Abi Adie, together with her husband, Daryl and their two daughters, Margot, seven, and Iris, five, live in a gorgeous five-bedroom detached Victorian farmhouse in Perthshire. The family bought the property in 2021 and have worked hard to turn into a beautiful home that reflects them as a family ever since.
Since Abi's daring interior style is eye-catching and unique we were keen to take a closer look at the property and find out more about the design choices of this renovation, all the way from the small details to the bigger picture ideas.
The living room
'We saturated the open-plan living space with a soft, salmon-pink shade and added pattern and contrasting colours to break it up, wallpapering the ceiling for a twist,' Abi tells us.
'It would look at home in the Barbie movie, but we honestly designed it before that was released!’
The playroom
'The design of this living space means that the playroom area needed to be kept tidy, so we asked our interior designer Terian Tilston to design a storage unit. It has pull-out desks and beautiful bobbin detailing, which is a recurring theme in the house.’
The kitchen
Abi calls their colourful kitchen an upcycling project. ‘This was the first area that we tackled after we moved in. The previous owner had turned three rooms into this one large sociable kitchen-dining space. We thought that the existing units were very good quality and the limestone flooring lovely, but it was all a little too neutral for us.
'We wanted a scheme that was fun and lively so we painted walls, papered the main dining area, and spray-painted the cabinets and replaced handles. The soft blue-black of the wall colour creates the perfect contrasting backdrop.’
‘We moved to this house in May 2021 to be near our family and had a party to celebrate once the kitchen-diner was complete,' Abi says. 'By being brave and choosing the most amazing shades for this large open-plan space, the results are very dramatic.’
Using the 'mix don't match' approach, Abi chose strong shades of coral pink and rich blue, which sit on opposite sides of the colour wheel and create a striking complementary colour scheme when paired together. Authentic choices such as ercol furniture has a timeless feel and will work in many settings.
The dining room
‘My late mother loved William Morris, so his work is loaded with memories for me, and it has been the starting point for most of the colour schemes,' Abi says.
'Good design lasts a lifetime, while beautiful pieces create wonderful memories.'
The bedroom
'I wanted a relaxed and feminine mood for our bedroom so Terian suggested this tranquil and soothing rich plum shade. Adding wall panelling evokes a little more sense of history and character.’
Abi also chose a bespoke velvet bed in teal for a touch of art deco elegance.
The couple transformed practical elements such as heating into beautiful additions to the decor. Traditional cast-iron column radiators in a matching or stand-out colour add interest, like this one in the bedroom.
'The house was in good condition when we bought it, but the décor was not to our taste and we wanted to put our own stamp on it,' Abi says. 'We took our time and selected pieces from independent creatives, with nature and wildlife a common theme.’
