DETACHED NEW BUILD
By using panelling and built-in joinery alongside classic wallpaper and bold patterns, Jen and Nick have created a bland-free home
COME ON IN!
ABOUT ME I’m Jen Brake, 36, and I live here with my husband Nick, 39, and our children Bella, 13, Ollie, nine, and Bear, seven. We have our own bespoke joinery company called Nook (hellonook. co.uk) and are involved in property management. I also write a blog (@ halfpaintedhouse.com).
MY HOME A four-bed detached in Claytonle-Woods, Lancashire, which we bought in 2015.
WHEN WE MOVED IN It was bland with white walls and grey floors from the builder’s options.
AND NOW I’ve gone to town with paint colours, wallpaper and panelling.
STYLE TIP If you fall for an expensive wallpaper, just decorate half the wall and put up panelling on the other half.
IDEA TO STEAL ‘Give a wooden fire surround standout appeal by painting it a bold colour’
When we bought this house I wasn’t into DIY and didn’t have a clue,’ says Jen. ‘So when we heard a small developer was building some detached houses in Clayton-le-Woods, Lancashire, the idea of a blank canvas with no wallpaper to strip really appealed to us.
Our previous home was an end-ofterrace house in the middle of Leyland, which felt quite claustrophobic and noisy. Having grown up on a farm, Nick wanted somewhere quieter, and four bedrooms were a must for our growing family.
It took a year to build and we sold our old house before this one was ready. Luckily we were able to rent it back from the buyer for a few extra months.
First steps
A lot of the rooms were white for several years before I began getting braver with colour, which started when I hand-painted some bears in the children’s bedrooms. Before long, I’d changed every room several times over. Although I’ve found my style now, which is quite eclectic and colourful with a mix of traditional and modern, I wasn’t always confident with decor. In our previous home there were crazy colours in every room. I cringe looking back as I didn’t think about how the lighting would affect the colours or what mood I wanted to create. If I did it again, I wouldn’t have stuck to the limited builder’s options and would have paid extra to pick our own flooring, tiles, kitchen and bathroom.
Kitchen makeover
Our house was originally more open plan with steps down from the hallway to the kitchen. However, we decided to build a partition wall with doors and windows so you still get the light
