Real Customer Home: Copper Scandi

Manchester graphic designer and business owner Dorina Hudson lives in a smart three bedroom Victorian terrace in Didsbury with her husband, Joel, who is a self-employed landscape gardener.

The creative couple, who moved into what they describe as their “dream home” three years ago when they married, share a passion for interior (and garden!) design and are enjoying slowly putting their own particular stamp on their first house together.

When asked to describe what they loved most about living in their Victorian property, Dorina said it was, ”the period features, high ceilings and the truly lovely sash windows”. While Joel said he loved “all of that, plus the roomy bedrooms, the wooden floorboards and, of course, our neat kitchen garden”.

Dorina is a self-confessed shopaholic who loves her designer clothes and furniture pieces, “and basically anything that’s well made and will last forever”. A glance around their home sees an eclectic mix of things, old and new, that have been carefully and tastefully put together. The colour grey is a recurring theme, which as well as being extremely stylish and very on-trend, was the starting point when the couple decided to decorate and furnish their bedroom.

“I adore the colour grey” says Dorina. “It’s neutral without being dull and boring and very restful, too. So when I saw that Sharps had introduced their Manhattan range of fitted wardrobes in Stone, I knew they were the ones for us”. The couple were keen to make the most of their space, so knew they would opt for fitted wardrobes with top boxes – so, inside, the storage area would go right up to that lofty ceiling height. But they were at a loss to where the wardrobes should be positioned in their room. They weren’t keen on them being fitted either side of their bedroom fireplace, but fitting them along the only uninterrupted long wall in the room would potentially obscure the beautiful large sash windows that they loved. Dorina knew that Sharps had the skill and expertise to overcome any problems associated with working around the features of period property.

Now, all that was left for Dorina and Joel to decide was how they were going to decorate the rest of the room. “That was mainly Dorina’s job” admitted Joel. “I have the last say in the garden!”

Dorina had chosen the contemporary design and colour of the Manhattan wardrobes as she felt these perfectly blended with the room’s period features and original wooden floorboards. She had the room painted white, with a feature dark grey wall behind the bed. Then set about adding in an eclectic mix of pieces she had collected over the years, such as a grey transparent chair by designer Phillippe Stark and some black Heal bedside tables.

So what are Dorina’s top tips for successful interior design? “Texture, texture and more texture” she states. “You really can’t have enough of it in a room”. The matt finish wardrobes therefore contrast with the wood of the floorboards. Lamps in shiny copper and black from M&S home sit alongside grey and white Jacquard curtains from M&S Home. Plus bed linen by Ted Baker and cushions by Hay all add further texture and interest. The result is a beautiful room that mixes the contemporary and period – beautifully organised.

" Contemporary design fits perfectly with a period property "

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