I Left London for a Rural 1970s Bungalow

After renting in the city for 10 years, Victoria Harrison returned to her childhood village and found a spacious home to call her own

Welcome to my home

A bit about me

I’m Victoria Harrison, I’m the editor of Houzz.co.uk and I run the home design and craft blog, Style Made Simple.

Where I live

My home is a 1970s semi-detached two-bedroom bungalow in a pretty, rural village.

What I wanted to change

It was an empty shell so I was excited to bring my own style and design it so the layout worked for me.

How I made it my own

With each room I started off with a simple colour palette of white walls, natural flooring (wool carpet) and white or pale grey furniture, then I added warmth and character with vintage accessories, art and handcrafted pieces.

My favourite part

My home office is my favourite room. it’s a lovely peaceful space that opens out onto the garden.

Living room

‘This was a tricky space to give a cosy feel to as it is so open on three sides, so I decided to create a feature along the longest wall. Rather than just putting a sofa along it, I bought an electric wood-burner and fitted a mantelpiece as a focal point. I wanted a white plaster fireplace surround but couldn’t afford one, so I found a cheap cream plastic design with a faux wood top and painted the entire thing with Annie Sloan white chalk paint to make it look like plaster. I also chose a wood-burner with an opening door so I could pop some real logs in to make it look as authentic as possible.’