Decorate your home how you want with shared ownership

In this episode of "This Shared Ownership Thing" Podcast, Cheryl Gibbens (Marketing Officer) is joined by Gemma Robinson (Senior Marketing Officer) to discuss interior design tricks and tips provided by Blocc to make your Shared Ownership house feel like a home.

Blocc are the Uk’s leading light providing interior design for showhomes, retirement properties & private residences: www.blocc.co.uk

Read the "Picture This!" blog here: www.aster.co.uk/sales/blog/be-inspired/picture-this

We mentioned Ikea's Kallax unit that can be found here: www.ikea.com

The conversation surrounding shares being purchased between 25-75% is based on the current shared ownership model and our shared ownership homes under the existing scheme. You may have heard that there are some changes to the Shared Ownership model on the way. Whilst this doesn’t impact on our current shared ownership homes for sale we will be updating our website with more details around the new model soon. If you have any questions about this in the meantime please do get in touch with us or visit the Government’s website to find out more.

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:08

Hello, and welcome to episode seven of this shared ownership thing podcast. We bring out a new episode with different guests to talk about all things home, including shared ownership, sharing our amazing customer stories and debunking common misconceptions of shared ownership. I'm Cheryl and I'm a marketing officer at Astor sales. And today I'm joined by our marketing senior Gemma in today's episode, Gemma and myself will be sharing some valuable content surrounding home interiors with all details provided by the lovely Suzanne from block house of interiors block are the UK's leading light established in 2009. They provide outstanding interior design for show homes, retirement properties, and private residences. We will include their link within the info if you'd like to check them out for the benefit of any new listeners, shared ownership is when you buy a share of a home and you pay rent on the share that you don't yet own, if you're able to do so, you can go on to purchase more shares of the home. This is referred to a stair casing until if able to you can purchase the whole hundred percent of the home where shared ownership deposits can be as low as 5% of the share that you purchase. And this makes it a more affordable option for many people. Okay. Let's get started. Okay. So current interior trends let's kick start the conversation with the current trends that Suzanne has mentioned. So there are a number of different color palette trends for 20 23, 20 24. One of which is nature, which is a neutral tones of ivory cream, warm beiges and rich toe. This trend has a link between wellness being with organic and cozy materials materials, such as wool, cotton, clay velvet and ceramics are key elements for a smooth organic environment bringing greenery through in either real or fake plants is also key to provide this look pastels. So soft PAs are coming back, especially the Lila Hughes combined with duck egg blues, soft tonal greens and primroses yellows. Another one is the seventies revival, so bold or terminal colors of tans, bird, orange terracotta, CLAT, massive yellow honey, and sound combined with tonal deep blues colors that applied in bold shapes or prints, and already very loved you used from fashion to interior design. Perfect. Does that not just make you wanna redecorate your entire house right now and just make it all like cream with like ceramic Barss of Pampers grass. Yeah. It's those textures I think. And I think I really love the soft pastels as well at the moment. I kind of went away from them a few years ago, but I really think they're back in the, those soft pinks, things like that. It just are beautiful. I'm I'm buzzing. I just wanna Redeker right now<laugh> okay. So adding character into a new build home and how to do this on a budget. So some of the key points that Suzanne mentioned to add character were feature paint, walls, feature, wallpaper, walls, paint, color blocking, and I wasn't actually too sure what this was. So I had to Google this. Do you know what paint color blocking is? Does everyone know what is apart from me? Is it when you literally block off with mask tapes, certain errors on the wall and you have different sections of different colors or is that wrong? Yeah, I think so. So it said how you take colors. You can take them opposites on the color wheel. So I don't actually know the color wheel, but say like red and blue opposites. Okay. Um, or you can do similar colors. So like a block of dark gray and a light gray. Um, and you just pair them together to make a combination, but I didn't know that's what it was called. And I didn't realize it was such a big thing either, but obviously you have similar in the background right now. Yeah, I do. I have actually seen a few people on Instagram that have almost create with the block of color, a frame for mirrors or an art simulate, like an arch tray with color