Period properties can be tricky to decorate, but with a dash of creativity you can make them your own.
For Lou Crane, lockdown made her realise how important it was to love her home environment and it inspired her to move into a stunning Edwardian property.
Her new home had dark walls, so her first priority was to get rid of them and start with a blank canvas. Since then, she's spent a lot of time reviving the house's original features and injecting personality into every room.
I’m Lou Crane, 36, a chief operating officer, and I live here with my cats Sirius and Luna. I share my home on Instagram at @notaperioddrama.
Where I live
My four-bedroom Edwardian villa is in Northwich, Cheshire, and I moved here in January 2022.
What I wanted to change
I love colour but the clashing shades the previous owners had chosen, including bright blue banisters, had to go. I also wanted to make the period features shine and inject some fun into the rooms.
How I made it my own
I used soft neutrals on the walls and then added pops of colour in surprising places, such as the ceilings and the bookshelves on the landing. I brought the period look up to date with contemporary furniture and typographic prints.
My favourite part
I love the cosy living room, which showcases my love of period features combined with modern furniture and bold accessories.
During lockdown, I was living in an apartment in Manchester, which made me realise the importance of outside space and how detrimental working at the kitchen table was. I wanted a period property, and when I saw this place, I knew it was the one.
I fell in love with the original tiles, stained glass and working fireplaces, but the decor needed serious attention. The whole house was painted in dark, clashing colours, which I couldn’t live with, so the first thing I did was paint every room white to create a blank canvas to start from.
I quickly realised I needed one finished room I could retreat to, so I concentrated on making the living room my sanctuary, and then moved on to the guest room as I was excited to have friends to stay.
I love bold, bright colours but I also wanted to be respectful of the heritage of the property, so I reinstated the picture rails and added panelling.
I spent a lot of time stripping the house back to showcase the original features, including sanding the wooden flooring in the living room by hand. It was hard work, but I love the way the house reflects my fun personality, and I would 100% do it all over again.’
Living room
This was the first room I decorated, and I didn’t initially have a plan. At one point I had about 80 paint testers on the walls, even trying black on the ceiling!
I finally settled on Rust-Oleum’s Homespun for the warm feel it adds, but kept the ceiling fresh by painting it white. I reinstated the picture rail and dado, and then I spent hours measuring the panelling, only to realise all the walls are wonky, so most of it was attached by eye.
Sanding back the wooden floor was a labour of love because it had a hundred loose blocks that needed re-gluing. I couldn’t use an industrial sander because the floor is uneven, so it was all done by hand using a small belt sander, and I finished off the look with Osmo Polyx-Oil, which is durable and doesn’t change the colour of the wood.
Office
This room needed to function as an office because I work from home but, as it was only going to be used during the week, I decided to transform it into a party room at the weekends.
I kept the walls white but painted the ceiling green, which complements my array of plants. Then I zoned the room by placing a cheap piece of wood on brackets along the length of one side to act as my desk, and positioned a cocktail trolley and drinks cart in the opposite corner to create a bar area.
The gallery wall started off small but has taken on a life of its own and is filled with a mix of meaningful images and pictures that make me smile, becoming one of the most personal spaces in the house.
Hallway and landing
The hall was a massive project, which I estimated would take six months but ended up taking 12, because sanding back the thick blue paint on the spindles took so long. I eventually bought a rotary jewellery cleaner to get into every nook and cranny and would do an hour a night.
Adding panelling up the stairs was also tricky as although I’d mastered cutting squares, getting the angles right was hard. I painted the walls an off-white neutral and then made a statement of the ceiling and bookshelves by painting them in Delilah by Earthborn.
I wanted visitors to stop and enjoy the landing so I framed the fun Spoonbill mural from WallpaperMural.
Main bedroom
My bedroom is my sanctuary, and I felt a terracotta tone would create a cosy space, but finding the perfect shade was challenging. I went through lots of testers, as I didn’t understand the need to look at colours in different lights, but this was the room where I finally understood that.
I only added panelling to the back wall as the room isn’t huge, but a lot of the design got lost behind the bed, so I wanted pattern in the panels. After a lot of online searching, I came across the painterly cloud-effect mural.
