In This Blogger’s Lively Pastel London Victorian, Gallery Walls Work Double Time

published Jul 7, 2021

In This Blogger’s Lively Pastel London Victorian, Gallery Walls Work Double Time

published Jul 7, 2021
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Bedrooms
Square feet

2700

Sq ft

2700

Name: Geraldine, Trevor, Jojo, and Michael
Location: North London, UK
Size: 2700 square feet
Type of Home: Victorian terrace house
Years Lived In: 15 years, owned

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If you’ve been on Instagram for awhile, you’ve probably heard of Little Big Bell. The face behind those pastel-colored squares? That’s Dr. Geraldine Tan, a medical doctor by day and an interior and lifestyle blogger by night. Geraldine originally started blogging 10 years ago as a creative outlet to balance her stressful job working in the accident and emergency department, and it’s become so successful over the years that she’s worked with different brands creating content for them while making a beautiful home for her family.

Credit: Viv Yapp

“My home is like my decor studio. I love to style and change things around regularly to photograph them for social media,” Geraldine explains. She regularly changes artwork on the wall, or switches sofas around to make it interesting for her family and her followers. Geraldine has such a big collection of art prints and frames, she’s created her own great art hack: She uses a hallway gallery wall as art storage AND decoration. “I’m running out of space to store them, so I store them on my hallway as gallery walls. I interchange the art prints in my rooms by selecting from my hallway gallery.”

Credit: Viv Yapp

Apartment Therapy Survey:

My Style: Transitional style with a mix of modern and period. Embracing colors.

Inspiration: Hockney and Damien Hirst

Credit: Viv Yapp

Favorite Element: My new Howdens kitchen and son’s pastel bedroom featuring color-matched furniture from Aspace.

Biggest Challenge: Trying to get light into the basement family room. It’s still rather dark despite the overhead floor window and skylight from the kitchen’s lateral extension.

Credit: Viv Yapp

Proudest DIY: A gallery wall along my stairway to store and rotate my artwork.

Biggest Indulgence: The kitchen lateral extension.

Credit: Viv Yapp

Is there something unique about your home or the way you use it? My home is like my decor studio. I love to style and change things around regularly to photograph them for social media. 

Credit: Viv Yapp

What are your favorite products you have bought for your home and why? Pappelina rugs because they are so hardwearing, but soft to walk on. Their color pigments are amazing. My rugs from 10 years ago still look new. Bold and colorful wallpaper from Lust Home. And pastel furniture from Aspace in my son’s bedroom.

Credit: Viv Yapp

Please describe any helpful, inspiring, brilliant, or just plain useful small space maximizing and/or organizing tips you have: I have lots of art prints and frames. I’m running out of space to store them, so I store them on my hallway as gallery walls. I interchange the art prints in my rooms by selecting from my hallway gallery.

Credit: Viv Yapp

What most people get wrong about using color in their home: I feel people could go wrong by avoiding certain colors because of the fear of clash. I feel there’s no such thing as color clash. It’s about the quantities of those colors that you use together. It’s best to use them as small pops of accent colors, and harmonizing them together by making sure they are cohesively present in your line of vision as you scan the room set.

Credit: Viv Yapp

What are the biggest tricks/secrets to using color in decor? Don’t be afraid of using colors. Every time you style with color, make sure you step back to see the room as a whole, and fine tune the colors by moving items around until it feels right. Repeat the standing back and viewing regularly.

Credit: Viv Yapp

What’s your favorite wall paint color of all time: I have so many favorites, but “Chinoiserie,” a calming blue by Graham and Brown, in my dining room at the moment makes me happy.

Credit: Viv Yapp

What’s your absolute best home secret or decorating advice? If all goes wrong, just add some flowers. The beauty of nature trumps all.

Resources

Credit: Viv Yapp

PAINT & COLORS

  • Living room — Graham and Brown “Posie”
  • Dining room — Graham and Brown “Chinoiserie” and fireplace in “Penelope”
  • Main bedroom — Walls in Graham and Brown “Island Shimmer” and wood panels in “Penelope”
  • Hallway stairs —Graham and Brown “Barker Grey”
  • Hallway walls — Graham and Brown “Dee”
  • Main Bathroom — Bathtub is in Benjamin Moore “Antique Coral,” the walls in Benjamin Moore “Irish Mint Aura” and “Orange Sorbet.”
Credit: Viv Yapp

ENTRY

Credit: Viv Yapp

LIVING ROOM

Credit: Viv Yapp

DINING ROOM

Credit: Viv Yapp

WORKSPACE

Credit: Viv Yapp

KITCHEN

Credit: Viv Yapp

BEDROOM

  • Bed — Designer’s Guild
  • Shelving unit — Tylko
Credit: Viv Yapp

SON’S BEDROOM

  • Bedroom furniture — All from Aspace, custom colour matched paint, charterhouse range
Credit: Viv Yapp

BATHROOM

Thanks Geraldine!

This house tour’s responses were edited for length and clarity.