block, just to add different dimensions. So you kind of make the walls don't look so 2d. They've got that other element to kind of bring it to life in the different types of like you send to send different gray or D whatever color you go for that can add the different dimensions to make it pop more, I guess, as well. So, uh, yeah, color blocking. It's a, it's a, it is a cool, cool old trend. Something that certainly I've experimented in my study as well, which looks quite cool. I think we do have, yeah. One of our shared owners, my petite new build on Instagram in her dining area, she has a lovely little sort of oval block where her mirror goes, goodness. Yeah, it's great. Gorgeous, gorgeous mirror. Doesn't it sets it off really nicely. Perfect. So if anyone wants to check that out, that's my petite new build on Instagram, beautiful home goals, right there Feature paneling is another point that Suzanne mentioned. She said, this is a great way to create a different look and it is on trend. And I am in the process of completing paneling in our master bedroom. So if anyone needs any tips hit me up.<laugh> I was gonna say, you're the girl to go to. Yeah, we just need to paint it now. So I don't wanna rush into that. I wanna be fully sure. What I wanna paint. Yeah. A hundred percent, um, statement, artwork and artwork, galleries, I think similar to what you had in your previous house up your stairs, did you have a photo gallery? Yeah. Gallery wall. And once again, this is something that, you know, Pinterest is, is a great help to create because you can search on Pinterest things like gallery walls, and they give you an idea of the layouts and the size frames as well. So you can almost look at the shape you're trying to create. So if it's going up the stairs to make sure that it reaches across that area and then work out from there, and if you need like a big one, um, in the middle or some smaller landscape ones to the size, and it helps you plot out how it's going to look. So definitely. Yeah. I think, um, statement, artwork and the gallery is just, you know, we all have, we're guilty of having photos on our phone. Don't print them off, but actually you can make some really effective looking galleries and whether you wanna keep them all black and white or have a mix match of frames, I think either can just, it adds something else to the wall. It's not just one picture. It's like a bit bit of you on the wall, you know, and if any of our listeners would like to see this, Gemma did type up a blog named picture this, which also has the link in did with your templates. So we'll link that into the description, um, bringing color into a room through bold colored cushions and soft furnishing. Um, this is a great thing to do. If you are on a budget as if fashions and trends change, it's not a major thing that you need to change. You could just get some new covers or something. And it doesn't mean that you have to repaint a wool several times. Yeah. Like I have done when I get bored and you know, you could even make seasonal changes that way. So it was Christmas. Yeah. And you wanted it all warm and you wanted to have those, you know, warmer colors and fluffy textures. And you know, when you get your pine cones out and things like that, I think at least if you've got just, you can interject that, make it feel very different just by doing that. Like you said, with, with a few furnishings, different cushions. Yeah. No, I love that. Why did I never think of that and how to do this on a budget? So Suzanne has advised, um, a tin of paint for a feature wall is probably one of the most affordable ways to add impact into a room. Yeah. And I think when I moved into my home five years ago, the first thing we done was just popped a feature wall in the living room because it does just break it up a bit. Doesn't it? It makes it look like it has been decorated, but you haven't actually done a huge amount of work hundred percent. Yeah. And the IY retail outlet, such as home base and B and Q now sell the MDF paneling strips to help you create the wow factor for the paneling. But on that, um, I used a website called skirting for you and they have all the paneling things you need and pictures for inspo and they're on Instagram. So, you know, when you find an account on Instagram and they engage with you, you are like, I gotta go with you. So I put a story up on my home, Instagram account about paneling and I tagged skirt for you in it. And they replied and they were like, oh, I can't wait to see what you do. And I was just like, oh, we're best friend. Oh, I love that. I guess that you're gonna share the finished results with them as well. I will. Yeah. But yeah, you can get everything for the paneling on there. It's all measured out, all cut, all, cut the size for you. And I was gonna say, I'm sure I read that somewhere as well, with some of the bigger DIY stores. If you actually save the measurements you're going for, you can obviously choose the panel and they will cut it. So you, at least you haven't got the worry of having any, you know, jagged edges or anything