Danny and Sophia add colour and character to their Aberdeen home

Danny Ockilson and his wife Sophia have cleverly used pops of colour and quirky accessories to add some pizzazz to their property.

By Rosemary Lowne

November 16 2023, 11:45 am

Danny Ockilson and his wife Sophia have used bold colours and striking accessories to add some pizzazz to their property. Image: Burnett & Reid.

As first time buyers, Danny Ockilson and his wife Sophia relished the chance to put their own stamp on their new home.

Taking interior inspiration from Pinterest or Instagram, the couple weren’t afraid to use bold colours and characterful furniture to create a wonderfully vibrant yet cosy property.

Here Sophia shares their renovation journey and encourages people to do what they like to their homes.

Danny and Sophia in their home — Danny and Sophia have taken interior design inspiration from Pinterest and Instagram. Image: Danny Ockilson

38 Leslie Road, Aberdeen

Who: Danny Ockilson, 33, a software engineer and his wife Sophia, 32, a PhD student in Newcastle.

What: A semi-detached three bedroom home.

Where: Leslie Road, Hilton, Aberdeen.

As told to Rosemary Lowne

“We had been renting a three-bedroom house in Old Aberdeen and were looking to get our foot on the property ladder.

We spent quite a lot of time looking online before we found the listing for this property on ASPC so we reached out for a viewing.

There was a lot we liked about the house immediately; the rooms, particularly the bedrooms as they were a good size and we could really see ourselves being happy here, but we especially loved the garden.

A bedroom with green painted walls, a neatly-made double bed, two white side tables and a pink rug with matching curtains — Vivid green walls work beautifully with soften pink tones in this bedroom. Image: Burnett & Reid.

A bedroom in the aberdeen home after the renovation with a blue and gold feature wall, a black metal-framed double bed with two wooden side table, a grey and cream cat tree and a dark blue armchair — Dark blue hues complement the neutral elements in this bedroom. Image: Burnett & Reid

Being able to find a property with such a great outside space, in this location, wasn’t something we’d expected so we purchased the property in November 2020.

There were elements that we liked already, and being first time buyers, with little DIY knowledge, we didn’t want a huge project, but there were places we could see we could make our mark.

Firstly, we turned the spare bedroom into Danny’s office. For the walls above the white panelling we used a dark shade called David Rose from the paint brand Coat and a white paint from Johnstone’s for the ceiling.

The feature ceiling light is from Wayfair, the rug is from Ikea, the curtains are from Curtains Direct and our olive green metal locker is from Mustard.

The home office in the home — The home office is brimming with charm and character. Image: Burnett & Reid

Another view of the office, showing four guitars hanging on the wall — The cool home office is fit for a rock star. Image: Burnett & Reid

The next room we worked on was the living room.

The decor wasn’t our style so we were keen to make it feel more us and more cosy.

We hired Prestige Decorators to do our living room because it was quite a big job, it took three days in total.

For the walls we used Deep Teal from Valspar which we colour matched in Crown Trade Matt Vinyl Emulsion Paint.

Our sofa is from Willow & Hall, our yellow metal TV unit is from Mustard, our glass tables were from MADE and our over-fireplace mirror was from Facebook Marketplace.

The living room, full of blue tones, including blue walls, a navy armchair, an L-shaped sofa and a fireplace. There is a large house plant next to the window, a yellow TV unit, a glass coffee table and a statement mirror above the fireplace. — It’s impossible for your mood not to be lifted in this vibrant living room. Image: Burnett & Reid

The bathroom in the renovated aberdeen home with geometric floor tiles, a glass display cabinet and a large houseplant on the end of the bath. The bath/shower has dark blue vertical tiles around it. — The vertical tiles give the bathroom a boutique hotel feel. Image: Burnett & Reid

More recently, we completed the second spare bedroom.

It originally had three different patterned wallpapers on the walls and a neutral-coloured carpet.

We hired Kris at KSA 24 Renovations to carry out the redecoration on the spare bedroom because trying to get the wallpaper off was a complete nightmare.

We wanted to create a nice space for our family and friends to stay when they visit so we used a green Valspar paint called Pressed Olives which was colour matched into a Dulux Durable Flat Matt Paint.

On the ceiling we used a pink paint called DH Blossom by Dulux Heritage and the curtains and rug are both from Dunelm.

We also got an Ottoman bed from Dusk and the chevron flooring is from Tapi Carpets.

Another bathroom in the home, with a Burlington toilet, cubical shower and geometric floor tiles — The stylish bathroom features a Burlington toilet. Image: Burnett & Reid

The kitchen, which has light blue walls, cream cabinets and wooden-effect countertops. — The kitchen is bright and airy. Image: Burnett & Reid

Downstairs, we freshened up the shower room as well, changing the walls from light blue to white using a Dulux paint called Timeless while the toilet is from Burlington.

We’re really happy with the work that’s been done so far.

Having space for a dedicated home office really helped with working from home but we love the garden the most.

At all times of year there’s something to look at and lots of wildlife including plenty of birds, bees, the occasional bat and even some hedgehogs.

My advice for anyone renovating their home is to be willing to compromise with people, but also don’t be afraid of doing what you like.”