Design dream is going back to future

Jun 8 2008 Laura Davidson

Couple Have Best Of Both Worlds With Their Great Place In The City Peek In Your Pad

The last time Pauline and Andrew Horn moved house, Bananarama topped the charts and stone-washed denim was the last word in high street chic.

Alot has changed in the 21 years since the couple moved into their detached period property in sleepy Brookfield, Renfrewshire.

After raising their family there, Andrew, 57, and Pauline, 53, decided it is time for a change and are planning to move to a new house under construction on the Isle of Bute.

But while they're looking forward to their move next year, the couple admit they're not quite ready to move away from city life completely.

The answer? A small pied-a-terre right next to Braehead Shopping Centre.

Pauline said: "Our youngest daughter Katie was 19 and was still living with us in Renfrewshire when we decided to move.

"Understandably at her age, she didn't really want to move to Bute with us.

"We wanted to make sure she'd still have a place to stay and we also wanted to keep on a smaller place in the city for ourselves.

"We decided to kill two birds with one stone and buy a three-bedroom flat where Katie could live and that would also have enough room for Andrew and I to stay over when we wanted to be nearer town. It's worked out perfectly.

"We'll sell our house in Brookfield when our new house on Bute is ready and we'll keep on the new flat at Braehead."

The couple opted for a secondfloor flat at Sovereign House, Fairbriar Homes' development in Ferry Village, right next to Braehead's Xscape entertainment complex. They picked up the keys in February and called in the services of interior designers Jon Foley and Moira Steen to take charge of the decor.

Pauline said: "I wanted minimal hassle with the flat so decided to calin the experts. It's not a cheap doing up a house but it's the best way as far as I'm concerned and it saves a fortune in botched decorating mistakes.

"I've used the designers before and they have such a good eye things. I just told them what colours and styles I liked and they made suggestions from there.

"In the main lounge, we ended up with cream, dark brown and burnt orange. It's so retro.

"When we got married in 1972, our first living room was done out in exactly the same colours. It's funny how home fashion turns full circle."

The flat was a magnolia-painted blank canvas when the family acquired it.

It took just two weeks to decorate and furnish and the property definitely does have a designer finish.

In the living room, that chocolate, cream and burnt-orange colour scheme works well with the wenge wood and white kitchen.

The central breakfast bar creates an area for dining and also works as a room divider in the open-plan space.

Achocolate feature wall adds a touch of dark drama to the room but the mood is brightened with high-gloss white furniture which reflects light around the remaining three white walls.

Andrew and Pauline run their own flooring company and opted to use Karndean flooring throughout, apart from the master bedroom where they put down a luxurious thick-pile carpet.

One of the bedrooms has been converted into a study but a sofa bed provides extra space for guests.

Katie's bedroom has been decked out simply in white and silver with pop-art style furniture and a funky silver mural above the bed complete with diamante embellishments.

The master bedroom is reminiscent of a boutique hotel with muted shades of fawn and taupe, contrasting with a duck-egg blue accent in the soft-furnishings.

Both the family bathroom and the ensuite are kitted out in Porcelanosa sanitaryware and tiles.

Pauline said: "I'm really pleased with the way the flat has turned out and, best of all, there was no hassle because the designers came up with such a lovely scheme.

"It's exciting being on the move after such a long time in one house.

Seeing the flat take shape has got me thinking about how we'll decorate the new house on Bute. I can't wait to get cracking."

Housefile

New three-bedroom flat in Sovereign House Fairbriar Homes, Ferry Village, Braehead, Renfrewshire.

Flats available from £141,995.

Call 0141 886 2919 or see www.sovereignhouse-fairbriar.co.uk

We love: The living room.

It's such a sociable open-plan space, a great party room.

We'd change: Nothing - we've decorated it exactly as we like it.

Next house: New-build detached property on Isle of Bute.