like that. They can just cut it for you off you go take it up and then you just apply it it's yeah. Far easy. Cause that that's the bit that would worry me is measuring by having like a centimeter at the bottom from the skirting board, be like, oh, it doesn't fit<laugh> yeah, no, just take it home. Just stick it on. Easy. Amazing. Now, now you're giving me the, to do apparently know pounded, like which one can. So the next one on the list from Suzanne was how to add textures without breaking the bank. So this kind of leads on from the previous section. You know, you can add the textures with your cushions and things like that in different rooms, but I really, really love this tip, um, getting wallpaper samples and trapping them in a frame to create impact on an empty wall space. So you don't necessarily have to buy the whole role. Quite often. You can take small samples, you know, to put on your wall as you know, to, to see how it might look. If you did pay for the whole wall, you, you could use that and make some, you know, artwork from that. And I, I think that's fab. It's awesome. Isn't that? Um, yeah, so, so simple. And then once again, if you want to change it, you can, as frequent frequently as you want, you've got the frame, you just change the insert with a different wallpaper sample. I just think that's so cool to, you know, change things up a bit. Yeah. Um, the other things you suggested is creating an artwork gallery combining different size and different finishes of photo frames with wall mounted objects. Completely think that's a great one too, because I've done the similar in my study. Actually the frames don't all match. Initially. I was like, all my OCD, how is this gonna cope? How am I gonna cope with or black or white? They're all different. They're completely mixed different sizes. And it just works. And you can put other little art pieces in between. It just feels that you can just keep adding to it and making it bigger. So it does become more of a gallery. So that's quite cool. Um, and the other suggestion that was made about adding textures without breaking the bank was the lead shelves that are really kind of a cheap way to add a point of interest to a room. So you can add hanging plants or things just to drape off the side of the shelf, just to create that element of texture. And once again, you can just change what's ever's on that shelf and it will have a completely different feel, put a diffuser on it. It smells nice too, you know, just<laugh> feature it up. Yeah, no, I love that. And I think if you've got a home Instagram account, surely you've got a hanging plant somewhere in your house, it's gotta be a hanging plant. We've all got one. I've got a few and a few of those, is it MacRae where they have them, they hang from the ceiling. Oh, I've got one of those. Yeah. Yeah. It was quite, I think seventies, eighties thing, but now it seems to have come back in with like a, a, a plant that drapes down with like a, is it called a trailing plant or something like that? Yeah. It just looks really quite funky. Yeah. I love it. Even just puts a little bit of color in there. Doesn't it? Like I have quite plain gray walls because I will mention later on, but, um, my house is very gray and just my little hanging plants that I have on my shelves. Just a bit of greenery just breaks it all up, which is needed. Yeah. Bring a little bit of the outside in as well. Love it. So how to plan the decor for your new home and how to choose a color scheme. And this is definitely the exciting part to buy in a home. Isn't it. Once you get through all the legal stuff, all the adult stuff, you can just think about planning your decor. This is the exciting bit for sure.<laugh>. So the first thing that Suzanne mentioned was Pinterest and Instagram and how great they are for color inspiration. Or if you want to be this blew my mind. If you want to be ahead of the trends, look at the colors that are coming through in fashion because it filters through to interiors approximately 12 to 18 months later. And I just, obviously I'm not down with fashion. I'm not a fashion guru. I just wear whatever's comfy. But I did not know that fashion filters then through to like interior, nor did I. So I guess from, from that respect, if you looked at fashion magazines or anything like that, or any of the shows that are up in cabin, you know, the catwalk shows, if you, you could see probably prints and color hus actually like, like Suzanne said, 12, 20 months later, you'll probably be seeing that and your shelves are B Q and that'd be the next Dulux paint of the year, you know, crazy. Isn't it. I just I'm so oblivious to things like that. I just, if there's a trend on Instagram, then I'm like, oh yeah, that would look nice. I never knew where they all originate from or anything. I'm gonna be looking in the fashion magazines now to see if I can stay ahead of the curve next week, happy house is gonna be orange. The house will be like, purple. It'll be, there'll be peacock feathers. I'll be everything you name it. Be I also wearing a peacock dress<laugh> I was like, so I've taken inspiration. And that is now my color scheme.