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Single Mum Mural Redecoration

By Shannine O’Neill

**EXCLUSIVE**

THIS SINGLE MUM-of-two dealt with the death of her father by finding the best deals to totally transform her home for under £2K.

Therapeutic intervention worker Emma Parkes (50) from Shropshire, England redecorated the three-bedroom semi-detached cottage she rents from a bland magnolia to a bright and unique mediterranean oasis as a way to cope with the sudden loss of her father.


In her bedroom, Emma removed the carpet and painted the floorboards white to add the illusion of more space in the room, before finding some old wood on the side of the road and turning it into a shelf above her bed and recently added a mural to add a splash of colour.


In the living room space, Emma painted all the walls, including a lime washed effect feature and swapped some of the design pieces for colourful, unique decor.
The kitchen is Emma’s favourite space that she has redecorated, with all the walls being repainted by herself including one wall adorning her hand painted colourful mural.

Emma started renting her cottage in August 2020, where she now lives with her son Ralph (10) and daughter Poppy (20).

Emma’s father suddenly passed away in 2020 after an unexpected heart attack even though he was incredibly fit and often played squash and golf regularly, which was a complete shock to her system as she was very close to her father and struggled to cope with the loss.

The one thing that Emma found that lifted her spirits in such a dark time was through beginning her redecorating process.

Because Emma rented her home, she had limitations to what she could realistically do in order to create the home she truly wanted.

As well as renting limitations, Emma also found it difficult to find exactly what she wanted at a price that was realistic for her as she is a single-parent supporting her two children independently.

Emma scoured second hand and antique fairs alongside places such as Facebook Marketplace in order to find the best deals for redecorating her home on a budget, as well as repurposing her own old furniture.

The main way Emma was able to bring in colour and life to her rented home was through painting murals and adding pops of colour in her interior throughout the home.

Emma was always a fan of creating murals and actually painted them as a hobby, and so used her skills to create gorgeous, colourful murals throughout her home.

One of Emma’s favourite parts of her home now is the bright botanical flower mural that she had painted in her kitchen.

“I have always had a passion for interiors and have painted wall murals as a hobby,” she said.

“I have one mural in my kitchen which features bright botanical flowers.

“I have totally redecorated the cottage which was painted magnolia when I moved in.

“I’ve always been drawn to bright Mediterranean architecture and I feel these colours are reflected in my home, definitely uplifting my spirit and mood.”

However, her favourite room in her home is her bedroom as it mixes the classical cottage style that the home originally brought, alongside her own bright and joyful coloured interior and changes she has made.

“I think my favourite room is my bedroom,” she said.

“I love the uneven rustic walls, exposed floorboards and beautiful cottage window that I purposely don’t have a curtain up against.

“My view from my bedroom window is just beautiful, I’m surrounded by fields and hear nothing but the birds in the morning.

“The light is incredible first thing in the morning as well.”

Emma regularly posts her interior ideas and designs to her Instagram page @tallulahcottage, where she has gained over 41K followers who admire her colourful cottage life.

“I’ve had so many lovely comments from my followers on Instagram but I think the main ones that stand out are, ‘your home lifts my mood and makes me feel happy’, and ‘Your home always lights up my feed’,” she said.

“I find describing my style really tricky as I feel I love so many different styles.

“I love the simplicity of Swedish homes that I follow on Instagram and like I said before adore the architecture and bright colours used in Mediterranean architecture.

“I’m also a huge fan of plants and every room in my cottage has greenery.”

Although Emma is grateful for her Instagram followers who admire her interior work, she is most grateful for how throwing herself into redecorating her home had given her the chance to grieve and mourn the loss of her father while still finding joy in the daily redecorating process.

“My dad suddenly passed away just before covid which I really struggled with as we were very close,” she said.
“Decorating the cottage was definitely part of my personal healing process and a way to challenge my grief.

“It gave me an enormous amount of pleasure when I was feeling so sad.

“I have to be very creative and thrifty when it comes to financing my projects as I’m a single mum having to support my family independently.

“I have a passion for second hand/antique fairs where I have sourced a huge amount of my furniture and interiors and I use FB marketplace a lot.”


BUDGET BREAKDOWN:


Bedroom:
Bed- £40 (Facebook Marketplace)
Paint- £70
Side cupboards- £40 (Facebook Marketplace)
Shelf- £0 (free as it was found on the side of the road)
Plants- £50
Rug- £0 (free with colab)
Wall mural- £0 (free with colab)
Cupboard- £0 (free as it was a family member’s)
Velvet bench- £120 (TKMaxx)


Lounge:
Sofa pink- £40 (ebay)
Leather egg chair- £80 (eBay)
Green sofa- £280 (ebay)
Cream unit- £20 (Facebook Marketplace)
Rug- £0 (free with colab)
Cushions- £50
Tv table- £10 (Facebook Marketplace)
Paint- £50


Kitchen:
Table- £40 (ikea)
Chairs- £80 (Facebook Marketplace)
Picture prints- £20 (eBay)
Drawers- £40 (Facebook Marketplace)
Lampshade- £50 (ikea)
Paint- £50
Rugs- £50
TOTAL- £1,180

ENDS