Today’s real home is a lovely one, filled with colourful vintage with a slight Scandinavian feel to it. It belongs to Cathy Locke and her husband Kieran and their daughter Rosina, in Chelmsford, Essex.
She runs an online shop filled with equally lovely goodies called Five Little Diamonds. I found her by the power of Instagram and caught up with her to find out more about her home and style.
“My home is a three bedroom 1950’s ex council house, that has been lived in by my husband’s family since it was built in 1952. It has been owned by his family since 1998. We have lived here for five years.”
“When we first moved in, it had been empty for around a year, after the passing of my husband’s grandfather. It wasn’t in very good state when we moved in, there was no kitchen- just a sink that leaked, some ceilings falling down, and only a wetroom with a shower with seat, just right for aiding the elderly, but not a young family! All the rooms hadn’t been decorated for around 20 years, so all the wallpaper needed stripping, and carpets replacing.We tackled the kitchen first, and fitted a white, simple kitchen from B&Q, and a bright, red glass splashback, plus red accents from the fridge and microwave. I then added a vintage dresser to display all my tea sets.”
“Most of my furniture is vintage, in fact my favourite item of furniture is my sideboard, which someone had left out to be thrown away! They said I could have it for free, then I decorated the drawers with wallpaper scraps. I also adore my daughters lamp, which is by Wu & Wu and available from my shop.”
“If I had to choose, my favourite room would be my living room, as it’s so bright and happy. And my office, which is the most recent room to be completed, and helps me run my business smoothly. It has been fitted by Ikea, and one wall is where I keep all my stock ( I also have a summer-house which holds vintage stock too!)”
“My style has evolved over the years, and now my home is influenced by my love of 60’s flower power, and mid century Danish furniture. I love pattern and bold colours, and I think the clean, simple lines of teak furniture makes a lovely backdrop to display all my knic-knacks! This is why almost all my walls are white, to show off my bright artwork, my most recent being a rainbow, Panton inspired print by Planet Utopia, which is from my shop. I’m also inspired by independent creators, and top of my lust list is Camila Prada, I own a few of her pieces and the quality and design is perfection. I do mainly all my shopping from thrift shops, but of my favourite retailers I’d say H&M home are good for my daughter’s room, and Ikea for the background basics!”
“We still have the toilet to wallpaper (from Next) and the hall stairs are going to be painted. Then we will have completed every room, and it’ll be time to redo our bedroom! It was the first room we finished, 5 years ago and is now looking tired.”
I personally love it. Cathy has created a space that is cheerful without being too kitsch, and I bet it is the envy of all her friends! Make sure you check out her shop but be careful, I cannot guarantee you won’t spend money!
Follow Five Little Diamonds on Instagram for more images of her stock and lifestyle.
