Before
& after:
A Plain White Living Room Gets Lots More Color and Charm
By OLIVIA TINKER
Image Credit: Olivia Tinker All Photos Credited to: Olivia Tinker Olivia Tinker, of A South London Style, lived with her boyfriend Tom in their new building for a year before they were able to redecorate. For a lover of color and texture, coming home to a plain white living room wasn’t easy!
“We didn’t decorate anything for the first year we lived here.
With a new build you have a year’s defect warranty, which meant if there were any problems and things needed to be fixed, they would return the room to its original state. Waiting for the year to be up was torture!” explains Olivia.
All Photos Credited to: Olivia Tinker After a year of blank walls, Olivia knew she wanted to go for blue paint. “I find it to be very calming and relaxing, and it’s a color I’ve never gotten bored of. Throughout my life I’ve always been drawn to the color blue!”
All Photos Credited to: Olivia Tinker “cozy and welcoming, somewhere to relax and socialize, but also somewhere that felt stylish and in keeping with the modern feel to the flat and building.”
Olivia and Tom wanted a space that felt
All Photos Credited to: Olivia Tinker To give the room maximum gathering potential, Olivia’s family gifted her a very large sofa for the space from their upholstery business, Gibson and Gibson Furnishings. It acts as a divider between the kitchen and living room and, of course, provides lots of seating for friends when they visit.
All Photos Credited to: Olivia Tinker The gallery wall has been a work in progress over the four years the couple has lived in the space. It’s filled with a mix of prints, photography, cards, and other things the couple loves, and Olivia plans to keep adding to it as their collection grows.
All Photos Credited to: Olivia Tinker A savvy shopper, Olivia purchased the David Hockney poster that’s over the radiator from a thrift shop for just £15. For deals, she also picks up decor at antique stores as well as on eBay.
All Photos Credited to: Olivia Tinker The couple had Farrow and Ball’s Hague Blue mixed in a more affordable paint brand to save money—same color, but cheaper price point.
Another one of her smart money-saving tips:
All Photos Credited to: Olivia Tinker And when Olivia found curtains she loved from French designer Sarah Lavoine that were out of budget, she purchased some of Lavoine’s linen fabric and had her nan sew it into curtains for her.
All Photos Credited to: Olivia Tinker which initially I saw as a set back,” says Olivia. “However, she made me three separate curtains and I hung them across two parallel poles...It’s created a really nice layered and textured feel and actually turned out to be one of my favorite parts of the room.”
“I couldn’t get the width of fabric I needed for two curtains,
All Photos Credited to: Olivia Tinker All in, the remodel cost Olivia and Tom approximately £1250, including the rug, paint, cost of labor, and furniture (excluding the gifted sofa)—all of which bring in gobs of personality. Way to think outside the big white box, Olivia and Tom!
All Photos Credited to: Olivia Tinker