Guest bedroom
It was important for this room to be fun and inviting for visitors, so it probably has the least traditional look in the house. While I’ve tried to blend the other rooms into the period features, this space was always catered to what a guest would want.
I based the curved colour-block design and earthy hues around the plants, and it only cost £15 as I used tester pots. This room is lovely at sunset – it literally glows! The oranges, greens and rich yellows work with the light in here really well.
There used to be a small shelf on the wall, but I felt the proportions didn’t work so I replaced it with the £5 scaffold board, which I sanded and used browning wax to add the rich tone.
Dressing room
I wanted to keep the bedroom free from clutter and clothes, and I’m lucky to have enough bedrooms to turn one into a dressing room, which is really useful. I’m also lucky that the previous owners left some IKEA Pax wardrobes behind which, with the help of my mum, I gave an in-built look by adding a wooden frame.
I created the fake limewash effect by pouring two paint colours into a tray, loading one brush with both colours, and then criss-crossing the brush on the walls.
I wanted a focal point to define the dressing table area, so I stuck some pre-cut batons onto the wall then attached the mirror, which had been left behind.
Bathroom
The main bathroom needs a complete redesign as it has an old shower in the corner and I want to install a bath, but I need to save up to do it. So, in the meantime, I gave the downstairs toilet a makeover as a quick win. I decided to embrace the lack of natural light and go dark and moody, and the scheme was inspired by HTK 57 paint, Lick’s collab with Heinz Tomato Ketchup, which I used on the woodwork.
I chose the Tiger Ink mural wallpaper by belarteSTUDIO to match the red, and I also love cats so the tiger design was a fun nod to that. I finished off the look by using Rub ‘n Buff wax on the chrome tap and mirror, as gold suits our home.
Kitchen-diner
I created a dining area in here as the room at the front of the house became our office and I use the middle room as our lounge, plus I felt the kitchen was big enough to include a table. I wanted to inject my personality into the space, so I added the plant shelf above the sink, made from a cheap plank of wood, and painted the colourful circles on the walls using old tester pots.
I would never choose wooden worktops as they’re too high maintenance for me, but I didn’t want the expense of changing them, so I brought them back to life by sanding them down.
I also lightened the wood with a topcoat of white Osmo oil to help balance out the dark green cabinets which, although lovely, do dominate the space. Thankfully, the white floor and wall tiles help brighten up the room.
How to choose kitchen flooring
Pick out the best flooring for this high-traffic area with these top tips!
- Kitchen flooring should be hard wearing, low-maintenance, and stand up to stains, scuffs and regular cleaning. Solid hardwood, although beautiful, may shrink or warp because of the heat and moisture in a kitchen area. Engineered wood floorboards can handle moisture and temperature changes, but bear in mind they’re not waterproof – classed instead as water-resistant.
- LVT flooring, or luxury vinyl tiles, is a versatile and tough choice, as LVTs can give you the look of wood, tiles or stone, while being easy to maintain, scratch-proof and waterproof. Porcelain and ceramic tiles are both elegant choices and look very similar but have slightly different qualities. Ceramic tiles tends to be cheaper and easier to install, but porcelain is more durable and less porous.
- Narrow down your options by looking at your cabinets, wall colours and furniture as a whole, and then consider what will complement the scheme. For example, if you have a wooden table and wooden cupboards, you might choose to have contrasting patterned tiles rather than wood-effect planks.
- Finally, get real-world samples to look at in the space, and examine how the material looks in the room, both in daylight and at night. Remember to include the cost of installation in your budget, and don’t forget extras like grout, underlay and adhesive, plus an extra 10% of the flooring to allow for errors.
What I learned
- The finishing touches are everything – even doorknobs. Although you might think no one will probably notice, these are the elements that make me feel like a room is finished.
- Don’t throw away tester pots. Even if they weren’t right for the room you bought them for, you’ll always find a use for them, whether it’s painting photo frames, vases or even colour-blocking walls.
- If previous owners leave furniture behind, don’t assume it should be binned. Instead, see if you can save money by upcycling it to suit your style, as generally the pieces left behind were bought for the space and fit well.
