she runs alongside
her day job in IT. ‘My husband’s always
been into music and I encouraged him
to pursue that,’ she says. ‘So he turned
it around on me and said I should do
something with my passion for interiors.’
Now Lorraine has several projects on
the go, including an Airbnb property for
a developer. ‘Some people seem reticent
about using a service like mine as they
think it will cost a fortune when inPaint wood flooring in on-trend
dark grey. It anchors the scheme
and is a more practical
alternative to white.Good idea!
As the varnished floor had an orangey
tone, Lorraine painted it with Farrow &
Ball’s Tanner’s Brown, covered the yellow
walls with white and added radiator
covers. ‘I pondered the shutter-effect
wallpaper for the whole room but was
worried it might be too much, so I limited
it to create feature alcoves,’ says Lorraine
The woodwork
in the sun room
was previously blue
but Lorraine has
recently updated
it with Farrow
& Ball’s French
Gray, and painted
the garden gates
the same shade
to tie everything
together. The rattan
IKEA chairs create
a relaxed indoor-
outdoor feel. For
similar wooden
letters, Try Letters
Etc on Not on the
High StreetLorraine spends
a lot of time in
the sun room in
the summer. The
sofa, dressed with
cushions from M&S,
used to be in the
living room. ‘The
antique washstand
was the first piece
of furniture we
bought together
so it has special
memories,’ says
Lorraine. The White
Company has
similar bunting and
Dunelm stocks a
similar rug