Home makeover: 'I knew it would be the perfect home'

Lindsey Hindson used subtle colours and cosy textures to turn the dated rooms in her Victorian property into a stylish family home that’s perfect for entertaining

Published: April 22, 2021 at 5:00 am

Lindsey Hindson used subtle colours and cosy textures to turn the dated rooms in her Victorian property into a stylish family home that’s perfect for entertaining.

Here, she tells us about her home makeover experience...

My story

We weren’t really looking for a new place, but I saw this house online and noticed that it had an open day for viewing, so I went along on my own.

I loved the period features – even though they were all painted red – and the house had so much space that I put in an offer as soon as I left.

Home makeover: 'I knew it would be the perfect home'
Mike made the dining table from old scaffold planks finished with metal trestle legs. A wooden bench is perfect for fitting everyone around the table

Once Mike saw it, he got on board and could see the potential the house had to be the perfect home.

Welcome to our home...

A bit about me I’m Lindsey Hindson, 34, a financial advisor. I live with my husband, Mike, 41, and my daughter, Ellie, 14. Mike’s daughter, Seren, 13, stays with us a lot so she has her own room too.

Where I live Our home is a three-bed Victorian semi-detached house in Southampton. This is our first home we’ve bought together, and we moved in 2016. I post interior updates on my Instagram @hillside_ave_.

Lindsey Hindson

Being an electrician, Mike did a lot of the work, but we had tradespeople in for the tiling, plastering and gas works.

Home makeover: 'I knew it would be the perfect home'
‘I’m a big fan of plants – they help add a bit of life and colour to the room. My light-up wall letters are from Luxe Lettering UK and add a pretty glow at night’

Within eight weeks we had the house stripped, rewired, replastered and everything painted grey or white, then we were able to start putting our own stamp on it.

A bit more about my home...

What I wanted to change Everything! The house was an awful sight when we bought it. There was a red lounge, purple hallway, suspended 1970s office ceilings and purple glittery worktops. You name it, they had it.

How I made it my own We stripped the place bare in the initial stages. Creating an open-plan kitchen-diner and a spacious bathroom were the biggest jobs. Then I decorated the rooms in a modern style while being sympathetic to the original character of the house.

My favourite part The kitchen-diner. It’s a fabulous social space for when we have get-togethers, and the glass extension ensures it’s light and bright all year round.

Lindsey's home

We were in the house two years before we could afford to do the kitchen-diner, but I didn’t mind waiting as it meant we could save so we could do exactly what we wanted.

Home makeover: 'I knew it would be the perfect home'
Lindsey has used personalised hooks to add interest to the wall and keep favourite accessories to hand. It’s also the perfect way to display her boho-style wreath

I don’t really have one particular style. If I like something, I’ll go with it, but I’m happy to change if it doesn’t work out.

I spend a lot of time on Instagram swooning over people’s homes.

Home makeover: 'I knew it would be the perfect home'
‘The snug is the only room that has a really bright splash of colour. It’s perfect for watching movies and snuggling up. I bought the velvet cushions and throws in Primark and created a small gallery wall with some copper and brass hanging frames’

Mike worries if I’m on too long it means I’m planning a change! He’s very patient though and we’ve both really enjoyed turning this house into a home.

Kitchen-diner

‘We waited two years before we could afford to extend this space and create an open-plan kitchen-diner. I wanted somewhere that would work for us as a family and for all the entertaining I do – I tend to have about 20 guests at Christmas!

Home makeover: 'I knew it would be the perfect home'
The kitchen and dining area is fairly narrow, so Lindsey had to carefully plan the space to fit as much in as possible. ‘It has plenty of storage with a place for everything and lots of worktop space,’ she says. ‘I love a bit of baking and I’ve now got plenty of room to make a mess!’

‘To get the room we wanted, we knocked through the original kitchen, which was at the back of the house, and into the tiny dining space and swapped the rooms around, adding a glass extension.

Home makeover: 'I knew it would be the perfect home'
Lindsey sprayed the breakfast bar stools gold to tie in with other metallic elements in the kitchen. The pale blush sheepskin cushions were picked out to match with the pink toaster and kettle

‘When designing the kitchen, I was told I couldn’t have an island as it was too narrow, but I painstakingly sat with grid paper working out ratios and giving the poor man from Howdens a tough time – I got my dream island in the end.’

Living room

‘This room gets quite a bit of light, so we decided to work with it and keep the scheme bright and airy. Originally, there was an awful 70s-style gas fire, which we instantly ripped out and replaced with a reclaimed Victorian fireplace that I found on Gumtree for under £100.

Home makeover: 'I knew it would be the perfect home'
‘We kept the original cornices on the ceiling as they add character to this room and complement the new Victorian-style fireplace. Some of the cornice design has been picked out with the trellis work on the cupboards. I found this stunning over-mantel mirror from John Lewis & Partners to finish off the room’

‘Mike built alcove cupboards out of scraps of wood and we added shelves above for storage.

‘Colour-wise, we kept it neutral, though I’m always changing up the cushions for a quick update – I’m now on my sixth set.

Home makeover: 'I knew it would be the perfect home'
‘We picked the house because of the high ceilings and this room has a typical Victorian feel. We kept the scheme neutral with pastel walls and a soft grey carpet’

‘We’ve tried to decorate in keeping with the character of this room and highlight the original features, like the high ceiling.’

Master bedroom

‘I’ve kept the scheme pretty neutral in here as I like to feel calm when I go to bed. Recently, we updated the wall behind the bed by adding panelling, which Mike did himself.

Home makeover: 'I knew it would be the perfect home'
To highlight the height of the room, Lindsey stopped the panelling – which is painted in Tea Party by Valspar – at picture rail height. Textured bedding and crisp white linen add a fresh feel to the elegant space

‘We went for a soft green finish, which I love as I now feel we have a proper feature wall. I also got a bit creative with pampas grass and used it to create a couple of decorative wreaths for the wall. It seems to be really on-trend at the moment.’

Bathroom

‘This was one of the first rooms we worked on when renovating the house as I wanted somewhere to chill out at the end of a busy day.

‘Originally, the toilet was separate to the bathroom so we knocked through so that we could have a larger space to make room for a walk-in shower and my must-have: a free-standing bath.

Home makeover: 'I knew it would be the perfect home'
‘I wanted to make the bathroom feel glamorous with a boutique hotel finish and I think we’ve achieved that,’ reveals Lindsey

‘My favourite feature is the exposed brick wall. It happened by accident – when we knocked through the rooms the plaster all fell off exposing the stunning brick – but the happy accident saved us an awful lot of money on tiles and plastering.’

Feature and styling Zoe Bishop. Photos Lizzie Orme.

This is a digital version of a feature that originally appeared in Your Home magazine. For more inspirational home ideas, why not subscribe today?

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