Take a tour around a detached 1940s house

Take a tour of this detached 1940s house for an inspiring house tour from Ideal Home. Look through this reader's home for decorating inspiration and style advice for creating a modern home with a traditional feel.

A five-bedroom 1940s detached house in Hertfordshire filled with style ideas on mixing rich materials and contemporary style..

1/8 Exterior

house exterior with brick wall and plant

(Image credit: Future PLC/Simon Whitmore)

2/8 Kitchen

kitchen with white wall and chimney and chairs

(Image credit: Future PLC/Simon Whitmore)

With a full range of stainless steel appliances, this kitchen is seriously hardworking but manages to look sophisticated thanks to the polished stone flooring and marble worktops. Smart modern barstools turn the kitchen island into a sociable breakfast bar.

Bar stools
John Lewis

3/8 Living room

living room with yellow wall and table

(Image credit: Future PLC/Simon Whitmore)

Create a warm and relaxing feel in your living room with a rich mix of chocolate brown, rusty red and a fresh green. To complement the look, go for dark furniture and a pale neutral carpet to lift the scheme.

Floor lamp
B&Q

4/8 Dining room

dining room with wooden door and dining table

(Image credit: Future PLC/Simon Whitmore)

Create a warm and elegant dining room centred around a classic wooden table and formal leather chairs. Purple accessories complete and complement the wall colour.

Paint
Dulux

5/8 Bedroom

bedroom with wallpaper on wall and lather bed

(Image credit: Future PLC/Simon Whitmore)

The huge window and fabrics in rich colours give a dramatic feel to this bedroom, complemented by the dark brown leather bed. Chocolate accessories add a sophisticated element, and the whole room is then softened by using a warm floral wallpaper on the feature wall behind the bed.

Bedlinen
Laura Ashley

6/8 Guest bedroom

guest room with purple wall and candle inside bed

(Image credit: Future PLC/Simon Whitmore)

Large freestanding furniture and a wrought-iron bedstead are the basis for creating a room with a French antique look. Choose a sophisticated shade of soft lilac for the walls and accessories to add a feminine touch.

Similar chest of drawers
Laura Ashley

7/8 Children’s bedroom

child bedroom with pink bedlinen and pink lamp

(Image credit: Future PLC/Simon Whitmore)

Choose stylish white furniture to create a bedroom that a girl won't outgrow, then use accessories to accommodate her changing tastes. She might like pink now, but a duvet cover is easier to change than a bed if she decides she doesn't like pink anymore!

Bedlinen
Marks & Spencer

8/8 Bathroom

bathroom with tiles on wall and bathtub

(Image credit: Future PLC/Simon Whitmore)

Create an opulent feel to your bathroom by choosing mosaic tiles and complementary wall and floor tiles in a soft caramel colour. Add a contemporary freestanding bath and stylish chrome taps for added style.

Bath
B&Q

Heather Young
Editor

Heather Young has been Ideal Home’s Editor since late 2020, and Editor-In-Chief since 2023. She is an interiors journalist and editor who’s been working for some of the UK’s leading interiors magazines for over 20 years, both in-house and as a freelancer.