'We swapped a beige, bland living room for a luxe, colourful look – and all on a budget of under £2,500'

Moving from a rental flat in Manchester into their dream home in Yorkshire, transforming the tired living room was top of the hit list for these home owners.

‘We’d been renting a two-bedroom flat in Manchester for some time, but life was so hectic and with our busy jobs my husband Michael and I felt like passing ships,’ says Jamila Bray.

'After deciding to move back to Yorkshire near our families and friends, we viewed over 20 houses before deciding on this three-bed semi in Harrogate, North Yorkshire for our new house. We both got new jobs and have never looked back!’

‘It was love at first sight with this house. Having the living room, kitchen and conservatory all open-plan for entertaining was a massive tick for us. It had been on the market a while, so we got it for under the asking price.'

'After tackling the damp proofing, electrics, boiler and fixing a couple of broken windows, we turned our attention to the living room reno as the whole space needed re-plastering.'

The living room before

'The living room looked tired and was pretty boring and beige. The lining paper was holding together some very old plaster and the previous off-white blinds were broken and rusty. Although we did save money by keeping the existing carpet.’

‘Having lived in several white rented flats, we couldn’t wait to make our home cosy with darker colours and tones. The starting point was the blue living room feature wall, but we kept the rest fresh and white.'

'I fell in love with the colour as it’s a warm deep blue rather than a cold blue, and everything else slotted into place. If one day we want to change it up, we can just paint over the feature wall and have a completely new look for the room.’

‘The big ticket items are neutral, like the grey sofas, but we added elements of wood and autumnal accent colours like burnt orange. I’m also drawn to gold and brass as they make a room feel warm and cosy.'

'If something is the wrong colour – like the Homesense mirror above the fireplace – I’ll just use gold Rub n Buff (a metallic finish) to change it.’

‘I love pieces that have special meaning for us. My favourite is the artwork of me and Michael that my friend created, which is placed in front of the fireplace. I’m wearing a dress made from Ghanian Kente fabric to celebrate my heritage, and there’s a glass of French wine as I lived there for six years.'

'The Yorkshire Rose is for Michael’s background and he’s reading his favourite book, The Hobbit, while the little bee symbolises our time in Manchester.’

‘There’s also a photograph of me by the TV near the window where I was modelling - I felt the eyeshadow colours matched the living room so well!’

‘Everything has been done on a budget. I love a good rummage through the clearance sections and I always search online to find the same items for less using Google reverse image search. My Instagram @prosecco_lifestyle often has ‘spot the difference’ posts showing things I’ve found cheaper.’

‘Michael’s a typical Yorkshire bloke and tends to leave the decor up to me. I normally put three things in front of him and see what he prefers. As long as I can make the money tally up, he’s a happy man!’

‘Looking back I’m so glad we replaced the bay window and got new blinds as it’s really elevated the room and the rich dark wood adds so much character.'

'The final piece of the jigsaw was the rug which tied everything together and highlighted some of the pieces that we already had.’

‘Although I’d love a more simple angular fireplace with a log burner and the same flooring running throughout the ground floor, we love how the living room has turned out.'

'It was decorated in such a way that we could change the colour in future but still keep the same big ticket items. There are lots of pieces with special meaning and if you buy something you really love, it’ll last and transition into different interior styles over the years.’

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