Your style stamp: the top interior design tricks and tips to make a shared-ownership home your own

One of the joys of buying a property is the chance to put your personal stamp on the place. However, with a shared-ownership home there can be restrictions on what you can do.
1/5
Anna White25 September 2018

With a shared-ownership property, structural changes such as extensions, new kitchens, loft conversions or adding bi-fold doors need written permission from the landlord and must comply with building regulations.

Cosmetic work is, of course, down to each homeowner, from a new coat of paint to furnishings.

Interior designer Nicola Fontanella sets the look for major first-time buyer developments across the capital. She advises young Londoners to think about their apartment or house as a whole, rather than as individual rooms.

“Spaces connected by a theme help give the feeling of a single large space, rather than lots of smaller areas,” says Fontanella. “However, use different floor coverings or open bookcases to denote separate spaces. These give definition without enclosing areas.”

£120,000 will get you a quarter share of a one-bedroom flat at Metropolitan’s South West 9 scheme, just a seven minute walk from Brixton station. 

Fontanella, who runs Argent Design, also advises using mirrors creatively to give the illusion of more space, and including living plants in your scheme to help create atmosphere.

“When buying items be aware of size and scale,” she warns. “That wonderful, comfortable sofa that looked great in the showroom will not be so wonderful if it takes up nearly all your reception space. Scale things down.

“And, most importantly, don’t be in a hurry to make decisions and buy everything all in one go. You are probably going to live with many of the items you buy for quite some time.”

Stamp your style

RoxAnne Tierney put her stamp on her shared-ownership flat using dramatic colour and one-off pieces of furniture. The fashion designer shared a Brixton flat before buying her one-bedroom home using the shared-ownership property portal Share to Buy.

With a Juliet balcony and views over a courtyard, she paid a £6,000 deposit on the seven-year-old property. Her monthly payments including mortgage, rent and bills come to £1,060.

“I didn’t have a specific look in mind to start with, I’ve just always collected pieces that I have liked and hoped that it would all come together in the end,” she says. “I’m not that much of an Ikea girl. I like my furniture to be unique and reflect my personality.

“I was lucky when I first moved in as I inherited two fabulous pieces of furniture from my parents — a leopard-print armchair and a vintage marble-topped dressing table. They are quirky and sat well in the space, which was very plain. From then on I just tried to find other bespoke pieces that would work with what I already had.

RoxAnne was lucky enough to be given a fabulous leopard-print armchair from her parents
Mollie Manning

“I travel with work a lot so I like to take influences from cool hotels I’ve stayed in around the world. The Dean in Dublin has a Soho House style that I love — neon lights on the walls and the mini bars are orange Smeg fridges. Hotel Avor in Paris is another favourite, and I’ve taken inspiration for my colour co-ordinated bookcase from their lobby.”

Buy second-hand

But copying hotel décor is not cheap, so how has she managed her budget? She cleared out her wardrobe and sold shoes and clothes online, then used the money to treat herself to couple of pieces of furniture in the sales. She also found second-hand items.

“I bought a couple of bits from the girl who used to live here,” she adds. She has two neon lights and a pink neon heart above the sofa and her name in pale pink above her bed.

She is from Birmingham so on the sofa are two cushions with prints of the city skyline on them, £25 each, and there’s a Transport for London print framed in the living room: “It means I have a bit of Brum and London with me.”

Her favourite item is a pastel blue Smeg fridge. “I’d always wanted one and finally bought it. I did a lot of research online and came across a firm that reconditions used models as new, with a warranty.

"I asked a lot of questions and kept in touch with the company about the exact model I wanted, which eventually cost £800. The company’s called Smegs & Interiors and I found it on Facebook.”