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At Home With: Becky {Pinks Charming}

It’s time for a sneak peek into another blogger’s home; this time it’s the home of Becky from Pinks Charming. When I first caught sight of Becky’s photographs I was totally blown away; not only is it beautiful but she has done much of the house renovating herself and the attention to detail is stunning.

You can see immediately that this home has been a total labour of love, with every inch being carefully planned and thought through. Oh and Becky really does love pink!

Fancy a nosey?

Who lives in your home?

Photo by Vicki Hull Photography

I live with my husband Ryan and daughters, Ava and Thea. This photo was taken in the field behind our house, about a year ago. When I came to look for a photo of all of us, this was the most recent, eeek!

Where do you live and how long have you lived there?

We live in a small town near Milton Keynes, and have lived in our four-bedroom detached 1970s home for about four and a half years.

What were the first impressions of your home?

We had a bit of a nightmare move, as we had sold our old house and had an offer agreed on a different house. A week after Christmas, the woman of the house we were buying pulled out (after about four months of stalling!). We had to either decide to pull out too, or look for a new house. We couldn’t put our buyers through that stress, and had also fallen out of love with our old house. I looked at 12 houses in one day, pretty much anything in the area that had any potential at all. Nothing was right, so an estate agent showed us this house. It was way over budget, and needed a lot of work as it was extremely dated. But luckily we could see the potential. It has the space we need, and a lovely view over a field, which is what we really fell for.

We had to move in with my parents for quite a few months so that we didn’t break the chain, and because it needed so much work doing to it. When we got the keys we looked at each other and though ‘what have we done?!” It smelled of dog, and after the previous owner’s furniture had been removed, we saw the true state of the carpets and wallpaper. But we concentrated on the view, and that got us through it.

Pinks charming house

Have you had any major work done?

The house actually needed even more work than we thought, including a new boiler. The bathroom also leaked through the kitchen ceiling, so we ended up ripping that out too, as it was dated with ‘old lady’ tiles. We took the opportunity to knock through to the airing cupboard, to make space for a lovely walk in shower.

Aside from removing the partition wall in the bathroom, we didn’t need any structural work, but we have changed everything but the roof, front door and windows! We ripped out all the flooring, stripped all the wall paper and had the artex ceilings skimmed. We also replaced all the internal doors with simple light oak ones, choosing doors with glass panels for our living spaces to allow light to travel around.

The lounge had black beams across the ceiling, but luckily they weren’t structural. The day after we got the keys, my brother-in-law came over with a chainsaw and cut them down, it was such a relief even though the ceiling then had loads of holes in it! The lounge is the room we finished first, and we love spending time here as a family.

I chose a neutral white, grey and black palette with a few pops of pink, and painted the wall behind the sofa in some leftover blush pink paint.

black and white living room

blush pink in living room I painted the dated brick fireplace, including the brass fittings, and we added a piece of reclaimed oak and it’s a complete transformation.

Our furniture is a mix of vintage and modern with some handmade pieces thrown in for good measure. I bought my Ercol suite when I was a student, and it’s lived in every house since.

I find it really comfortable, but my husband disagrees! So, we use the grey DFS Zinc sofa and footstool, and I sit in the chair on the rare occasions I have time to read.

Ercol chair

My brother made the reclaimed floorboard bookshelves behind the sofa to hold our huge collection of books, and made the coffee table to match. I made the grey chunky blanket at an arm knitting workshop with I Make Knots – it only took about an hour!

We’ve also had the downstairs toilet and kitchen replaced, so there is now no trace of the previous owners, apart from all the daffodils she planted. Our kitchen was the latest project and it’s a huge improvement from the old orange wood predecessor.

reclaimed wood floor

What is your favourite room in the house?

It varies depending on which room I have recently faffed about with. Currently it’s my home office, or my girls’ playroom. I’ve created light, bright rooms with plenty of space to get creative. It’s important to me to have my own space to work, as I’m a freelance copywriter, and mainly work from home.

We added two desks so that my husband and I can both squeeze in there if needed, and the second desk is also a space for craft, sewing or drawing. We got most of the furniture from IKEA as it’s so practical and reasonably priced.

I recently finished my girls’ play room and love how it turned out. We put bunk beds in the smallest bedroom so they can now use the big room for play and it’s working so well. They have a desk each, and they are big enough that they won’t need new ones as they grow.

I made a reading corner from an old cot bed mattress and a pile of cushions. I added frosted window film from Inkmill Vinyl, and think it adds a pretty touch of whimsy, and gives a little extra privacy without blocking out the light.

Is there anything you would change about your home?

I have a dream ‘if we won the lottery’ list and it’s pretty long! I would love an en-suite, as I know when the girls get older we are going to fight over the bathroom. I don’t think there is any way we can squeeze one in, unless we extend.

I’d also love to either paint the house white or add grey wooden cladding, as it’s rather a plain, 70s style house on the outside. I’d like to replace the French windows in our lounge with bi-fold doors and the garden needs a lot of work. It’s been a bit neglected since we moved in, as I have no gardening talent and my husband has no time.

What is the next home project you are planning?

We really need a new front door, but decided to spend that money on a holiday, so I don’t think there will be any big projects on the horizon. I may well paint our old door to tide us over, I’m thinking pink for a bit of fun.

Shop Becky’s Home Style

White Metal TV stand
Ladder Desk
Pink Felt Letterboard
White Eames Chair
Sequin Belly Basket
Zinc DFS 4-seater sofa
White Metal Tray Table
IKEA Watering Can

Of course the door has to be pink! If you want to keep in touch with Becky and her family then you can read her blog here. If social media is your jam then you’ll find her on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Thank you for sharing your gorgeous home with us Becky, you really have put your unique stamp on it and your hard work has definitely paid off.

Home Etc
Inside, Outside & Beyond

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9 COMMENTS

  • Becky

    Thanks so much for featuring our home Suzanne, it’s nice to be able to see how much work we have done over the last 4 years! x

    • Suzanne

      I can imagine it is Becky, you should be very proud of what you’ve achieved. I really love the girls’ playroom especially. xx

  • Tracey Williams

    Aw what a beautiful home and you can tell how much love and labour has gone into making the house a home. Gorgeous views from the back too x

    • Suzanne

      You absolutely can! I love homes like this with a real personal touch. x

  • Jenny Taylor

    What a beautiful home so stylishly decorated too!!! I love love the girls desks. I might have to do this in a few years for my two older ones to have desks to work at. What a great idea to put them in bunk beds so you have an extra room for play.

  • What an absolutely gorgeous interior! It’s so light and clean. I love the touch of femininity without it being overwhelming too. It must have taken so much work to turn it from a run down old place to this lovely home. Becky now has a new follower – thanks for sharing Suzanne.

  • Aaah I LOVE Becky’s style — she’s always been a regular on #HomeEtc so I’ve been treated to glimpses of her gorgeous home over the years! Plus she’s as nice in real life as she seems online too — I’ve met her a couple of times and she’s as lovely as her home!!

  • Pia

    Great Home tour! Love the décor. It’s neutral and quite feminine (but in a very subtle kind of way) I also love reading home owners interviews 🙂 x #Homeetc

  • Lins @ Boo & Maddie

    I love your home tours Suzanne, and Becky’s house is just stunning! I’m such a voyeur that I love hearing from people about what makes their homes so special to them as it’s something different every time X

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