This Quirky U.K. Home’s Been Transformed with Paint, Wallpaper, and Murals

Amanda West has owned this U.K. home for six years with her partner, and they share the home with two daughters and two cats: Our home was built between 1900–1929. We live here with our older daughters, and we all absolutely love our home. It is (and still is) taking a while to upgrade where required, but we are slowly beginning to put our own stamp on it, keeping in sympathy with the property.

As it is semi-detached and at the end of a terrace it is quite quirky, and none of the floors in the house are completely square or flush to the walls. It has a quirky garden to the side of the house, and also a garden to the rear. In the garden to the side of the house there is an original bomb shelter (which can be seen in the garden “before” photo).

As the garden was so open (there was very little fencing so we had no privacy), and also because it was so quirky with mounds of grass, it was really difficult to relax and enjoy in the open space as a family.

So shortly after moving in we had the garden landscaped, and kept the bomb shelter in place too, as it is part of the history of the house. We now love this space so much; it is like another room has been added to our home.

Our most recent renovation and one we all LOVE is the new kitchen/diner/snug. The wall between the kitchen and dining room was knocked down to open the space, and a new kitchen was installed into what was the dining room.

This space now functions as a beautiful room where the family can come together as a whole. It is also great for entertaining the wider family and friends, and is the most used area in the home.

Our decor used to be very bland when we first moved in, but we have since added lots of color in the way of painted walls, wallpaper, and murals, and lots of colorful home accessories to bring personality to our home. We really have embraced color, but not overly so. Our decor is probably a mix of eclectic, modern, and also a touch of Asian (as I am very much influenced by my heritage — my beloved mum was from Singapore).

We love furniture that is a mix of retro, modern, and vintage, and have upcycled a couple of furniture projects of our own.

Describe your home’s style in five words or fewer: Modern mixed with Asian, eclectic.

What is your favorite room and why? The newly renovated kitchen/diner is most definitely the whole family’s favorite. It brings us all together at the end of the day. It’s a space where we can all sit, enjoy each other’s company, talk about the day, and make food, eat, and drink together. This is something that wasn’t achievable before, but we so desperately wished for. We now spend most of our time in this area as a whole.

What’s the last thing you bought (or found!) for your home? One of the last pieces of furniture we bought was an Art Deco-style drinks cabinet that we sourced from eBay. It was a bargain (£40), and people always comment on it when they see it.

Any advice for creating a home you love? It is always difficult I think when decorating your own home. Obviously money and time are big factors, and we still have rooms/decor that we would still like to do. We do get inspired by a lot of interiors and trends, but truly putting your own stamp and not being afraid of what people will say or think is key. I personally love a bit of Japandi, maximalist, and minimalist! I think our home is a good compromise between a mixture of these.

Thanks, Amanda!

This submission’s responses and photos were edited for length/size and clarity.
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