uFurnish.com Founder Deirdre Mc Gettrick sat down with Louise Horton - 2025 uFurnish.com Home Awards Finalist to talk all things interiors inspiration and advice for those on their own interiors journey
Name: Louise Horton
Instagram handle: @thestylepad_uk
TikTok handle: @thestylepad_uk
Facebook: The Style Pad
Location: Oxfordshire
Sum up your home interior style in 3 words or less: Vintage, elegant, timeless.
What’s your favourite item in your home?: Probably my repurposed kitchen island that used to be an antique farmhouse table.
If your home had a theme song what would it be?: “Moon River” by Audrey Hepburn - classically romantic!
Toilet roll over or under on the holder?: Over…always.
Do you place your cups and glasses facing up or down in your cupboard?: Upright. It's all about efficiency!
What inspired your home’s interior style and how did you bring that vision to life?
I'm always inspired by historic buildings and have a soft spot for Victorian, Edwardian and Georgian architecture. I love to pick out regency details in my designs by using wall moulding, thick cornice detailing, colour drenching and adding antique furniture and decor.
How did you balance your design goals with your budget and do you have any clever hacks or cost-saving tips for readers?
My entire Instagram page is brimming with tips on how to make your home look high end on a budget, so I have hundreds! But a couple that spring to mind are adding visual height by creating tall vertical lines with floor-to-ceiling cupboards, high curtains and vertical wall moulding. Oh, and add brass details wherever possible for a bit of regency glamour.
What has been your biggest challenge designing your home and how have you overcome it?
Budget! I resent paying out my hard-earned cash, so I spend as little as possible at every opportunity. A good example would be the hardwood kitchen units I bought for £50 on Facebook Marketplace and repurposed to fit our space as I couldn't bring myself to pay thousands of pounds for a flimsy MDF equivalent. Hard work, but worth the blood, sweat and tears! It's now my favourite room in the house.
If you could give one piece of advice to someone starting their own renovation journey what would it be?
Find inspiration on Pinterest and Instagram and then think “how can I achieve that?” rather than “where can I buy that?” Get yourself down to local charity shops, auction houses and car boot sales to hunt for beautiful furniture and decor pieces. And don't be afraid to get stuck in with DIY projects. It's much more rewarding than buying new!
Is there a particular space in your home that you’re most proud of and why?
Our kitchen is a personal highlight. It feels very rewarding knowing that it was such a bargain. And also our downstairs loo AKA my “Powder Room”! It's the smallest room in the house, but suits my style to a tee.
Where do you find your inspiration? Are there designers, Instagram accounts or brands that influence your style?
No designer in particular springs to mind. I like a mixture of different aesthetics; whatever feels exciting and it can change from room to room. I like to find my inspiration on Pinterest mainly. The algorithm has really learnt my style and I'm inundated with endless beautiful inspiration on there!
What's the next interiors project you want to work on?
Well, we've actually just put our house up for sale, with no idea yet of where we're heading. But I'm pretty confident it will be our next project, and of course I'll be documenting it all on Instagram…watch this space!
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.
