Paloma Faith didn’t get her first home until her fifth album was released (Picture: Supplied)
The award-winning singer may have shot to fame young but that doesn’t mean she got onto the property ladder straight away. However, she describes her home style as ‘maximalist’.
You’ve been famous for a long time – did you get on the property ladder young?
No! I was renting until eight years ago because I had a terrible record deal and could never afford to buy a house, especially in London. I bought for the first time after making my fifth album.
It was a Victorian three-bedroom house in Willesden in north-west London and had a little garden. I loved it because I had waited so long to have any money to be able to buy a house and it felt amazing.
How did you customise it?
I turned one of the bedrooms into a wardrobe because I had so many clothes! My interiors are always inspired by my wardrobe – I like to dress my home with a different outfit for each room so it has its own personality. I like rich, saturated colours with lots of art on the walls.
I got into this habit of collecting Catholic memorabilia that had obviously been stolen from churches and sold in flea markets. That stuff went in my spare bedroom. It was dark with red velvet –and there was a painting of Mary impaled on seven swords – calming things like that! So when people stayed they’d either get turned on or wake up really guilty!
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How would you describe your interiors style?
Maximalist – but my mum describes it as ‘like a child did it’. So the Paloma Home website is basically filled with adult things for adult children. It is fun and eclectic and a bit of a mishmash where you can put loads of stuff together that shouldn’t go together – but it works!
Did your mum influence your interior design style at all?
No, as a child of the Sixties, my mum is really into minimalism. Everything had to be white – white sheets, white walls – and she was always getting rid of stuff. I would come home from school and she would have had a cull – and all my favourite things would be in the bin. So I rebelled and now I’m just a hoarder. Although I’m starting to turn into my mum – when my daughter asked where her picture was recently, I had to tell her I had chucked it away.
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What advice would you give to people refurbishing on a budget?
The thread running through my home is vintage, as most of the things I own I’ve bought on Ebay or in junk shops. I created my homeware range to be affordable because everyone wants nice stuff. If you have zero money, check out Freecycle where people are giving things away. You can transform the look of an old sofa with a couple of cool cushions.
Paloma’s interiors label can be found, via Paloma Home
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‘My mum describes it as ‘like a child did it’.’