Emily Murray, Founder & Editor of The Pink House

Emily Murray, founder and editor of the award-winning blog and brand The Pink House has written about her home for us before. We have now captured her joie de vivre on film, exploring new parts of her home, talking interiors, colour and carpet.

Here’s our Q&A

Why The Pink House?

Pink has always been my favourite colour, but it’s much more than a colour; the word stands for joy, passionand playfulness in my mind. So, calling my home and my business The Pink House is only partly about the rose-tinted hue – it also means I live and work somewhere that makes me happy!

The Pink House with Alternative Flooring’s stair runner, Wool Iconic Stripe Marley Runner

Any particular shades of pink?

I’m particularly partial to soft blush-rose pink, and accents of fluoro pink. I also created what I believe to be the perfect goes-with-anything pink: my very own Pink House paint that’s available to buy on the Mylands website.

What inspires your creativity?

Happiness! Covid and lockdown has taught me that I find it very hard to be creative when I’m feeling down. But if I focus on finding things that make me feel good – and these include exercise, chatting with friends, doing things that challenge me and drinking very nice wine – then the creativity comes naturally.

Your style in three words.

Playful. Practical. Pink.

One of the kid’s bedrooms with Alternative’s Quirky B Honeycomb carpet

What is your interior design process?

I start with how the room will be used and by whom, then ascertain how that person or those people want to feel when they’re in it, and how the room fits with the rest of the home or property. I like to start with one colour, piece of décor or item of furniture and build a mood board from there, layering colours, patternsand items as I go. I like to take my time over the room and ideally not have to make all the decisions until some of the room has been finished. I’m quite a slow decorator by nature, but I’m an impatient person too which can be quite a conflict!

Emily’s house landings include Alternative’s Wool Iconic Stripe on the first floor and Quirky B Honeycomb on the second floor.

Why did you choose carpet?

I’ve lived in homes with bare, draughty bedroom floors and I can confidently say that I much prefer a lovely soft wool carpet underfoot! I like to feel cosy in my bedroom, plus I love how a quality carpet helps the space feel more luxurious and gives an opportunity to add pattern to that dimension. I haven’t used much wallpaper in my current house – I like having plain walls as a background for artwork – but as a pattern lover the fact I can still incorporate pattern on my floors, thanks to Alternative Flooring, is a real joy!

Having carpet on the first and second floor landings and stairs means the whole family’s feet stay warm when we run up and down to the shower room. I love the texture of the Iconic Wool Stripe carpet and it looks so smart and works so well with my hallway tiles – and with pink!

Emily’s bedroom with Alternative’s limited-edition Quirky B, Liberty Fabrics for Alternative Flooring Capello Shell carpet and one of the kid’s bedrooms with Quirky B Honeycomb carpet

Which designs and where?

I especially love whimsical floral designs in bedrooms – the Capello Shell is my all-time favourite patterned carpet so I’m delighted to have it in both the master and the spare bedroom. For the kids’ bedrooms the geometric Honeycomb is perfect – grown-up enough to take them into their teens and beyond (or to work in a spare bedroom or study if we change the usage of their rooms), but still playful.

Emily’s stair runner is Alternative’s Wool Iconic Stripe in Marley

Tips for stairs?

I say have some fun with them, and don’t be afraid to go bold. If you want to keep the runner a more neutral colour, consider painting the treads and risers in something a little brighter to show off your carpet. Also, there’s no rule that the stairs have to be the same colour as the bannister, so don’t feel constrained. Painting the often ‘orangey’ wood you often find on bannisters in period properties can help pull a colour scheme together and smarten up the stairs. I love dark bannisters contrasted against lighter walls. When it comes to choosing the runner itself, pay attention to detail, such as the colour of the whipping. It generally won’t cost any more to choose whipping in a bright or contrasting colour, so why not pick a brighter colour than you might feel comfortable using on a larger surface, and have a bit of fun with it.

Coco on the stairs!

Why buy local?

Our excellent local carpet fitter Lordship Flooring made light work of installing our carpets. It’s always satisfying to use quality local suppliers, and each time Lordship has provided us with an excellent service with minimal fuss. Our carpets have all been beautifully fitted and they also dealt with our old laminate flooring which was extremely helpful.

Should every home have a pet?

Our Ragdoll cat, Coco, was definitely the best thing to happen to The Pink House in 2020. We got her a year ago when she was just a tiny scrap of fluff and the whole family has been in love from her from that first day. Including the Pink House Husband, who claimed not to be a cat man… now he encourages her to lick the leftover milk from his cereal bowl!

Emily on her trapeze

Who taught you the trapeze?

I went to static trapeze classes near my home in South East London, but my gymnastics background meant I knew a fair few moves already. I’ve always had reasonable upper body strength – as well as being a former national squad gymnast I rowed when I was at Cambridge and have kept a base level of fitness since then – which definitely makes it easier to get myself up and round the trapeze!

Desert Island luxury.

Silk bedding and eye mask set. Plus, mattress and bed. That’s one thing, right?!

Lockdown tip.

Drink your wine from crystal glasses and you feel (a bit) like you’ve gone out to dinner. Mine are from Soho Home.

A view of Emily’s study as seen from her bedroom with Alternative’s Wool Iconic Stripe in Marley carpet on the landing and Alternative’s limited-edition Quirky B, Liberty Fabrics for Alternative Flooring Capello Shell carpet in the bedroom

Life motto.

You get out what you put in.

What’s next?

A big exciting project with my friend Katie @comedowntothewoods; Series 2 of my upbeat podcast, Play with Emily Murray (find the freshly-released Series 1 wherever you get your podcasts); weight training with women-only gym Fitology Hub @fitologyhub; a large glass of wine!

Watch our video of Emily at home in The Pink House with Alternative Flooring!

HERE

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