Going For Bold

Nick and Lisa Hayes have given their home an affordable makeover using strong shades and a few simple tricks

- Heather Dixon

Nick Hayes had never liked pine cladding, so he had very mixed feelings when he first saw his future home, which was covered in tongue-and-groove panelling that had turned orange.

‘It was everywhere,’ he says. ‘On the walls, on the ceilings – all the main rooms were clad in pine. And there were huge football-sized spotlights in the ceiling, which burned your head if you stood under them. It was hard to imagine the house without all that wood.’ Luckily, his wife Lisa could see the house’s potential.

At first, the property was extended to create a new kitchen, cloakroom and utility room, and fitted with new bathrooms. The cladding was removed and the interior was decorated in ‘a safe and slightly boring beige’ to freshen it up and make it lighter. But as time went on, the couple were keen to give their home a fresh new look.