Laura Magee shows us around her colourful, playful and bright Belfast home – designed just the way she likes it …
I live in Belfast with my husband, Jonathan, and our cats, George and Raff. We moved back to the city six years ago from London. We live in a four-bedroom red brick Victorian semi-detached house. When we moved in, the house had two reception rooms on the ground floor but we knocked through the wall to create an open plan living area. The original interiors were not to our taste, so we gutted the entire place and started from a blank canvas.
Structurally, we had a partition wall removed and since living here we have had a complete bathroom renovation, new windows installed, radiators replaced, walls re-plastered and gas heating installed. It’s been a labour of love and not without a few dramas.
From the outside, most people thought our house was perfect, however, inside we literally had pieces falling down! We had the ceiling fall down twice so we were forced to re-plaster most of the house and redecorate from scratch.
My interior design is strongly influenced by the Art-Deco era. I’m obsessed with the jewel colours and opulent fabrics, not to mention geometric shapes and patterns. In addition I also love the furniture and style of mid-century modern interiors. I would call my style an Art-Deco mid-century mash-up.
I start any interior projects with a Pinterest moodboard. I take inspiration from anywhere and everywhere – from magazines, online blogs, friends and family, as well as Instagram and my work. I’m a fashion brand buyer for an independent department store group; I completed a degree in fashion and textile design at university.
Before my current job, I was a buyer for Jane Norman and travelled to many different counties as part of my role, from India and Indonesia to Turkey and Portugal.
In the living room, the focal point is the Stuv wood burning stove and marble surround, and my pink velvet modular sofa. It’s a thing of beauty! The coffee table and side table are from H&M, inspired by mid-century modern style. The bouclé accent chair is from Dunelm and is a great addition to the bay window. We had alcove shelves created by a joiner to give us more usable space. The paint colour is Lick Paint, Green 06.
The dining table is black wood and is a nod to Art-Deco. The chairs are from Cult Furniture, reminiscent of mid-century modern style. We colour drenched the walls and fireplace (Lick Paint, Pink 09), so that the fireplace would sink into the wall and not compete with the marble surround in the living area. I didn’t want to remove the original feature, so this was a great way to make it work with my decor and still retain the character of the house.
The bar was created using Ikea kitchen cabinets and with the help of a joiner.
I began by colour drenching this room using Little Greene paint. I used Ikea wardrobes and created a bespoke dressing room, again with the help of a joiner. It was a fraction of the cost of getting the entire room kitted out professionally. The hardware on the wardrobes is from Meraki and we used beading on the door fronts to make them look Victorian.
Clearly, you can see I am a colour enthusiast. I believe everyone should have some colour in their homes. If an entire wall of colour scares you, try adding colour through wall art, textiles or accent pieces of furniture. If you paint your wall a colour you don’t like, you can always change it up!
My next project will be turning my downstairs loo into a utility room and then tackling my back garden. I love the creativity of starting a new project, creating a colour palette and seeing my ideas evolve from moodboard to reality.
Follow Laura’s progress on Instagram @deco.dwelling
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