<laugh> hi, Suzanne. I hope you like my peacock house. Yes. Um, and secondly, for inspiration, you can head to our inster account, which is at sales Astor, or you can just search the hashtag this so thing where you'll find lots and lots of photos that our shared owners have shared of their homes as a source for inspiration. And you may also even find someone that's potentially living in a similar house type to you, which could help you envision how your furniture's gonna lay out or where you'd like to put things. I always found that really handy when I reserved my home being a new build. I could just see where people put their sofa or how they had like little storage hacks or anything. See, I would never have thought of that, but it makes complete sense because how you might think about my sofa would be there. The tele could go there that, that, you know, perfect job done, but action, until you see it in the flesh and you live in it, it's probably quite hard to envisage. So if you've got other people that are living in the similar home yeah. You you're just gonna get inspiration from that. And it definitely will help you plan out how your rooms, how things will fit together. Yeah. And I completely understand the difficulty of reserving a home off plan because anyone who's brought a new build home has that struggle. Yeah. Um, I had the exact same struggle and you just don't know how to plan off of a floor plan. So if you can find a house that's either the same house type or similar, it does give you a bit more. That's a really good idea. Really, really good. Love that. Check that out guys. If you're buying a new build home, look at what other she ends have done. I think that's a fantastic suggestion there. Um, right. We've got a few more top tips from Suzanne. Uh, really like this one. So how to make a room look cozy. So with this, the, the, this a great tip and in lots of different textured materials fabrics. So we're talking first, we're talking of velvet, silks, linens cottons, woo. Anything that just brings that other dimension in so, and different finishes. So scatter cushions throws, you know, draping that over the, over the sofa, add some maybe, maybe, I don't know, a, a fluffy cushion, a silky cushion, mix it up. Doesn't all have to be the same texture, but that all really make a room feel coz um, now Suzanne don't, she doesn't tend with, with the show homes, it's more the interiors that she does as opposed to the, to garden inspiration. So we asked her about if you've got any tips on new build garden inspiration. So she, she would suggest bring in the color palettes you use into the garden through using things like color pots. So maybe, you know, small shrubs, but bring in some pops of colors with pots like that, that, that can, you know, maybe brighten up, brighten up the garden. Um, and we also asked if there's any clever storage hacks for new builds, because let's be honest, no matter how big your home or what home you've got, you always want storage and the cleverer and crafty ways of doing it. The better I know I'm the same, any kind of cupboard is filled with stuff. So, um, Suzanne doesn't really get involved to do with much, you know, storage solutions as such, but she has sent some ideas that include the storage units at the end of a bed, such as a, um, calx from Ikea. We can link to that anyway. So you can see a link to that particular solution or under stair stairs storage solutions with built in drawers. So you could even custom and do this. I guess if you've got an under says, cupboard, you could have shelves in there. You could have drawers to put shoes, to put your, whatever you wanna put in there. But I think you could really make use of that space. It's basically utilizing every element in inside your home, any cupboard unit, any spare bit of space, trying to make the best of that really. And just utilizing what you've got and talking of under stairs cupboard, we have, um, that shared owner don't we, that we all fell in love with the dog storage. It's a little house, isn't it? I'm just trying to find it on Instagram, but I can't find it to tag the account. Um, so the shed owner turned the under stairs cupboard into like a little doghouse for their dog. Yes. And it was as well, incredible credible. Oh, you've found it. Oh, well done. So their handle is plot 5, 3, 5. Yes. And you just need to check it out. It was for their little dog called Monty. Oh. And he has his own little front door and everything. Oh my goodness. It looks bad. So maybe if you don't have the space to put like dog beds or dog food things or anything, and you've got the under stairs cupboard free and your dog's small that's great idea. Yeah.