It feels as if it was meant to be like this

A huge renovation wasn’t on the cards for Karen Knox, but it gave her the freedom to flex her design skills and bring her home to life

Feature Natalie Osborn

Welcome to my home

A bit about me

I’m Karen Knox and I live here with my fiancé Pete, our 2-year-old son Charlie and Chooch, our cat.

Where I live

Our home is a 1960s three-bed semi in North Leeds, and we’ve been here for two and a half years.

What I wanted to change

Everything! I didn’t want to buy a house that was all “done”, but this one needed more work than we’d planned. It now feels like the house was always meant to be like this – we love it.

How I made it my own

By thinking outside the box. Whilst we worked with the original features, we also made the house look and feel like a modern family home.

My favourite part

Our kitchen. That was the biggest change we made and it’s now the room we spend all our time in.

Living room

‘I decided to paint an entire wall of the living room black.

It actually seemed less intense than just the chimney breast, as that looked like a huge tomb in the centre of the room and very overpowering. By continuing sideways, it just worked. The brickwork seems so vibrant and red, the oak furniture really warms the space and the artwork just kicks out so much more against the darkness.’

GOOD IDEA

Not all fireplaces need a mantlepiece; try hanging an oversized print on the wall instead