Colorful DIYed UK Home Tour Photos

Name: Carla Elliman, my other half, and our cat
Location: Chester, UK
Type of home: Three-bedroom, semi-detached house
Years lived in: 6 years, owned

Tell us a little (or a lot) about your home and the people who live there: I live with my partner, Fraser, and our cat, Bramble, in a small semi-detached house in Chester. During the pandemic we found ourselves spending a lot more time at home with a lot of free time on our hands so we threw ourselves into renovating our house. Our main focus was injecting personality through color, pattern, and a bit of texture along the way to create a happy sanctuary to unwind in. We did a lot of experimenting along the way but I now feel we have really found our home style.

Working to a tight budget and with limited tradespeople availability we learnt a lot of skills along the way carrying out DIYs and upcycles. We learnt to lay flooring, apply wallpaper, panel walls, and so much more. We painted all the tiles in our bathroom, which now looks like a brand new bathroom, and took on stenciling our kitchen floor to create the look of a fancy new tiled floor without replacing what was there. I am keen to share the message to experiment and be creative with your home, and that you don’t always need a professional, you can learn to do a lot yourself with a bit of a can-do attitude (and YouTube!).

I’m really into anything that’s bright, bold and geometric, which is really reflected through our home as well as what I wear. I like to surround myself with things that are bright and uplifting. My favorite color is yellow, which threads through every room of our house.

Describe your home’s style in 5 words or less: Bright, colorful, fun, energetic, bold

What is your favorite room and why? It has to be the living room; it’s the room we spend the most time in making it the heart of our home. We designed this room around a bold geometric rug we picked up for a bargain price in an end of line sale a few years ago, the colors and patterns from it are mirrored through all the other items in the room — the furniture, the accessories, and the wall colors, which gives the room a bright yet harmonious feel.

What’s the last thing you bought (or found!) for your home? We bought a key bowl that’s shaped like a hippo! The mouth is open wide to drop your keys into; I love anything quirky and random like that!

Any advice for creating a home you love? Have fun and experiment! Not all decor decisions will go to plan, everyone makes mistakes along the way, but I feel that this is part of the fun and the learning process.

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