A hidden hoard of creativity

Born and brought up in Copenhagen, Bibi has used Danish-influenced ideas, art and fabrics to bring zest and colour to what was once a dark two-up two-down. She and partner Nick Osborne bought the property 11 years ago. They met on a boat in the Mediterranean, where she was a passenger and he was crew, and they lived in Bristol, but they came to Yorkshire to be in a more central spot for Nick's non-slip flooring business.

"We had a limited budget and we couldn't find anything in Ilkley, Leeds or York. This was in our price range and it was in a convenient location. Although it was small, we knew we could extend it. The dcor wasn't to our taste but that didn't bother me either because I always like to nest and change things anyway," says Bibi.

After having two children, Victor, 10, and Olive, seven, they doubled the size of the house and brought in more natural light with an extension and some remodelling of the existing home. This included demolishing the dividing wall between the old kitchen and small sitting room to create one large kitchen dining room with new French windows leading on to the garden.

The kitchen is a masterpiece of clever, low-budget design. Inspired by a picture of a rustic Spanish kitchen, it is built from breeze blocks and paving slabs, which have been rendered, painted white and topped with a wooden worktop.

"A few years ago, the kitchen was water damaged and we didn't have the money to replace it, so I came up with this. The builder thought I was mad when I sketched it out and told him what I wanted. But I knew it would look okay and it works really well. I put the tiles

up and did the painting," says Bibi.

The extension, which gave them an extra bedroom and bathroom and

a balcony upstairs, was supposed to give them two more rooms

downstairs, but Bibi decided to leave the space open.

Instead, she has created a series of areas. The middle is the seating area with an Ikea corner sofa, the back of the room is for dining with another section for playing. Like the rest of the rooms in the house, it features a series of cleverly orchestrated vignettes – each with its own colour theme and stories. Bibi's favourites include the shelf above the sofa – with the Damer sign (from a Danish ladies toilet), oil painting from Cornwall and Polish doll, and the 1970s sideboard with its display of Danish ornaments. The sideboard is one of Bibi's many vintage finds. Others include the Ercol table (10 on eBay), chairs she has recovered and retro storage units, which she has painted and backed with wallpaper. "I love reworking old furniture. It's inexpensive and it's fun. Plus they aren't too precious, so you don't mind if they get knocked about it by the children." Hunting grounds include charity shops, car boot sales, eBay and antique fairs including those held at Newark and Wetherby racecourse. "I also love the Saturday morning car boot sales in Denmark. Here there's lots of rubbish on the stalls, but there everything is really nice and you find fantastic pottery and hand-made things." The backdrop for her displays is largely neutral with walls painted in grey greens and white. This gives her the chance to add colour with her vast collection of pictures – many from Etsy.com, where artists and designer makers sell their wares. She also uses small areas of wallpaper to add interest and vibrancy.

"I love colour, which is another Danish thing," says Bibi who owns a children's clothes shop in Selby with her mother-in-law, Anne. They sell Bibi's own designs and Danish labels including Smafolk and Katvig. "In Denmark, children's clothes are bright, colourful and eco-friendly and there was nothing like them here.

"Victor and Olive wore them and people kept asking where I got them, so I could see there was a market. I grew up making clothes. My mum sews all the time and I picked it up from her. Danes are very creative and I'm lucky to come from a very creative family."

The clothes remind her of home, as do many of her objects she surrounds herself with. The most special are gifts from her mother, including some fantastic collages that she is thinking of importing and selling because they've been so admired. "She loves making them from bits of fabrics from the 1970s or from pictures she has found. She's very imaginative," says Bibi, who is forever buying new knick-knacks or "dust gatherers", as Nick calls them. "I drive Nick mad. I'm a bit of a hoarder and I just buy what I like without planning where to put it. But somehow I always find a place for everything."

Bibi's Useful Contacts:

Bibi Klamer for Bibi's own design and Danish children's clothes, 17 Brook Street, Selby. www.bibiklamer.com

Etsy for art and hand-crafted items. www.etsy.com

Ikea for inexpensive design and inspiration.

Newark antique and collectors' fair for furniture and collectables. www.iacf.co.uk

Wallpaper Direct. www.wallpaperdirect.co.uk

B&Q for lighting. www.diy.com

Vertigo Interiors for Componibili storage cabinets. www.vertigo-interiors.co.uk

YP MAG 25/9/10