Video: Tour this Essex period home of an interiors blogger
Faced with a modest budget and a blank canvas, blogger and interior design consultant, Melanie Lissack, embraced a hands-on approach to interior design, mastering the art of DIY and scouring secondhand sources for unique treasures. She started her blog to document the transformation of her new home. As the house evolved, so did her blog, becoming a platform where she shares her journey of trial and error and her creative ideas with an ever-growing audience.
In January 2015, Melanie and her husband Russell decided to leave their home in north London behind. ‘We'd lived in Islington throughout our 20s and felt we needed a quieter life', Melanie explains, 'especially with our young son and puppy.’ So they began their search for a new home on the outskirts of east London, aiming to strike a balance between easy city access and a more rural feel.
It was Russell who stumbled on the Victorian house on the fringes of Epping Forest during an internet search. Melanie, however, required a bit of coaxing. Even though the exterior exuded idyllic charm, at first glance the rooms looked cramped and constricted. ‘But when we pulled up to view the house, we instantly knew we wanted it,' says Melanie. 'It had so much kerb appeal, on this lovely street with the forest just over the road, an Underground line straight into London and a busy high street.’
Inside, rather than the poky quarters she’d anticipated, Melanie found smaller rooms she knew she could transform into cosy, inviting spaces. ‘We made an offer on the spot.’ The house itself was in good condition, having been renovated by the previous owners.
However, they had opted for a neutral palette with walls in varying shades of cream, a style that didn't align with Melanie and Russell's. But it gave them the perfect blank canvas to put their stamp on. ‘We both love period properties,' Melanie explains, 'but we wouldn't choose to decorate in a strictly period-appropriate manner. I love modern pieces and lots of colour, so the idea was to create an old house/new home, with some elements that are sympathetic to the age of the house and others that feel contemporary.’
Not long after moving in, when their son Jaxon was a year old, Melanie took redundancy from her job, which gave her more time at home. ‘Money was really tight as I wasn’t working, so I needed to be very smart with how we decorated’, she recalls. She took a DIY approach, becoming a thrifting enthusiast and mastering clever Ikea hacks and decorating tips that her friends all wanted to know about, so Melanie began sharing her ideas via her blog. This also provided some escapism at a difficult time. ‘I started writing it for myself. Jaxon was in and out of hospital back then, so things were quite stressful and writing the blog was a good creative outlet.'
Through her blog, her followers will have seen the many iterations of Melanie’s home. ‘Decorating is something I really enjoy. I love keeping up with trends, playing with colours and trying new ideas – it’s how I’ve learned what works,’ she says. Most recently she transformed her living room, having initially painted it in Dix Blue by Farrow & Ball. ‘The room has arched doors and big windows that look out over the forest,' she explains. 'I really wanted to tie inside and outside together, so when I saw the botanical wallpaper inspired by a remnant from Felbrigg Hall in Norfolk, I thought it would offer the perfect way to connect Epping Forest with this room.'
Melanie’s ingenious hacks can be seen throughout her home. Her office, for instance, houses an Ikea media unit painted in an on-trend lilac from Benjamin Moore and trimmed with Orac Decor wall mouldings for added texture, as well as wall panelling she applied herself using strips of plywood from Wickes. On the opposite wall in the sitting room, seemingly built-in units are just two Ikea bookcases, elevated and personalised with trims and mouldings. As she says: 'There are things that have gone wrong, but it's a process of trial and error.'
Of course, Melanie is already looking ahead to her next projects. She wants to infuse the hallway with more character and reintroduce her favourite colour, blue, which she had to let go of while redecorating the living room. Not every project fills her with joy, however: ‘I have to accept that my son’s older now, so his room needs updating to be more suitable for his age.'
But as for what else the future holds, Melanie happily confesses: ‘By the time people are reading this, the house could look entirely different!’
Tour the rest of the house below:
Kitchen
Dining room
Sitting room
Landing
Main bedroom
Son's bedroom
Bathroom
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