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Welcome to The Inspiring Homes Blog, where we have asked four amazing social media accounts to present an inspiring/favourite room within their home along with five questions to which they will answer individually.

These could be questions you think of while having a good scroll through instagram accounts OR when the time comes for you to renovate/redecorate a tired, dated room that was once loved. 

All accounts offer different styles, interiors and advice but all offer amazing content that inspires to many..

So here go's, Grab a cup of tea and get ready because these homes will have you revamping all over again!

Don't forget to leave your comments below! 

 

NINA_MOVES_IN

Why did you choose to showcase this room on Norfolk Bay Blog?

I’ve chosen to showcase my living room, as it was the latest and biggest project in my home to date. I decided to give my walls and ceilings a fresh paint job, as well as adjusting the colour palette from my signature monochrome - to more warm, neutral tones.

My ceilings are as high as 10 metres in places, so we had to hire a scaffolding tower to complete the paint job. It was really hard work, and climbing up and down the scaffolding tower was exhausting in itself – never-mind the actual painting! Nevertheless, it was totally worth it and I am obsessed with the finished look. It can be difficult to create a cosy feel in such a large space, but with the new tones and textures I have introduced; it feels super relaxing and homey.

I used Lick paint in ‘White 02’ on the walls, and a standard trade white paint for the ceilings and beams. By adding neutral coloured soft furnishings, ceramics and décor accessories – it has lifted the entire feel of the space without having to spend a great deal of money of bigger furniture pieces. 

 Do you care about the price tag when it comes to your home?
(We all know, Instagram can make everything look heightened & perfect and what we want to know is, if you like something will you buy it no matter what the cost or will you go out your way to find good deals for your home!)

 I’d say I’m known for both of these options. I LOVE LOVE LOVE a bargain – nothing feels better than discovering an amazing piece of furniture or style item for a fraction of the price you’d normally expect to pay for it. It almost feels even sweeter when you find one, too! However, I certainly stand by the phrase “if you by cheap, you buy twice!”. There’s nothing worse than buying something that looks like a great deal at the time, but only a few months later – it breaks, or rips, or starts showing signs of wear & tear. The larger pieces of furniture in my home, such as the sofa; my master bed and coffee table, were all major investment pieces that still look as good as they did on the first day of arriving. I use these items every day, so spending the extra money to ensure they were of the best quality was definitely worth it.

What’s the most outrageous or spontaneous thing/renovation you have done to your home?

I think the most outrageous thing I’ve done is paint two walls of my home in black! If you’d have said to me a few years back that I’d be using black paint in my home – I wouldn’t have believed you! It’s such a bold colour, and you certainly have to be careful which rooms you use such a dark shade in. For example, I learnt over the years that using dark colours in smaller spaces can make it feel even smaller! I also learnt that naturally bright spaces can allow for much darker colours – as it won’t make it feel too dauntingly dark during the daytime. For me, I’m so lucky to have lots of giant windows in my home; so with all the light, it’s allowed me to step outside my comfort zone and go a little darker than I would normally have gone. One wall is behind my bed in the master bedroom, and the other in my kitchen and dining space. They make great feature walls, and I’m so glad I took the leap!

Who has been your inspiration for your home?  

Inspiration for my home comes from using platforms such as Instagram and Pinterest. I can sit for hours browsing all the lovely accounts; whether it’s real life homes or inspiration pages. I’d say that I’m massively drawn to and swayed by a Scandi-style home and decor – extremely minimal but with a cosy feel. A dream of mine is to fly to Sweden with an empty suitcase and raid all the homeware stores for gorgeous goodies!

What’s next for your home interior journey? 

My next projects are my two upstairs bedrooms – one of which is a guest room and the other a glam room. They have acted as dumping grounds for a long time now, and I’m eager to get decorating and add styling to the spaces. I am planning a half-wall of panelling in my guest room, as I always see so many beautiful homes on Instagram with the perfect panel walls and it’s totally inspired me to give it a go! Watch this space…

 

INSIDE_NUMBER_FIVE_

 

Why did you choose to showcase this room on Norfolk Bay Blog?

I have chosen to showcase our kitchen for The Norfolk bay blog, as this was the first project we tackled during the renovation of our colonial style home! It was a great learning curve and helped with the process of the rest of the renovation going forward, learning from mistakes along the way! Knocking down walls and changing the layout of the kitchen meant this room had the biggest visible impact on our new home, and made it the perfect space for our family!

 Do you care about the price tag when it comes to your home?
(We all know, Instagram can make everything look heightened & perfect and what we want to know is, if you like something will you buy it no matter what the cost or will you go out your way to find good deals for your home!)

Our budget is not endless, so we have to really think about where we want to save and where to splurge! When it comes to larger pieces for our home, I like to buy timeless pieces and spend more on quality products hoping they’ll last the test of time! I do shop around for products to see if I can find similar Products cheaper however I’ve now learnt ( the hard way) that saving up and Buying the pieces you love is best, rather than trying to fill the empty corners of your home with items not quite right! Patience is key! 

What’s the most outrageous or spontaneous thing/renovation you have done to your home?
The most outrageous part of our renovation would definitely be our new garage, with office and ( as we call it) man cave above! What started out as an office Space, soon had a kitchenette/ bathroom and cinema space and we totally blew our budget! However we tried to look long term and thought putting these extras in now, to make the space a liveable annex would add value to the house if we ever decided to move in the future!

Who has been your inspiration for your home?  
Our home is a unique style for the U.K. so for me, Pinterest was where I found some great colonial style homes to take inspiration from! At the moment, my absolute favourites to follow on Instagram are @studiomcgee and @chrislovesjulia 


What’s next for your home interior journey?
In the future we would like to build over our existing garage space to create a master bedroom! We’re not quite ready to start this new project but I already have lots of plans and Pinterest boards so watch this space! 

