Stacey Solomon: 'It bugs me that people have an opinion on someone's house – I don't appreciate it'
As part of our interview series, My Happy Home, Stacey Solomon talks about growing up in Dagenham, embracing bold colour at Pickle Cottage, and expanding her thriving vegetable patch.
Stacey Solomon first shot to fame after appearing as a contestant on the 2009 series of The X Factor, where she finished in third place. Since then, she has appeared on shows including I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! and Celebrity Gogglebox, has become a panellist on Loose Women, and has fronted Bake-Off: The Professionals and her own festive craft show, Stacey Solomon's Crafty Christmas.
Stacey is also an author, having released Tap to Tidy and Tap to Tidy at Pickle Cottage, following the success of her popular Instagram cleaning videos. Her love of tidying and organising has also secured her the role of presenter on BBC's Sort Your Life Out. Elsewhere, Stacey has launched a homeware range with George at Asda and a clothing collection with In The Style.
She lives with her husband, actor and TV presenter Joe Swash, and their three children, Rex, Rose and Belle, as well as Stacey's two sons, Leighton and Zachary, from previous relationships. The family currently reside at Pickle Cottage in Essex.
What makes you happiest at home?
SS: The people in my home make me happy. It's when Joe and all the kids are home. I'm such a hermit.
Tell us about your childhood home
SS: I grew up in Dagenham with my mum, dad, brother and sister. I shared a bedroom with my siblings and loved it. It somehow made me feel safer. My dad used to DIY everything, so there was always an ongoing project. Meanwhile, my mum would rearrange the home all the time. Whether it was the furniture or switching up a room to a different colour, she would always be changing things. It would excite me!
I love change and a fresh new start. I've just started working with Dulux and get excited by all the new colours. It's that instant transformation for very little money. I get it from my mum. I'm currently holding myself back from painting the whole kitchen – it's been a few years and now I'm wondering if I should paint it in Sweet Embrace, even though my husband thinks I'm crazy. But I'm also quite tempted to be a bit more dramatic and paint it black. I keep toying with the idea! I want to let go this year and do things that make me happy. What's the worst that could happen? Everything with decorating is fixable.
What is your favourite room in the house?
SS: That's a difficult one for me to answer. Every room at home serves a different purpose depending on how I'm feeling. For example, my front room and kitchen are both the heart of the home. They're a place where the family will gather. When I get home, I can't wait to head to the kitchen and start cooking to feed my family, or I can't wait to get on the sofa and snuggle up.
But my bedroom is my sanctuary. I love going into my bedroom and getting into bed at night. I try to make it as inviting as possible. The downstairs toilet is my saving grace. If things get stressful, I'll go and sit there for a bit. No one comes in.
What would we find in your bedside table?
SS: I've got tissues on top because I recently had the flu. Inside, I've got a notebook to write down all the things I need to do, a couple of medicinal bits from when I was ill, pillow spray, a remote for the TV, a packet of wet wipes, spare nappies, and dummies in case someone in the middle of the night needs them. I recently sorted the drawers out but maybe I only did the top drawer. That's my priority drawer.
What is the best decorating advice you have ever received?
SS: Everything is changeable. There's no real risk with decorating unless you're doing something structural, so go for it, anything can be done.
Another tip I was once given was don't think too much. That sounds really vague, but don't overthink it. If you like the look of it, don't think about what anyone else is doing. It doesn't matter what the trends are, or what the rules of styling are, if it makes you happy when you look at it, that's the only rule you should be following.
A lot of people make up rules when it comes to decorating, such as certain colours that go together or three things you must do. If you like it, have whatever you bloomin' want. It's your home. You are the one who is walking in at the end of each day.
I'm usually drawn to more natural tones, but I do love a pop of colour. I've got green in my utility room, a blue toilet, a mermaid-inspired bathroom, and a purple conservatory. My house is ever-changing, it's determined by which mood I'm in. My style is not a fixed thing. I don't have a rule of thumb that I follow. I think that I like to change with the seasons, change with the years and change with the times.
What is the biggest bargain in your home?
SS: My best DIY bargain was panelling the front room. I didn't know just how cheap it was to buy the beading. To me, that has completely transformed the space for very little. It costs a lot of money to hire a professional to do the job for you. Another bargain is buying flatpack furniture and boxing them in to make them look like fitted furniture. They can cost thousands if you get them done professionally.
What is your most treasured possession at home? Why is it so special?
SS: My most treasured possessions are probably the baby scans of the kids – I keep them in their memory boxes. Outside of that, I'm actually not sentimental at all. But when it comes to the kids, I hold on to everything. Zac's memory box is very full, but the rest of the boxes tend to have less in them. My kids will often get their memory boxes out and ask questions about each item. They enjoy it like a toy. I'm really glad that I get to enjoy it with them.
What would top your list for the worst decor trend?
SS: I don't think there's such a thing. It bugs me that people have an opinion on someone's house, like if there's not enough colour or if it's too garish. Why have you got an opinion on someone else's house? I don't appreciate it. Let people be free with their own homes and do whatever the hell they want. It might not be your style and it might not be your taste, but it's not your house.
I feel passionately about other people judging other people's spaces. You live in that space. It has to support you in so many ways, whether that's emotionally or through comfort. Who are we to tell anyone that their space isn't what it should be?
Would you describe yourself as green-fingered?
SS: I try my hardest to be! The hardest thing about the garden is that I just don't have the time. It would be my absolute dream to just get out there and make amazing flowerbeds and have a huge greenhouse, but that's a full-time job in itself. Rex and I have been growing our vegetables. We started with tomatoes, and last year we added lettuce, carrots and onions to the veg patch. This year, I'm planning on building some raised beds so we can grow more. We love growing produce. Rex loves it. I am green-fingered, but I have to accept that at this point in my life, I can't be fully green-fingered. It's hard to dedicate as much time to it as I would like.
Rex loves the carrots, but in the first year of growing them, they looked a bit more like radishes than anything else. It's a bit of trial and error. Growing your own is a bit like growing a baby: you plant the seeds, germinate in the greenhouse, transfer the seeds into the soil, wait for them to grow, and then harvest. Rex had this little basket last year and walked along the garden to collect his homegrown lettuce, it was so sweet.
If you could have a snoop around anyone's house, whose would it be and why?
SS: I'd love to snoop around those random houses that you come across when you go on holiday. I wouldn't want to look in the house of someone famous, but would rather peek inside a lighthouse or the crazy houses somewhere in the middle of the ocean. They're the kind of houses I'd love to nose around.
Stacey Solomon proudly partners with Dulux as Colour of the Year 2024 Ambassador, sharing how this year's soothing colour – Sweet Embrace™ - and its complementing colour palettes can be used to create a sense of belonging and comfort in our homes. For more interior inspiration and details about the Dulux Colour of the Year 2024, please visit instagram.com/duluxuk.
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