My 1950s house is finally true to its roots
When Cathy Locke took on her husband’s family home, she used her passion for kitsch to embrace the era in which the property was built
Feature Stephanie Durrant
‘The living room holds my two most precious possessions – my sideboard and our jukebox. The jukebox was bought for us by my parents as a wedding gift and I found the sideboard discarded in someone’s garden. I upcycled it using vintage and Alice Apple wallpaper samples, and teak-oiled the wood to give it new life’
Welcome to my home
A bit about me
I’m Cathy Locke and I live with my husband, Kieran, three year old daughter, Rosina, and our cat, Stanley.
Where I live
My home has three bedrooms and we’ve lived here for five years. Before that, my husband’s grandparents had lived in the house since it was built in the 1950s.
What I wanted to change
The kitchen was the first to be done. There were no units or a sink, and the wet room had to go.
How I made it my own
I tried to keep the interior sympathetic to the decade the house was built and always think about whether Kieran’s grandparents would approve or not.
My favourite part
I love my living room as it’s happy and bright, the sun hits there first.