 

FIONAANDROGER

 Why did you choose to showcase this room on Norfolk Bay Blog? 

Our Dining room (or as Roger and I have named it ’The Garden Room’) is a space within our home which is continuously evolving. This is one of the most used rooms in our home and is largely designed as an open plan space, incorporating a mix of functional storage and seating. I choose two large sideboards which work beautifully adding symmetry to the room and act as a stylistic worktop for me to style with artworks, ornaments and decorative antiques. Creating a room which is both functional and beautiful in aesthetic takes time, I love dressing our dining table with rotating floral arrangements and tablescapes to change the look, I bought these beautiful stone effect hurricane candle holders which add so much to the space, especially when lit in the evenings. Crittall window mirrors reflect light from the Garden  adding depth and intrigue, neutral tones, coastal touches and rustic pieces inspired by nature create a sumptuous space where new meets old.

Do you care about the price tag when it comes to your home?

Price is always a deciding factor when choosing anything for the home, I love looking in antique shops for inspiration and often see beautiful pieces beyond budget so it is exciting to shop around and see what you can find.  I am all for vintage, antique and reclaimed furniture in the home, although much of the larger furniture pieces we have are new... we moved in with nothing but a blow up mattress! so I initially heavily invested in classic quality furniture pieces which will last for years to come. However, I am now slowly starting to introduce older antique pieces, which just add a certain something to a room. I am also hugely into up-cycling, be it painting furniture to breathe new life into it, changing knobs, re-framing and painting artworks, making old things new again is something I take great joy in and largely has been the ethos behind the cottage renovation. There is nothing more satisfying than finding a bargain, or creating something beautiful yourself using what you have around you.

 What’s the most outrageous or spontaneous thing/renovation you have done to your home?

Gosh there have been so many, including painting our black beams, dark wood floors, kitchen and utility floor tiles white, however the one which sticks out the most was the fireplace transformation which involved using emulsion paint to create an aged effect on new bricks, It was such a tedious and messy task which initially involved scrubbing dried paint with hot water and fairy liquid for some weeks until we switched to using a wall paper steamer, but the results are really quite spectacular and it has made a huge difference to the rooms aesthetic.  

Who has been your inspiration for your home? 

Nature has been one of the biggest inspirations in the home, I love all the neutral tones and earthy textures, this is something I continually return to, subtle changes in chalky paints throughout the home create a calm sanctuary. Reflective mirrors and glass tables help spaces feel bigger, I love bringing the outdoors in, that idea of elegant, refined, rustic, slow living, beautifully presented with green foliage and objects collected on our travels including natural pebbles, shells and other interesting artefacts all make beautiful meaningful art pieces within the home. Art is always another huge inspiration; I collect watercolours and sculptural pieces which often influence my colour schemes. 

 

What’s next for your home interior journey?

We have been so busy with the launch of Home and Coastal our new up-cycled, antique and reclaimed homewares business, that the cottage has taken a bit of a back seat over the last few weeks. I have an abundance of artworks which we will be hanging in the snug room and I am also looking to style the bedrooms with artwork and source a few Swedish antique pieces, the cottage interiors are continuously evolving, we are past the decorating phase and so my energy is now focused on dressing and styling each room, working on trying in the new pieces I have bought with the older items I have sourced to create a modern aesthetic. Instagram is such a wonderful tool for sharing ideas and inspiration and its fascinating to look back on our own renovation and see how much the cottage has changed over the last few months.

 


BE.YOU.BLOOM

Why did you choose to showcase this room on Norfolk Bay Blog?

This is our master bedroom and was part of the 2-story extension the previous owners completed before we moved in. I chose to feature this room because it is one of my favourites. This room was a blank canvas when we moved in, we added the puddle length curtains, ordered a new super king sleigh bed and had the built-in wardrobes installed with matching dressing table, bedside tables and chest of draws. The room has such a calming feel which is perfect after a long day at work, or having breakfast in bed on a Sunday. 

Do you care about the price tag when it comes to your home?
This is a tricky one, as it really depends! I do believe you can get some beautiful products for a lower price tag. However, I do love a luxurious statement piece once in a while. Some of our curtains and blinds were custom made because we wanted a particular fabric and luxury, heavy feel to them. Although I am a bargain hunter at heart, you cannot beat the new glasses/tumblers from Aldi or grabbing that famous brown wicker basket from Ikea. I love my home to look atheistically pleasing and high quality, and I can do this by shopping around and doing my research so I can get the best possible deal/product.

 What’s the most outrageous or spontaneous thing/renovation you have done to your home?

Since moving in we haven't carried out any large renovations, the biggest to date would have had to be our garage to workshop project. We insulated the room, put in a ceiling, installed rubber flooring and added a new electric garage door. Its completed transformed the room, we also have a door for access from the kitchen. I am in the process planning and thinking of the snug renovation, as that will be an exciting project.

Who has been your inspiration for your home? 

Over the years my inspiration has come from a variety of homes, people and styles. One of my biggest inspirations is my mum, her previous job was an interior design so she was my constant guru and when I went shopping, I am always sending her pictures of items asking if it would work in my house. 

Also, Pinterest in my 'go-to' for inspiration, including Lydia Millen, The White Company, Neptune and since starting my Home Account on Instagram, the other accounts and ideas that people share is incredible. 

 What’s next for your home interior journey?

Next up will be our Snug room, it's a blank canvas and cannot wait to transform it. I've already started my mood boards. We have other ideas in the pipeline, such as completely stripping out the bathrooms as they are my least favourite part of the house. However, we will only do this if we decide to stay in the house for a long time. So, if we move or if we stay there, we could have some very exciting projects happening. Think I will need multiple mood boards at this rate! 

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