A Home Transformation

February 4th, 2022

Serena Pybus and her family are well established with Brewers. When Serena was 15, she worked with her twin sister in our Bromley branch and their older sister also worked for Brewers! We got in touch to find out a little more about what Serena has been up to since then, which involves a beautiful home transformation.

As one interior design lover to another, where has your passion for interiors come from?

I always loved interior design and went to Ravensbourne College of Design to study a course in it, but I ended up doing my degree in Graphic design instead, which is now my profession. I design magazines day to day, but as a freelancer I work on packaging, exhibition graphics, wedding stationery and retail signage - so I design lots of different types of graphics which I love!

That sounds great! A perfect way for your creative side to flourish. Your creativity doesn’t stop there though, especially looking at your Instagram page @a_home_transformation. What made you decide to take on such a large-scale renovation?

We were very lucky to be able to buy such a beautiful 1930 mock Tudor house as my partner and I were married. The house had 4 bedrooms, but we very quickly realised as the family expanded, we out-grew the house! So, I decided to do a loft extension, and sought advice from my dad as my dad is a builder (again VERY lucky to have him on board). He said along with the architect we should extend out the back and the side of the home at the same time, as we would need the space when the boys grow up… and here we are!

It’s always handy having a tradesperson in the family isn’t it! It’s also really wise to create a home your family can grow into. How long has the renovation taken you so far?

We ‘started’ in March 2020 just as Covid shut most of the world down! We are finished with major building work now, but interior work is still ongoing. 

It certainly hasn’t been an easy time for the construction industry, but it’s great to hear you are finished with the major building work! What has been your favourite part of the renovation process so far?

It’s been so much fun to see the transformation of all the bedrooms; especially the loft rooms as they did not exist before, so we are very lucky to have these rooms. I absolutely love the kitchen though. It hasn’t been totally revealed on our Instagram pages as there are small jobs still on-going, but its definitely the heart of the house with the huge lantern, sliding doors on both sides of the extension and open space, we didn’t expect it to look as good as it does – it’s been the best part of the process. 

Does that make it really difficult to choose your favourite part of the house?

I love the kitchen as I have said, but my favourite room has to be the green room in the loft. I love the colour, the panelling design, I love the en-suite and the views from the window…the boys were star gazing with me up there the other day! 

As a former Brewers colleague, you must have lots of experience with colour, how did you decide on the colours you wanted to use in your house?

We started off with the colours in the loft (like a sage green and blue) for the two bedrooms, and we thought each bedroom needed to compliment them. From there, we have been looking at Farrow & Ball and Albany colour cards to find colours which are all similar tones and will complement each other. From there, we have used a pallet based on 4 main colours that remains consistent in the house.

Having a colour palette run through the house is definitely a great way to create a cohesive feel in your home. Do you have many rooms in the house left to decorate?

We must finish the downstairs toilet and utility room…and my office room! Other rooms downstairs are needing some carpentry work to complete them and then some detail finishing. Finally we need to work on our outdoor steps, tidy up the garden and then the driveway! 

It sounds like you have a lot of work left to do! We wish you all the very best in your renovation journey and we cannot wait to see the finished result so be sure to keep us updated!

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