Somewhere over the rainbow! Designer spends £10,000 transforming dreary '70s-style property into a vibrant home with colourful walls, quirky wallpaper and upcycled furniture

By Monica Greep For Mailonline 10:12 16 Sep 2021, updated 10:23 16 Sep 2021

  • Designer Rachel Henderson, 40, of West Fife, Scotland, renovated her dreary property into vibrant  home 
  •  She and husband Andrew moved into two-bed detached home in February 2020 soon starting renovations
  • Rachel has racked over 30,000 Instagram followers sharing her home's incredible transformation online

A designer has shared the incredible renovation she and her husband completed on their 1970s-style property, transforming the house from dated and dreary to a flamboyant and colourful paradise. 

Rachel Henderson, 40, West Fife, Scotland, moved into her two-bed detached home with husband Andrew, 34, in February 2020, and was keen to switch out the old-fashioned decor and plain walls for something more bold and quirky.

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After months of renovation at a cost of £10,000,  the home now features brightly coloured walls, quirky wallpaper and chic upcycled furniture - with each room sporting a different theme. 

Rachel, who has racked more than 30,000 Instagram followers sharing her progress online, transformed the dull living room into a bright space with peach walls and brightly coloured decor, while the bedrooms sport a variety of bold wallpapers and colourful cushions.  

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A designer has shared the incredible renovation she and her husband completed on their 70s-style property, transforming the house from dated and dreary to a flamboyant and colourful paradise. The make-over included renovating the  dull brown and white bedroom with old wooden furniture
The bedroom as transformed into to an energetic space with floral wallpaper, hot pink walls, multicolored scatter cushions and an orange flower-themed table
The dated home's exterior was dark and dirty and featured an old brown door before renovation took place
The couple's biggest expense was having the entire house freshly painted in white, decorating the outdoor space with a rainbow doormat quirky decorations and with a pastel pink door
Rachel Henderson, 40, West Fife, Scotland, (pictured) moved into her two-bed detached home with husband Andrew, 34, in February 2020. She works as an interior designer and stylist helping others transform their homes

Rachel, who works as an interior designer and stylist helping others transform their homes, has dubbed the colourful home the Rainbow House and says that while they splashed out having their house painted on the outside, the majority of the work was done themselves. 

'When we first moved in, it was a typical 70s house with a swirly patterned carpet, beige, plain walls and every room needed a big makeover.

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'The two previous properties we lived in were also really colourful and quirky - I always want to inject lots of personality into my home and just go for it.

'In Scotland, there's a lot of colourful places and streets to visit so I get a lot of inspiration from my day trips. Our house is quite random. Every room is different but it all connects really well.

The home's second living room featured brown, '70s-style carpet, old cream blinds,  beige furniture and white walls
After the make-over the room was given a new lease of life, featuring a pink gallery wall decorated with funky prints, and minimal furniture to optimize the space. Geometric paper on a feature wall adds and extra splash of colour, while fixtures such as the windowsills and radiator have been painted yellow
The stairs were old and white while the walls in the hallway were unkempt in a shade of olive green while the wooden floor looked dated and dreary before the makeover
Now, the stairs and radiator are a vibrant yellow shade and the wall features a series of prints. along with a large yellow-framed mirror and a minimalist blue lampshade
Rachel, pictured sitting in her colourful living room after renovation, has dubbed the colourful home the Rainbow House and says that while she and her husband Adam splashed out having their house painted on the outside, the majority of the work was done themselves
The dining room features a pastel pink radiator and lilac walls, while Rachel chose to decorate with bright yellow furniture and a matching mirror, scattering house plants across the home
Her dreary hallway was decorated with a vibrant, multicolored floral wallpaper and orange door frames
The living room features a pink and white rug, a rainbow-themed feature wall, on-trend wicker wall hanging, pink chair with a psychedelic pillow and a huge houseplant

'We repeat certain colours throughout the home to make sure it'll all connect nicely. A lot of people think they have to stick with one colour palette but you can have a mish mash.

'We've done everything on a budget but we've splashed out on a few things like getting the outside of the house painted white.

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'But we've definitely gone down the sustainable route and upcycled a lot of furniture'.

Rachel has worked as a textile designer for the past 16 years and has always loved adding colour into her homes.

And husband Andrew is completely on board as he helps to decorate their family home they share with their daughter Lottie, six.

The downstairs bathroom features yellow tiling, blue walls, a pastel pink door frame and matching pipes with a variety of house plants and colourful prints decorating the room
Designer Rachel shared a picture of her materials alongside the stunning home transformation, which features a rainbow lamp, stylish pink chair and a yellow and pink statement wall
Her living room features purple walls and was decorated with a yellow and purple table
The living room's old leather sofa was ditched for a yellow couch decorated with  scatter pillows in a variety of shades while quirky mirrors and pieces of art work hang on the statement wall
In the back garden, Rachel painted one of her back gates pink and decorated it with blue, orange, yellow and pink flowers while the other was a vibrant shade of green. She decorated the garden with a matching rainbow doormat and colourful potted flowers

Rachel added: 'Andrew is completely on board - he's really supportive of what I do and loves the house. As a family, it makes us happy to be surrounded by colour and character.

'People need to have more confidence in themselves when it comes to designing their interiors - I've noticed more and more people are experimenting.

'I would always recommend starting with a mood board and creating a colour palette you love.

'When we bought this property, the previous owners had seen my work and left a lot of furniture for me to upcycle which was amazing.

'You do have to dedicate a lot of your time to renovating and upcycling but it's definitely doable and you can save a fortune.

'In total, our renovations probably cost around £10,000 but we saved a lot by doing most of the work ourselves'.