Homes and Gardens / My Place
My Place: Dan and Jess
Their hand-painted blue house may have gotten a few hums and haws from some of the neighbours, but married couple Dan Fowler and Jess Makins revel in the bright colours of their St Werburgh’s home.
Jess, a teacher and recreational artist, is the house’s stylistic mastermind, planning each room around a specific colour – red, blue, grey, green. No two rooms have the same hue.
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Dan, on the other hand, is the pragmatist. The designer has even taken time off between projects to work on the then-rundown house.
“I wish we had some pictures of what it looked like before, because it’s changed so much,” he says. “It was a lot of tedious work, but I think it was definitely worth it in the end.”
As a result, the home is friendly, playful and inviting. Jess’s artwork – paintings, ceramics and pottery – decorates the house alongside photographs from the couple’s travels.
The bathroom is green, with a potted plant hanging from the bathtub to give it a garden vibe. Their bedroom is a soothing grey, inspired by Japanese design. A smaller sitting room is a vibrant blue, bringing to life the energetic pink sofa cushions, lush tropical plants and mid-century artefacts.
The masterpiece, however, is the house’s main room. Jess and Dan knocked out the wall between the kitchen and the sitting room, making the small space seem open and airy. A glass conservatory-style window over the sink brings in the sun, playing on the lively multi-coloured cabinets and panang curry-coloured walls.
“If we live here for the next five years or so,” says Jess, “I think we’ll be quite happy.”
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