Introducing Heather at Home – our new Housetohome video series

Housetohome fans, allow me to introduce you to the new member of our family: Heather Young.

Heather, 31, is mum to five-year-old twins Esme and Alfie and is an interiors journalist.

In addition to running her brilliant blog, Growing Spaces, Heather will be joining us with her fantastic new video series, Heather at Home.

The series celebrates everything we're proud to stand for at Housetohome. We firmly believe home is where the heart is and that it should be the one place where you feel most comfortable and relaxed with friends and family.

Expect fabulous finds, canny craft projects to try at home (with or without small hands helping out!) and a fair few laughs along the way as Heather shares her world with us - straight from her family home in Berkshire.

For now, here's a bit more about Heather and the new series. We hope you enjoy!

Tell us about your interiors experience?
We've seen you somewhere before...

I've been an interiors journalist for 13 years and worked as the Homes Editor on Ideal Home magazine for three years, before going freelance after having my twins. I have featured in a few videos on Housetohome as part of my role on Ideal Home.

Your blog Growing Space is hugely popular.
Where did that spring from?

Interiors is my passion, and I started my blog back in 2011 when we moved from south London out to Berkshire. It started out as a way to share how we were turning a dated 1970s house into a creative family home, but has grown into more of a lifestyle blog that includes anything that piques my interest, from great decorating ideas, to family-friendly travel ideas, to days out with the kids, to craft and DIY tutorials. What I love about my blog is that it's my place to be creative. I think my readers like to feel inspired, whether it's by a great styling tip or a clever craft project.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cDq1QXN3so

Tell us about life with Esme and Alfie...

Life after having the kids is much more of a juggle. Free time is pretty rare, but having the twins has really upped the fun in my life. I think we also do a lot more exploring - when I'm with the kids I prefer to be out and about, so I not only get more fresh air, but I try more new things, too.

Everything is subjected to the Twins Test - there's no point splashing out on a blow-the-budget piece of furniture if I know it won't stand up to the rigours of two energetic five-year-olds. While I don't advocate letting them trash the place, I do firmly believe that the kids should be allowed to express themselves at home - our house is a family home not an everything-is-perfect showhome.

Seeing the world through the eyes of my children is magic. Their sense of enthusiasm, wonder and excitement is so infectious, and my life since having the twins includes a very healthy dose of laughter. And that heart-bursting pride when you realise that you helped to create these amazing people is the best feeling ever.

What's your favourite room in your family home, and your best ever buy?

If it's actually tidy (which, if I'm honest, isn't nearly often enough) I love my office. It's light and bright and it's all mine! Having had very small kitchens in all of our previous homes, I also have a big appreciation for our generous kitchen diner - it's a great place to hang out together. We have an old school lab bench that we bought off eBay to use as a kitchen island unit. It totally transformed our kitchen and how we use the space. I like to mix vintage and modern pieces so I think it balances out our white gloss kitchen really well.

What's your dream buy?

New windows and contemporary bi-fold doors. We also have laminate floors and in my ideal world I'd replace those with real wood. A walk-in wardrobe would be nice, too, but we'd have to build an extension first!

What to you hope readers will get from the new Heather at Home video series?

I'm really excited about the video series because I'm hoping it'll be the kick up the bum I need to tackle all those unfinished jobs and projects around the house, and to zone in on areas of my life that I think could do with a bit of time and energy.

The projects I tackle will always be realistic, too - we're time-poor and usually pretty skint, so our decorating ideas involve a big dose of DIY and my husband, Ben, usually has to rein my ideas in, so I hope there'll be plenty of things that viewers will feel confident enough to try in their own homes.

Heather at Home is a regular video series for Housetohome - check back soon for more from Heather, Esme and Alfie and visit our dedicated YouTube channel for more videos.

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