'Our son loves colour, so we painted him a rainbow!'

When her son, Max, asked for a 'rainbow stripes' room, Mel Hamblett used paint sample pots to create a magical, multi-coloured scheme in just 24 hours!

-  Lisa Moses

Mel Hamblett and her husband James had been happy to rent a home, but after three consecutive landlords M sold the houses they were living in, they were left feeling like they had no security. "When we realised new-builds only required a five per cent deposit, we moved back in with our respective parents and saved to buy a home of our own,' explains Mel, who admits that, 'when we finally bought this place, I wasn't a confident decorator, so when Max came along and James's father offered to pay for the nursery to be painted, I jumped at the chance." As the couple were initially on a budget, Mel upcycled second-hand furniture for the room, but as Max grew out of his baby phase, she decided to give him a fun bedroom makeover for his fifth birthday.

THE PROJECT