See below for my chat with journalist Georgie from Ideal Home magazine, about how The Pink House London came to be. Photos by the fabulous Susie Lowe.
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The Room I Couldn't Be Bothered To Renovate - the reveal!
When we don’t have guests, this room is used as a home office by the Pink House Husband, who is a tricky, unadventurous client with dubious taste…
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The basement hallway in my Edinburgh home/Wallpaper is Prism by Cole & Son/Photo: Susie Lowe
Pink House Helps...in the hallway (and on the stairs)
Pink House Helps is back! And this time we’re tackling the hallway and stairs. Alongside hanging pictures (how does any couple ever agree?) and replacing faulty windows (they somehow cost more than you paid for the actual house), designing and decorating the hallway and stairs is often the last task in a home renovation project.
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Me and the kids in our half-finished home
Renovating with kids – a guide to low-stress living
In an ideal world, we wouldn’t be living in The Pink House while it was being renovated; we’d be chilling in a large, fully-furnished, dust-free - hell, this is an ideal world; let’s throw in a swimming pool, grotto and a kitten farm too - mansion across the road until the very last lick of paint had been applied.
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The scarcely-seen loo side of my Edinburgh bathroom
Breaking the loo taboo
When it comes to bathrooms, everyone’s happy to chat pretty taps, rolltop tubs and lovely lighting. But despite the fact that using the loo is the main reason we go to the littlest room, when it comes to designing a sanitary space, no-one really talks about toilets. How very British of us!
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AFTER: the finished bedroom!
My 9yo son's urban jungle bedroom - room reveal!
My eldest son Oscar is a lucky little (insert inappropriate term of abuse here): of all the bedrooms in The Pink House, his has the best view. So when it came to designing Oscar’s room, its location, perched high above London, was a key consideration. I wanted to reference the city beyond his window, but balance the urban with the presence of nature…
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3D image of The Pink House, complete with the pink steel extension we’ve received planning permission for
Revealed! The Pink House's big renovation project
A few months ago, when I told a neighbour we were applying for planning permission to erect a pink steel structure at the front of our house, she just laughed: “In Lewisham? You’ll be lucky!” But we DID get lucky, and ours was given the go ahead just last week. Hooray! Break out the pink champagne!
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The Pink House’s peachy family room, decked out in fabulous Shrimps for Habitat decor
The Pink House family room reveal!
In the same way that most families have an awkward uncle, stubborn aunt or uncooperative cousin, most homes have a room that’s just plain difficult to decorate. In The Pink House’s case, this room is the Family Room…
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"Oh yes - it's TOTALLY to his taste..." Photo: Architectural Digest | Design: Drake/Anderson
QUIZ: Are you winning the interior war?
The first rule of any fight? Know thy enemy. This quiz will help you understand your interior design opponent and your personal fighting style, and I’ve included some useful hints and tips to help you overcome your nemesis…
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The Fab 5: Bedside Lamps
Here are five of my favourite non-wall-mounted lamps that I think would look rather beautiful illuminating a bedtime book...
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The Pink House London kitchen BEFORE/AFTER: Part 1
When we bought The Pink House London it was a vision in shades of beige, which at least makes for some striking reveals as I colour it in, room by room. The kitchen is no exception. So here you go – before/after shots of the first stage of my renovation of this room…
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Clemmie Hooper/Photo: Philippa James
How I won the interior war: Clemmie Hooper AKA Mother Of Daughters
Clemmie, husband Simon and their four children have just moved out of London to a sprawling Victorian house by the sea in Kent. Here she tells me of her plans to renovate it with plenty of colour and creativity, despite husband Simon's preference for "symmetrical lines"...
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Super sexy pink velvet curtains by The London Curtain Girls in The Pink House/Photo: Susie Lowe
2018: Year of the Sexy Curtain
“Our curtains are like couture for windows,” says Mary Walsh, co-founder of bespoke curtain company The London Curtain Girls, and a subscriber to the curtains-as-fabulous-home-clothing concept. Together with business partner Laragh Bohn, she made my – yes – my SEXY pink velvet curtains, and I still can’t get over how much I love them...
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Emily wasn't listening when the fish said she'd taken on too much
Renovation deflation: lessons I’ve learned this week
I’m recklessly ignoring the unwritten Renovation Rule Book, and trying to do too many things in too short a time frame, with not enough information, and only the merest hint of approval from the Pink House Husband (i.e. I haven’t actually told him what I’m up to)...
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C.P. Hart's collaboration with House of Hackney: I'll take the lot please
3 beautiful blush and brass bathrooms my husband hates
Although I'm feeling the pressure to create a bathroom as Pinterest-popular as my last one, at least I have my trump card (surely we need another term - "obama card"?): PINK. And not just pink - blush pink and brass!
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