I then moved into a house with friends and this got worse so that my influence could be seen in almost every room, even when my husband moved in. While I got rid of a lot of stuff when we moved to Leeds and have done several huge clear outs in the last three years, it is very easy to see who lives here. In fact, when family and friends from down south come to visit for the first time, they all comment on how very 'me' our house is.
This isn't to say that my husband doesn't have an influence on our decor. He does have a say but he is very happy for me to do the decorating. This is how I've been able to make a feature out of five items that help me to feel at home and will be used to make any new house ours. Here are five things I need to have on show to make our house a home:
Custom Alice in Wonderland figures
They were actually made by the artist who made the knockers from the film The Labyrinth, who just so happens to live in my home town. Sadly, he can no longer make much due to his failing eyesight, so this is a little piece of history as well as being incredibly special to us.
It is always a talking point and the detail is immense. There's nothing like custom art to make your home truly individual.
Antique drinks cabinet
I was lucky enough to be given it by my grandparents a few years ago and it has been on show in our living room ever since. While most of our furniture is modern and mismatched, I actually think having an antique piece in the room ties all the odd items together. Sadly, I haven't had a chance to fill it with booze yet!
Wedding cake toppers
My sister made an excellent stacked fruit cake and I spent months talking to Philip Hynes Sculpts so he could create our polymer clay toppers. These were made to look like us - right down to the pink hair, Dr Martens and suit details - while the zombies were just meant to look pretty gross. He even put 'Dog Soldiers' on one of the zombie's T-shirts because this was the film we watched on our second date. Not only did the husband love them, they have showcased our sense of humour in our house since coming off the cakes.
I recently added lights to the cube they are kept in so they can be shown off at night and during the day. The husband wants to hide these up in the games room but I'm putting my foot down.
Giant Alice in Wonderland mug
Sometimes it is filled with dried flowers, sometimes with fabric and other times it just stands empty. It always makes a statement though and I love it just as much now as on the day I was given it. I've since been given a small matching teapot, although I'd love an oversized one too.
Recycled cutlery candle holder
At one point it had woodworm so I had to treat it, which took off the varnish, but I haven't wanted to re-varnish it as I think it looks great as it.
Next to all the other items I love in our house, you can get an idea of how random our tastes are.