Woman shares £620 elegant two-tone grey hallway transformation

A DIY-savvy mother has revealed how she gave her hallway an elegant two-tone grey makeover inspired by Mrs Hinch’s chic colour scheme.  

Emma Treacher, 38, bought her Hampshire home with her partner five years ago but struggled to find the time to make it feel homely while raising two young children.

While in lockdown the mother-of-two, whose children are now aged 13 and six and old enough to entertain themselves, turned her attention to transforming her hallway into an airy entrance to give visitors the first impression the house deserves.

With help from her partner Mark, Emma stripped out the drab looking laminate flooring, replacing it with large luxurious white tiles with a grey grout and added touches like a statement mirror and radiator cover. In total she spent just over £620 on the project.

The couple repainted the magnolia walls in a cool grey, Dulux polished pebble Matt finish 2.5l, which Emma bought for £16 from B&M.

While Emma, whose children are now 13 and six, was mostly able to decorate the small space with things she already owned, she did splash out on a mirrored radiator cover, £180, which helps to give the entrance the elegant look she had imagined. 

Emma, who runs the Instagram account @thetrendygreyhome sharing snaps of her home, said she had been inspired to decorate her home by influencers but has been surprised to find 20,000 people following her own Instagram.

Speaking to FEMAIL, Emma said: ‘We bought the house from new on the shared ownership scheme in Hampshire about five years ago. As the children were so young we never really had time or money to decorate as we only really had weekends due to working all week and it was much more fun going for days out with the children than decorating.

‘But now as they are a bit older, they tend to occupy themselves a little more and what with lockdown we had more time on our hands. 

‘Its amazing what you can do with time and effort. The biggest part was time and effort put in. We did the work all ourselves with help from family who are in the trade.

‘My partner fitted the tiles I was confident in him as he is a composites trimmer and fitter and I always give him a challenge and he never lets me down.’

Giving a nod to Mrs Hinch Emma decorated the radiator cover with a copy of the cleaning influencer’s book and flowers from Ellie’s finishing touches which she already owned.  

Emma said the couple had waited to start decorating as they knew that cracks would appear on the walls of the new build for the first few years as the building settled. 

She added: ‘None of our furniture from our previous home suited our new home and couldn’t afford to do everything at once.

‘We sold our old furniture on market place and other online sites to help pay for new furniture which was better suited to our home.

‘Over the last two years we have been trying to get it how we want taking inspiration from other home accounts and influencers on Instagram.

‘Even though I have nearly 20k I don’t see myself as an influencer I get asked on a daily basis on where I have purchased things or how did you do this.’ 

A landing transformation carried out by Emma on her Instagram has also attracted a lot of attention, with many recreating the shelf above the stairs as well as attempting their own versions of her son’s adorably superhero themed bedroom.

Emma said: ‘I do love it when followers send me photos of their recreations. I get a lot of questions about my beds, which are from the Luxury bed company.

‘I must say my partner does all the grafting and hard work I use my imagination to accessorise and tell him where I want things. That makes me sound really bossy, but honestly it is team work!’