<laugh> you can't put like a big dog in there. Take care. No, be a little one, but that's definitely an awesome idea. So lovely and things like that. You could even use it as well, you know, understand kind of, not like a camp, a camping situation, but with kids, you could be like the little, not a player, but like a den, a snug where they could read, get cozy, put lights under there. Like, no, we're not talking Harry Potter under the stair. It's not living in there to let them out. Yeah. A little area that they can call their own and just have some calm time. You could, why not use a space like that? It doesn't have to just be just to store things. It could be other uses too. Yeah, no, I have also seen, I think it was mainly over lockdown when a lot of people had to work from home. Quite a few people managed to put a little desk in their under stairs cupboard and a little chair with their laptop. And that was just their little home office thing. Keeping it separate. I love it. Great idea. The next thing we asked Suzanne was what the bravest thing she had done Decker wise in a show, one of these things was painting the ceiling, a dark color. And she advised that this is always a big statement and a talking point. And I know that Gemma has carried on her Stripe onto the ceiling. Yeah, I I've done this in my study. It it's, um, it's a Farrow and board ju so one, you can go Tove, um, BQ to Vespa and they will match any colors that you want'em to match. So I've gotten this almost terracotta, almost plaster color, actually panel that goes, um, through the middle of the wall and it extends up and over the ceiling and past the ceiling rose and slightly over it, it's strange. You stand underneath and it feels like, it feels like you've got an umbrella over your head. It feels like there's an extra roof over you. Um, but it really funky. I've so many comments about it. You know, initially I was just gonna extend it slightly onto ceiling, but we went a bit further and I'm really pleased. I did. It just, it feels cozier. I can't explain it. It just feels cozier. And it was, it didn't wanna paint, paint the whole wall in this color. But like I said, when we painted a, probably half of it, but a S strip down the half, going straight across over the ceiling. Um, and I think the end results. Good. Definitely. Um, it's a brave move to make, cuz if you, yeah, don't mask it up correctly or frog tape will becoming your friend, but you need to be really quite accurate with marking it up and just making sure that, you know, that you've sealed that frog taped down really securely. So you don't get any of the pink bleeding out onto the, um, other color on the ceiling. That's really crisp. Yeah. But it's definitely easily achievable, but I would, you know, it is brave and it is bold, but um, if you've fancy doing something different, I would definitely give it a go. Yeah. I think that's the thing, isn't it, it's just really different. And I just love that. And I can imagine if you were to paint the entire ceiling, which is also very brave and you had a real nice light, some sort of nice light fixture, I think it would just look gorgeous. I've seen a few people do that with that very dark blue and dark green. And they've exactly what I was thinking from the, literally from the skirt and boards up and over. And it's super brave. I'm not quite at that stage, but I tell you when the pictures that I've seen that people have done it, it looks really dramatic, but very cool. It's just a, it's taken that move with a, when you do go for a really bold and dark color, because obviously if you do that and you don't like it, you do have to have several coats to try and cover it back up again. So it's just knowing and feeling confident in, in what you're doing and, and ultimately you don't like it. You can paint over, it just might take a few extra coats to cover. No, absolutely. I think another thing to take into consideration though, would be how much natural light you get into that room. Definitely because my kitchen, I made the rookie era of painting it quite a dark gray, and we actually don't get that much natural light come into it. So it is a very dark room. It's just a bit, mm. You need a bit of natural light, don't you? You do. And that I like, you know, that that's a massive thing to consider. Any decor that you're doing is the light that you get in that room. Another thing that Suzanne has done was paint color blocking in the show homes, which obviously we've mentioned already, but I can imagine that looked very fancy, especially being in a show home. Oh, definitely. You go into show homes and they do. Wow. You, and, and to be honest, if you are looking to do some decoration, look around some show homes, because I'll tell you what absolutely people like Suzanne at block, you know, they know what they're doing. They, they have great style, they know the trends and you can quite often go around and get INPO from the show homes, yourself thinking that that would work for me. Um, so hit those up as well. If you, it's a lovely thing to do on a weekend,<laugh> love I, the showroom. I honestly love going to see the show homes, especially when it's like the big five bed homes. And you're like, yeah, I'll never be able to afford this, but Hey, we don't even need to think about that right now. Okay. But you can still bring that interior staff from that five bed into your one, two or three bed, you can still