Natania put her DIY and creative skills to good use when she transformed a dull ex-rental apartment into a stylish new pad.
Four years on, her home continues to evolve with her lifestyle – and whatever she can't buy she makes! Read on to explore Natania's vibrant home and discover how she made her own unique dining table.
I’m Natania Duhur, 31. I work in finance and have an interiors account on Instagram @thenatmaison. I live with my husband Josh, 32, who works in sales.
Where I live
My home is a two-bedroom flat in a Victorian property, built in 1901, in south London. I moved here in 2020.
What I wanted to change
As this was an ex-rental property, I inherited a new kitchen and bathroom but the flat lacked character. I planned to renovate every room to highlight all the period features and inject personality into the space with colour and pattern.
How I made it my own
On moving in, I tackled sanding the floors with help from my dad. Weekends were spent painting every room and learning new skills like tiling and woodwork.
When Josh moved in here in 2022, together we decorated every room in a colour palette of rust, blue, red and white. We added extra storage in the kitchen, updated the lighting, tiled the fireplaces and renovated the garden.
My favourite part
In the summer, we live out in the garden. It’s so much fun hosting BBQs in our DIY outdoor kitchen. Our checkerboard tiled floor is very special to me too because it’s so unusual.
In 2019, I got a new job and the timing felt right to start house hunting. My heart was set on a period property with architectural details like coving, wooden floorboards and fireplaces. And an outdoor space was a must! I built up a rapport with local estate agents so they would call me when a new property came up, and an agent showed me this gem of a flat before it hit the market.
It ticked all my boxes, so I made an offer on the spot. What clinched the deal for me was when I met the lady upstairs who highly recommended that I bought the flat. I took it as a sign that this was the one.
The property was an ex-rental, so the bathroom and kitchen were fairly new, but it looked tired around the edges. The original floorboards in the bedroom and hallway had been buried under grey carpet and stubborn black stain, while the living room floorboards hadn’t been looked after. With the help of my dad, it took hours to restore them to their former glory.
When we couldn't find what we wanted, we made it ourselves
Natania Duher
Slowly, after lots of weekends filled with DIY, my home started to reflect my love of colour and checkerboard prints. I shopped on eBay and auction sites to fill my home with mid-century furniture that I lovingly restored. When we couldn’t find what we wanted, we made it ourselves – Josh built the dining table based on an idea I found, and I love that everyone asks us where it’s from and I can say that we made it.
Although I made some missteps along the way, like painting the living room yellow and changing my mind on some of the furniture I bought, each mistake taught me a valuable lesson in perseverance. Looking back over my renovation journey, I’m impressed by how much we’ve managed to achieve and I’m proud we’ve done it all ourselves.
Four years after moving in, my home continues to evolve. I love moving pieces from room to room, and the colours allow the spaces to flow from one to the next. I’ve transformed this flat into a home that feels uniquely mine and brings me immense happiness and joy.
Living room-diner
This is the first room I tackled. I was living at my mum's during this time, and I'd make daily treks to the flat in the evenings to paint one wall at a time before heading back home. The process of painting this room took over a week because the ceilings are so high, but I got there in the end!
With help from my dad, I sanded the original floorboards over a long weekend to reveal the beautiful wood hiding under a layer of grime. It was a bonding experience doing DIY with my dad, and he managed to bag me an extra day with the sander for free by charming the person at the tool hire shop!
Nothing was done in a proper order, so six months into my renovation I came back to the living room to finish it off. I replaced the secondhand eBay sofa I bought as a temporary fix and tiled the fireplace with a statement orange checkerboard pattern. I spotted a blue dining table on Pinterest that I loved, and Josh and I designed and built our own version of it.
Kitchen
‘We kept the original laminate wood-effect flooring in here as it’s still in good condition, and instead focused on painting the walls and ceiling in light blue.
During the makeover, Josh smashed open a hatch door in the ceiling, revealing a hidden loft space. This discovery instantly expanded our storage space in the flat!
