Meet the woman turned her home a pastel pink palace - painting every room a shade of the colour and saving £10k by doing her own decorating and DIY. Sophia Ferrari-Wills, 35, bought her 1960s cottage with husband, Chris, 42, a sales manager, in October 2019.
The mum-of-two set to work painting the magnolia walls pink and creating her fairy-tale vision for a "pastel whimsical home". In March 2020, she started uploading photos of her pastel home to Instagram and was able to leave her full-time job as a midwife in April 2021 to pursue interior influencing after gaining 310k followers.
The home is now a pastel pink paradise - kitted out with a mermaid bathroom, forest playroom, ice cream office and tree house for her daughters, Clemmie, four and Minnie, 20 months, to enjoy. Sophia, a content creator, from Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, said: "I'm a magpie for pastel and candy style things.
"I am a girlie girl and pink always ties in with other colours as a neutral. I use it in every single room and layer with other shades.
"I've always been creative, but lockdown gave me the chance to completely overhaul. I am a midwife health visitor and I used to take inspiration from other people's homes. I had a complete career change and still do the odd bank shift but at the moment I'm focusing on decorating and content creating."
Sophia started by overhauling the home with pink paint and her husband, Chris, 42, didn't take much convincing to let his wife realise her candy floss vision. She said: "When I first met Chris, he was wearing a pink jumper, he loves the happy vibe and encourages me to explore my creativity.
“Delivery drivers have asked to come in and have a look at the home because they’re intrigued by the colourful shutters and pink front door. People who visit are always very complimentary and amazed.
“Even some of Chris’ friends can’t believe he’s on board with the lilac kitchen but also that they like it too. Someone has said to me my home is a mature pink Barbie cottage."
Before Sophia set to work, the kitchen was orange and oak with terracotta tiles and dark granite tiles. She painted it lilac, added a scallop edge and pink tiles. She said: "All the appliances are pink, and the wallpaper is called Wonderland by Borastapeter with bunny rabbits."
In the hallway, the walls are green and the shutters are pink and it is accessorised with a wavy mirror and side table. "The living room is a vast space with a yellow corner sofa and a baby pink one," Sophia said.
"The wallpaper is strawberry themed, and the walls are painted calamine pink. There is a gallery wall with neon lights, and I always try and have natural flowers where I can.
"We painted the log burner pink and added a yellow scallop detail around the fireplace."
The interior enthusiast has an eye for a bargain and bought an ex-display bright pink Ferne Cotton for Very sofa for £250 off eBay - saving hundreds of pounds. Sophia also bagged two scallop armchairs for just £100 each from HomeSense.
"I have relics left from grandparents that I've upcycled, such as a bureau I've painted lilac," she said. The magic continues in the downstairs bathroom with a mystical mermaid theme.
"I painted the toilet pink, and we have a hammered shell looking light shade and scalloped gold tiles," Sophia said. The playroom is forest themed - with tree wallpaper and a turquoise ceiling.
Minnie's room is mountain themed and has a feature wall mural Sophia painted herself. Sophia said: "It's really quaint, I painted a mountain range with little hot air balloons. We didn't know if we were having a girl or a boy, but I liked the idea of drifting away in an air balloon."
Clemmie's room is whimsical and floral with a scalloped bed and mint green walls. She added: "I painted a floral mural on her wall, and she has a beaded chandelier and pink pom pom curtains. She was a lovely leafy wallpaper and a scalloped bed from Next."
Even working from home is playful as Sophia's office is ice cream themed. She said: "There is seashell wallpaper and an ice cream swirl painted onto the ceiling with sprinkles."
The landing is butterfly-themed matched with an ombre pink stairway, while the master bedroom is floral themed with a gallery feature wall.
"Our room has pretty floral wallpaper and floral bedding," Sophia said. "The bed is mint green and from Loaf and the side tables are blue. The ceiling is a yellow sun colour, and the walls are calamine pink."
Outside the family have created their dream garden with a tree house painted pink and green. Next, they plan on building an extension outdoors and renovating the upstairs bathroom.
Sophia's daughter, Clemmie, shares her mum's passion for all things pink. She said: "Clemmie expects everything to be pink, and if it's not, she is really disappointed. I think we have saved £5k to £10k by doing everything ourselves."
Sophia's tips for decorating:
Gather inspiration from creating mood boards
- Don't be afraid to wallpaper - you can strip back and do it again
- You can buy affordable accents from everywhere - Sainsbury's homeware brand is full of steals
- Use testers on the walls you plan on painting - colours can look different depending on where the light hits
- Go straight in and do it - don't be afraid if you don't like it
See more of Sophia's pastel pink palace on Instagram - www.instagram.com/thiscolourfulnest