make it feel and look that way. And that's the beauty of when you've got your own shared ownership home, put in your own stamp on it, decorating as you wish. And you can have those, those dreams are, you know, achievable and you can get that look and feel without worrying about ringing the landlord and thinking, actually, they're gonna let me do that color block because actually they don't like it, but I do. So in my she ownership home, I will do that color block wall. Absolutely. And please do take a picture of it and send it to us so we can just see it. Absolutely get some info from it. Absolutely makes us happy on that note. If you do do that with your as shared ownership home and like show us it earlier on with the hashtag this so thing we do run seasonal competitions for summer winter, spring and autumn. So if you tagged us in the pitch that you do, if your, as ship home with any decor that you've, you know, been involved with, we'll one love to see the imagery, but you could also be entered into our draw to win 250 pounds. Yes. Do more D IY decor. Absolutely. And you can spend that on some MDF to panel your wall. Oh, there's an idea. We'd love to see it. We certainly would B so these are the main points that Suzanne very helpfully covered to help you decide your interior style for your new home journey. But before we end gem and I will also share one tip each because you know, we're interior Gus now<laugh>, I've learned a lot. Cheryl, I've learned a lot.<laugh> I'll start with mine. So my main tip would be, unless you are fully certain on what color palettes and styles you want for each room, I would personally say don't rush into anything. There is no rush. Just take your time to look through. If you use Pinterest, look through Pinterest boards, scroll through social media, look around in shops, or even like how gem said, have a look at show homes to get some ideas. And I do only say this because when I moved into my new build home in 2017, there are some rooms that I've painted minimum three or four times already, which wow. My other half absolutely loves, obviously, because I've already moved on from what styles and colors I liked then. And also trends have changed too. Yeah. So when I moved in, in 2017, we all loved Mrs. Hinch. I still do love Mrs. Hinch, but her house was all gray and everyone else's house is gray and I wanted my house to be gray. Yeah. But, but when you do every single room gray and all your furniture gray, it gets a little bit expensive when you actually it's gray. Yeah.<laugh> and it gets expensive to make it non gray. Yeah. So, um, yeah, it would see in thing then, and I'm now in the process of graying, everything, which is expensive. And it does take time. So maybe just wait until you've got your heart set on some sort of style, some sort of theme, and then go with it. Just don't rush into it with a tin of paint and a paintbrush like I did. Do you know what, so I completely agree. I, I almost feel you need to live in a home for a bit before you can decide on color, you know, pallets and themes that you're gonna go for. So you need to get to know each room, you know, where the light is. If it's a cooler room, literally it's like in temperature style, you know, maybe you wanna add warmth to that cooler room with some different warmer, warmer colors. Or if it's a smaller, darker room, maybe you need more mirrors to, you know, give that idea of space, but depo, you know, give it a few months, live in it first before any decisions are made. And it's the same with garden space, work out where your sunny spots are based on different times of the day is let's face it. If you're gonna set your barbecue up, you want it to be in the sunlit place possible with the, has the most sun yeah. To enjoy the up that burger in a nice, cool beverage of your choice. So yeah, I think you just don't rush into anything, just take your time, living it, create some Pinterest boards in the, in the interim. And then when you're sure you know what you want to do, go for it and just be brave and ultimately just enjoy it. Yes. If you're in your new home process, if you're on the journey, just enjoy it. It's a huge thing. And it'll be amazing once you're in. Couldn't agree more. Love it. Oh, I remember that feeling when you just move in and you're like, oh my God, this is mine. It's the best. It's it's again, it's a feeling like note while there be excitement and also just you feel secure, you feel safe and now's the time to just make it your own. It's just a lovely feeling. Absolutely. Well, thank you so much for being a guest on the podcast, Gemma and a huge thank you to Suzanne from block for sharing this invaluable home inspiration advice that will really help our listeners who are starting their new home journey. If you are feeling inspired to find your new home, we have some customer stories available for our listeners to see on our website, just visit astor.co.uk/live stories to watch our customer testimonials. And thank you for listening and for your support. This shared ownership thing podcast is brought tother UK slash sales.