Homes We Love: A chic Edwardian home transformation

Find out how Caroline Sherwood updated her period home with relaxing colours, classic details and stylish DIYs.

Caroline Sherwood

Trainee Solicitor living in Moseley, Birmingham

Relax with blue walls and classic Chesterfield sofas

Living room with blue walls and traditional fireplace — Caption: Light blue walls create a relaxing contrast with their traditional fireplace.

Caroline Sherwood and partner Jonny used timeless and cosy accents to transform their Edwardian home into a relaxing space.“We wanted a pale subtle shade of blue on the walls which would blend with the cooler tones in the rooms downstairs,” she explains. “It contrasts well with the darker grey alcove shelving and of course our gorgeous Hampton grey sofas.”

Edwardian charm gets a modern upgrade

One original detail which they kept was the wooden flooring which fit in with their new wooden panelling feature. “Jonny created this look as part of a DIY lockdown project using pieces of beading which were fixed to the wall, and then caulked, and painted to create the desired look.We are slowly working our way through all the rooms!”

A classic dining room with a statement

Traditional wooden dining set in the dining room — Caption: Caroline’s dining room - traditional and stylish with a statement.

In their dining room, she picked our Cavendish dining table as the statement piece. On styling the table, Caroline explains, “We wanted to accentuate the table, but not detract from the pedestal legs or the tabletop design so I chose a table runner with a ribbed design and white ribbed tableware.”

Transforming the bedroom into an elegant space

Cosy and elegant bedroom with tufted Chesterfield bedframe and pink feature wall — Caption: Their updated bedroom featuring tufted details and a calming feature wall.

For the bedroom, Caroline incorporated a feature wall as the focal point. “We used this paint colour called ‘Sulking Room Pink’ which was paired with a traditional off-white,” she says. “ I think this calming colour combination works really well here.”

Their bed features a tufted Chesterfield frame that is stylishly contrasted with a big statement mirror from William Wood and radiator covers to give the room a polished feel.

A stylish corner to relax

Relaxation corner with blue club chair — Caption: A corner to curl up and relax after a long day.

With more time spent at home these days, Caroline also created a corner dedicated to relaxation. “We wanted a cosy corner perfect for sitting and relaxing, it’s also located next to a window which has a view of the garden,” she explains. “The club chair is so comfy and it’s a great place to curl up and read a book. The gold lamp provides some extra lighting and perfectly complements our William Wood gold mirror.”

Recent home renovation updates

Master bathroom with white bathtub, tiles and black accents — Caption: Revamping their third bedroom into their main bathroom.

Their latest home project has been transforming their third bedroom into their main bathroom. Featuring luxe details such as a modern bathtub, patterned tiles and black accents, it’s been a big upgrade to their home. “Before the renovation, we used the bathroom downstairs!” she explains. “It’s been a big project for us and we’re so excited with the results.”

Bathroom with luxe patterned tiles and black accents — Caption: Their new master bathroom with luxe patterned tiles and black accents.

Reflecting on their progress, she goes on to say, “The biggest challenge has been dealing with the quirky features of an older house - such as the downstairs bathroom, super steep staircase and woodchip wallpaper. Overall though the period features and unique style of the house outweighs the negatives!”

Photography by Caroline Sherwood