This home story is brought to you in partnership with Shutterly Fabulous, proud sponsor of this article and our home stories.
uFurnish.com Founder Deirdre Mc Gettrick sat down with Kerry Davison – 2025 uFurnish.com Home Awards Winner, to talk all things interiors, inspiration and advice for those on their own interiors journey.
Name: Kerry Davison
Instagram handle: @houseofchi
Other social media handles: @captured_by_houseofchi
Location: Newcastle
Sum up your home interior style in 3 words or less: Earthy, textural, curated
What’s your favourite item in your home? My favourite item in my home is the tan vegan leather four seater sofa in our kitchen dining space. It sits against the slatted wood wall, and the two just work so well together. The warmth of the tan leather picks up the tones in the wood, and the texture of the slats adds depth behind it, so it feels really layered and intentional rather than flat. It’s one of those pieces that anchors the whole space.
If your home had a theme song, what would it be? Bloom by The Paper Kites. It has that same soft, earthy, intimate feel that runs through the spaces we’ve created. It’s calm but full of depth, which is exactly how I’ve styled our home with warm tones, natural textures and layered details. Nothing feels harsh or overdone; everything feels grounded and intentional. It also holds a really special meaning for us, because it’s the song we signed the register to on our wedding day. So it doesn’t just reflect how our home looks; it reflects a piece of our story too.
Toilet roll over or under on the holder? Over. Any other answer is wrong.
Do you place your cups and glasses facing up or down in your cupboard? Down, always. I know it’s a bit controversial, but I just feel like it keeps them cleaner in the cupboard. That said, I still give everything a quick wash and wipe before using it anyway. I used to store them facing up, but I couldn’t get past the thought of something like a spider falling in and getting stuck in there, so down it is now, for peace of mind (mine and the spiders) more than anything.
What inspired your home’s interior style, and how did you bring that vision to life?
I’m constantly inspired by the people I follow on Instagram within the home décor community. There’s such a wide range of incredibly talented creators, and I feel really lucky to be part of that space. There truly is something for everyone, but I’ve found the biggest influence has come from following people with a similar style or lifestyle to mine. It’s helped me refine my own taste and feel more confident in what I’m drawn to when it comes to decorating my home.
How did you balance your design goals with your budget, and do you have any clever hacks or cost-saving tips for readers?
Our whole home has been done on a budget, as we were still feeling the financial strain of moving into a bigger, more expensive house. A lot of the smaller styling pieces that bring everything together have come from car boot sales and charity shops. I’m also very lucky that my brother is an antiques dealer, so I often get first pick of items he has in stock. We’ve saved a lot of money by doing a lot of the work ourselves and leaning on family when needed.
My uncle is an electrician, and my dad can pretty much build or fix anything, so everyone has always got stuck in wherever possible. Even if you’re not experienced with DIY, there are so many tutorials on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok now that you can genuinely teach yourself new skills all the time. It makes such a difference financially when you’re able to take on some of the work yourself instead of paying for everything to be done.
What has been your biggest challenge designing your home, and how have you overcome it?
Our biggest challenge when designing our home has definitely been the back garden. It was a completely blank canvas, which is something I’d never worked with before. In previous homes I’ve always moved somewhere with an already established garden, but because this was a new build, when we moved in it was nothing more than a mud pit. We moved in in the middle of December as well, so it all felt quite overwhelming at first, especially looking out at it through winter and trying to imagine it ever being anything more than the mess it was.
Everything in the garden has been done by me and my dad, from laying paving stones to building the fences and the pergola, and we’ve tried to do it all on a budget using reclaimed and second-hand materials wherever possible. Living in the North East of England has also meant the weather hasn’t always been on our side, which has been another challenge in itself. It’s almost finished now, and it’s become so much more than we ever imagined it could be. In the summer it really is the hub of our home, a space we all use and enjoy, from watching movies outside to spending time in the hot tub and cooking or dining together as a family.
If you could give one piece of advice to someone starting their own renovation journey, what would it be?
My one piece of advice would be to live in your home before you rush into decorating it. Take time to understand how you actually use each space day to day. Where you naturally gather, where the light falls, how you move through the house and what feels practical versus what just looks good in theory.
I think functionality plays a huge role in creating a home you really love living in. If you decide how a space will be used first, it naturally guides how you decorate it afterwards, so you end up with a home that feels both practical and lived in, rather than just styled for the sake of it.
Is there a particular space in your home that you’re most proud of, and why?
I think my youngest daughter’s bedroom is probably the space I feel most proud of in our home, because it’s the only room I’ve done 100% by myself. Every other part of the house has had some sort of guidance from my mam or dad, but they were on holiday when I decided I wanted to do some panelling and wallpapering in that room. In true Kerry style, I couldn’t wait for them to get back, so I just cracked on and did it myself. It’s actually the room that went on to win the uFurnish award for best nursery or children’s bedroom, and it fills me with so much pride knowing it’s a space I created entirely from top to bottom on my own.
Where do you find your inspiration? Are there designers, Instagram accounts or brands that influence your style?
I could talk all day about the Instagram accounts that have inspired me over the years and really shaped my home decor journey. Some of the biggest influences in my style have also become some of my closest friends.
People like @my_littlewood_home, @charnwoodtowers, @the_woolgathering_home, @orchardstreetarchive and @lifeatthesunshinehouse see who all have very different styles, but each inspires me in their own way.
I love that I can take something different from each of them, whether that’s colour choices, styling ideas or just the way they approach their homes. There are so many wonderful accounts I’ve discovered through hashtags, share pages and recommendations, as well as small businesses along the way that have really helped bring everything together in our own home.
What's the next interior project you want to work on?
The next interior project I hope to work on is an outdoor kitchen, although every summer it seems to get pushed aside by other jobs that take priority. We have a space down the side of our house that is currently just used for storage, but it’s the perfect spot to create a galley-style kitchen area with a barbecue, smoker and pizza oven.
We love eating outside as a family, and it really feels like the only thing missing from our garden at the moment is a dedicated space to cook and enjoy all the food we love together. I also have plans in mind for a study makeover to better utilise the small space we have and make it more suitable for working from home. At the moment it’s used as a music practice room and storage, but we really need to refine it and make it a more practical, functional space.
Any other information you’d like to share about your home interiors journey?
The only other thing I would add about my home interiors journey is to have fun, experiment, and stay fluid with your ideas. Nothing ever has to be final straight away, and I’ve learned that some of the best parts of our home have come from trying things out, changing them and evolving them over time. It’s really about enjoying the process rather than rushing to get everything "finished" and allowing your home to grow and change with you as your life does.
Each month we'll be interviewing one of our uFurnish.com Home Awards finalists, asking them all about their home renovation journey, their inspiration and more, so be sure to come back each month to learn more. Find out more about our Home Awards here, follow us on Instagram here for more inspiration and updates and subscribe to our emails here for weekly offers and more.
