Emily Murray, the founder and editor of the award-winning blog/business The Pink House, loves color. Bold hues were on full display in the tour of her previous home, a vibrant Victorian house in Edinburgh, Scotland. Since the tour first published she’s moved to London, and this space is a new canvas for her to play around with her signature pink and positive design style.

“Since moving from Edinburgh to London last summer, I’ve become braver about how I use colour and pattern and I’m loving having a whole new house to decorate! The kitchen is one of the first rooms to be finished,” she wrote.

My Style: Pink and other happy-making hues, with an edgy, unexpected twist. I love plants and pattern and pretty things paired with a bit of punk.

Inspiration: This kitchen definitely has a touch of the Wes Anderson about it. But ultimately the inspiration came from the garden and woodland it looks out onto—I wanted nature to creep in through the windows and be met by a gorgeous big slab of Carrara marble and some bright patterned tiles. Most importantly, I didn’t want my kitchen to look kitchen-y—this open-plan space is the part of the house where my family and I spend most of our time, so I didn’t want anything severe and clinical. It had to feel fun, friendly, and fabulous while still being practical.

Favorite Element: The Bert & May pink-tile-clad marble breakfast bar. The tiles are such a delicious shade of pink and I love to perch on my gold Bend Goods counter stool and watch the bright green parakeets roosting in the trees outside. There are thousands of wild parakeets in this part of London!

Biggest Challenge: When I renovated this room I removed the cooker hood as it was an ugly chrome thing that didn’t fit with its pretty new surroundings. I ordered a replacement, which was black with gold leaf, but the company stopped making them—a fact they only informed me of after I’d waited three months for it. I haven’t been able to find another cooker hood I liked enough to buy since then, but then recently I realized that as I mainly eat a selection of items (avocado/beans/marmite) on toast, the hood was actually surplus to requirements anyway. The only thing I really missed was the light. So now I’m on the hunt for the perfect pendant lamp to hang above the hob. I have a feeling I may just have found it at Rothschild & Bickers…

Proudest DIY: I don’t really DIY—unless you mean Delegate It Yourself—but I do make a great cup of Earl Grey if you fancy one?

Biggest Indulgence: The Carrara marble worktops. Unnecessary but really beautiful. And yes the porous nature of this material means they are prone to picking up a few marks (mainly due to soggy champagne bottles left out after a boozy night in), but for me that’s part of this material’s charm—it helps tell your family’s history.

Best Advice: Perhaps you’re renovating a kitchen you’ve inherited from previous owners but don’t want to rip the entire thing out and start again because kids/mess/money? Same here. I’d definitely recommend my approach, which was to keep the cupboards and replace the handles with something sexier—in this case brass Buster + Punch beauties. I wasn’t sure about the cupboard colour at first but by using this as one of the main design starting points I was able to plan the decor around the cupboards, thereby blending them in to their surroundings.

PAINT & COLORS
Peachy-pink wall colour — Ida by Painthouse
Pale pink window woodwork — Calamine by Farrow & Ball

KITCHEN
Gold Lucy counter stools — Bend Goods
Brass handles — Buster + Punch
Carrara marble worktops — Herringbone Kitchens (they fitted my tiles beautifully, too)
Pink glazed Siham tiles — Bert & May
Green/white Alalpardo encaustic tiles — Bert & May
Polished brass Minoan mixer tap — Perrin & Rowe
Smeg pink kettle — QVC
Smeg pastel green toaster — QVC
Octopus stand and glass bowl — Culinary Concepts at QVC
My favourite champagne, Laurent Perrier Rose (left over from my 40th birthday party)
Wallpaper — Black Malin by Sandberg
Pink armchair piped with fern print and fern cushion — The Pink House X Sofas & Stuff limited edition collection
Palmeral palm print lampshade — House of Hackney
Pink P alphabet brush pot — Pentreath & Hall
Wicker hanging chair — House Curious

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