A Bright and Bubbly UK Victorian Embraces Pastels

Name: Kelly, her husband, their 4 children and 2 dogs
Location: Lancashire, United Kingdom
The basics: 10 1/2 years, owned | 2,000 square feet

Kelly’s home is full of cheery pink, upcycled finds and DIY projects big and small. Kelly and her husband Derrick have been able to adjust their home to their growing family without much outside help.

Tell us a little (or a lot) about your home and the people who live there: My husband and I bought our Victorian Terrace six months after we married ten years ago. We have four children; Samuel age 16, Leo age 3, Jack age 6, Isabelle age 8 and two dogs, Reggie and Maddie. On the surface the house appeared to be in good condition, but when we started to strip walls and lift floors we found damp, crumbly and wonky walls, bouncy ceilings and rotten floorboards. The house was definitely going to take more work than expected. We were fresh from the alter and didn’t have a lot of funds to throw at a costly renovation, but my husband is very handy and can put his hand to most things and I developed a love for upcycling, so together we turned the house around with minimal outside help.

The house originally had three bedrooms, but due to our growing family we had to create another bedroom. The most cost effective way was to take the largest bedroom and turn it into two again. My husband Derrick did all the work and we now have a four bedroom house. Every room in the house has upcycled pieces, the kitchen cabinets were painted by me and the bathroom double-sink wash stand was and old sideboard that I made over, the tiles in the bathroom fireplace I decoupaged and sealed. We’ve saved an awful lot of money over the years by just doing the work ourselves and being as creative as possible.

What is your favorite room and why? I love my bedroom, nearly everything in there has been upcycled and I love how calm yet colorful the room is, it’s our little space away from the chaos that family life can bring at times.

What’s the last thing you bought (or found!) for your home? My freebie dressing table. It was a large, black IKEA desk offered for free on a social media website, I sawed it in half, pieced it back together and painted it champagne pink. I love it.

Which fictional character would be most at home in your place? My house is kind of girly and feminine, I think a Disney princess would feel at home here. I’ve got floral floors, polkadots, pink and more pastel colors than any one house needs, so I’ll take Cinderella! My favorite!

Kelly’s words of wisdom: It’s a marathon not a sprint, take your time and consider your space and how you live in it. When purchasing anything for your house, if you don’t absolutely love it in the store, then you’re likely not to love it when you get it home. Be creative. Regardless of what might be ‘popular’ or trendy at the time, just go with what makes you happy, trends come and go, but a house you pour your heart into will certainly show and make your creation one of a kind.

Thanks, Kelly! You can see more on Home With the Haworths.

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