A colourful new build with plenty of personality
Looking to move from their contemporary apartment in the city, Cotty Lee and her husband Caine decided a new-build house would best suit their needs and determined to dispel the myth that modern homes are bland and boring, Cotty has injected both colour and character to every room. Here’s how the couple set about decorating a new build…
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Low maintenance & energy efficient
‘It was really lockdown that did it for me, as I suddenly desperately wanted more space and a garden,’ recalls Cotty. ‘We were looking for something low maintenance and thought that a modern home would be more energy efficient.’
A small development of houses caught their eye – the only problem being that the house they liked the most hadn’t been built yet.
‘We were determined to get a three-bedroom detached property after so many years of apartment living, and there was a lovely spot at the end of a cul de sac with a good garden, which was perfect,’ Cotty explains.
For many people this would be too much of a leap, but Cotty knew buying off-plan was a good option. ‘My day job is as a sales adviser on new-build projects, so I had confidence in knowing what was possible and how it all works.’
Photo: Colin Poole
Input into fixtures & fittings
As the site was being built by a small developer rather than a large company, Cotty and Caine were able to have more input with their choice of fixtures and fittings.
‘I’m a big baker and we love to cook and entertain,’ she explains, ‘so I worked with local kitchen company System Six Kitchens directly and designed it myself in a colour outside of the range offered, paying extra to change the layout and adding two extra ovens.’
Metal stools from Dunelm at the breakfast bar have been softened with seat pads from Graham & Green in three of her favourite colours – blue, green and pink, while Divine Savages’ Crane Fonda wallpaper in Jade Green offers a burst of colour on one wall.
The couple also negotiated with the builders, paying an additional fee to have a small garden room added on the back of the kitchen-diner during the build, which can be turned into extra guest accommodation with a sofa bed from Ikea.
Photo: Colin Poole
Moving in
Because of Covid restrictions and problems with suppliers, the build took a lot longer than planned, but luckily, as the couple had already sold their flat, they were able to move in with Cotty’s nan who lives nearby.
‘It was supposed to only be for six months, but it ended up being 15! We were very grateful to her, but it was wonderful to finally complete on the house in October 2020.’
Photo: Colin Poole
Decorating a new build
Although the kitchen and bathrooms were in, the rest of the house had been finished by the developer with grey walls in every room, but this didn’t last long.
‘We couldn’t wait, so we painted a couple of rooms the day we moved in, just to get rid of the feeling of living in a grey shell,’ Cotty recalls.
In the living room they panelled a whole wall to create a period vibe, painting it in Little Greene’s Obsidian Green. Hugo Chesterfield velvet sofas in Emerald Green and Rose by Rose & Grey complement each other, while a blind from Blinds 2go in William Morris’s Compton print and a statement footstool made by local firm Sparrow & Plumb in Emma J Shipley’s Lynx fabric, ties it all together.
Photo: Colin Poole
Panelling the bedroom walls
Upstairs, the couple knew what they wanted to do with the three bedrooms, picking the main en-suite bedroom as their own and turning the one at the front into a guest bedroom. They added instant character to their room with panelling painted in Little Greene’s Basalt Blue and a lime green headboard.
‘As we only have ourselves to please, we decided to transform the third room into a dressing room-cum-office,’ says Cotty. ‘It’s a real luxury not having our clothes cluttering up our bedroom, and gives us more space.
Photo: Colin Poole
Colour is the key
A self-confessed lover of colour, Cotty stops short of describing herself as a maximalist, but is a fan of all things vintage.
‘I’ve got everything from seventies glam to Art Deco in here, and I love to add plenty of personal touches. In the bathroom I upcycled an Ikea vanity unit using Pullman Green paint by Craig & Rose with Farrow & Ball’s Calke Green on the walls.’
Photo: Colin Poole
A characterful new build
Cotty feels she has succeeded in her quest to give new builds a better image.
‘I think people are afraid to change the neutral colours they’ve been given, but there’s so much you can do,’ she says. ‘We’ve spent £15,000 overall and learned so much doing up this place that we may even go for an older house next time.’