'We left the big city and found our dream home'

By reconfiguring the downstairs and decorating in warm colours and bold patterns, Becky Harrison has created a picture-perfect family home in the Somerset countryside

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Having seen the price of their renovated terrace in Bristol go up considerably during lockdown, Becky Harrison and her husband, Mike, started to wonder what they could get for the same money in the nearby countryside. 'I was getting fed up with the traffic and the fumes while walking the boys to school, and was yearning for some fresh air,' says Becky. 'We'd done all the work to our house ourselves, and we knew we could do it again, so we started looking.'

One property stood out - a detached, modern house with a big garden in a village less than an hour away. 'We went to look at it, and that was it,' says Becky. 'It had everything we wanted - four bedrooms, plus an office, and a garden that didn't slope. Although the layout downstairs was wrong for us, we knew we could get it how we wanted. It wasn't a case of extending, just reconfiguring. We put an offer in, and it went through.'

KITCHEN

'I love having this separate pantry area,' says Becky. 'It's where I keep kitchen appliances, and I like to style the shelves with Kilner jars and a couple of plant pots from our local Riverside Garden Centre'

OUR MUST HAVES

Chelford units in Navy, POA; White marble-effect worktop, POA per m, both Howdens. Straight empire lampshade in Crimson Chevrons with Crimson Tape, from £56.50, Pooky. For similar, try jute round rug, from £65, Dunelm

'Although the layout downstairs was wrong for us, we were confident we could get it how we wanted'

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