I also hacked an IKEA Ivar unit to create a pantry area where I could hide away the microwave and toaster to free up worktop space.
Our beautiful table from John Lewis was a Christmas gift from my mum, and I sourced the 1980s, Cesca-style dining chairs from eBay for £150.
Above, Josh wired in the Louis Poulsen lighting fixture, which is from Nest, and swapped the cable for a different colour himself. His DIY skills added a personal touch and saved us money.
Bedroom
This room underwent a transformation in two stages, beginning with the laborious task of sanding the floors. They’re a much lighter wood than the floorboards in the rest of the house, so we embraced this uniqueness by applying a raw wax finish.
We removed the big built-in wardrobes and found a little alcove in the wall, which was most probably the original door frame from when my flat was once part of the larger house, so I made a feature of it by painting it and adding shelving.
We also got rid of an awkward radiator and installed a vertical one instead. Josh turned his hand to plastering so that the walls were smooth and ready to paint in shades of blue from Farrow & Ball’s Carte Blanche collection.
I found the wall lights from Palefire Studio through Instagram. All the lighting fixtures in our home are on dimmers, allowing us to set the mood and balance light in each room.
Hallway
Our decision to paint the hallway red was quite spontaneous. I love that the colour transforms throughout the day under different light conditions.
The floorboards were in dire need of attention, so Josh sanded them and replaced the damaged ones using reclaimed materials. I hung a mirror from Hay to bounce light around, and Josh brought the rug back from a trip to Turkey.
We’ve developed a habit of rearranging items around our home, making the most of what we have and infusing each corner with personal stories and memories. Every item in our home, from the bold hues to the eclectic furniture pieces, plays a role in creating a space we truly love.
Garden
The garden was a labour of love. My in-laws helped me to meticulously lay the floor tiles, inspired by an image I’d saved on Pinterest. I chose a distinctive three-by-three square layout, which was very tricky and fiddly to lay.
We also hired a cement mixer and rebuilt the crumbling garden walls, and made our own raised beds, which we painted in a blue limewash finish.
We loved the idea of having an outdoor kitchen, so built our own using reclaimed materials. I managed to source the Delft tiles for the splashback on eBay and used leftover plywood for the frame. The sink was a lucky find on Facebook Marketplace for £5, and the salvaged tap is from a local junkyard.
I splashed out on a custom-built table from Six Dots Design through Narchie, which was delivered on my birthday – it was the best birthday present ever!
What I learned
- Rushing into design decisions can lead to regret. Now, I take my time to find pieces that truly match my style, even if it means living with temporary solutions while I figure out what I want.
- Blend old and new pieces in your home to create a unique and personal space. You don’t need to break the bank on expensive items – mixing styles, or painting second-hand pieces in an unexpected colour, can make a bold statement on a budget.
- Don’t shy away from tackling home improvement projects yourself. Be it painting, tiling or creating custom furniture, you can save a bundle and learn valuable skills along the way. We saved hundreds of pounds by sanding all the floorboards ourselves.
How to make your own dining table
DIY your own designer-dupe furniture with these tips!
- Look online for a simple, beginner-friendly table project – YouTube is a handy resource for budding furniture makers. First, sketch it out on paper to finalise the design then, when you’re happy with it, measure up your space to work out the dimensions.
- To make the table top, cut plywood to size at your local DIY store. Many offer this service for free, and it means you don’t have to invest in cutting tools. You will need a power drill to screw the table together, though. Use screws made for MDF or wood.
- Pay attention to small details, like the legs and edges. Sleek, tapered legs or a unique base design can elevate the overall look and make a statement.
- Add a personal touch to make a piece that’s unique to you – this can be the colour that you paint it, additional elements like edging or beading, or choosing an unusual asymmetric shape.
- The finish you choose can make a significant difference to the table’s appearance and durability. After painting, protect it with a varnish or wax to make sure it can withstand daily use.
Feature and styling by Maxine Brady. Photos by Bee Holmes
