'My hall's gone from white to WOW'

Sarah Brazier's dramatic staircase takes pride of place and sets the scene for the fabulous style of her home

- LISA MOSES

People are always surprised to hear that my home is rented from a housing association,' says Sarah. 'We were originally renting a garden flat in a busy town but I yearned for a place in the country and this house, being detached and surrounded by fields, ticked all my boxes.

I had to think hard about the decor because, being a new-build, this place felt like a bland white box. My last home was decorated quite neutrally, but I wanted to be brave with colour here.

However, my biggest fear was tackling the hallway as it's such a big, open space, so I initially found it daunting.

First sight

When I eventually move I may need to change the interior back to white, but as tenants we are allowed to decorate as we like to make the house feel like our home. I was very pleased about this as I had big ideas for the hallway. It's the first place visitors see so I wanted to create a bold statement that would make people go "wow" when they stepped through the front door.