Interior designer Faye Robinson-Hey shows us round her Holmfirth cottage

It takes courage and talent to mix a multitude of different styles, colours and patterns in one room without it looking like a restless jumble. It’s something Faye Robinson-Hey excels at and her home in Holmfirth proves it.Mid-century mingles with contemporary and traditional in her dining room and hard-to-blend blue and green look just right in the sitting room next door.

The dining room. Pictures by Bruce Rollinson

She can also turn her hand to anything from Scandi to industrial looks thanks to her day job, which is interior design, but “eclectic” is her personal favourite.Faye, who has a degree in interior architecture, worked as a lighting designer and for hotels and well-known interiors firms before becoming her own boss.She is creative director of Robinson King Interiors and Joinery, a joint venture with her father, Terry, and cousin Oliver, both woodwork wizards.

Dream team

“It’s a dream team because we also offer bespoke joinery so we can design and make anything from doors and windows to media units and fitted frames around TVs. Our projects can range from a complete renovation to a single room,” says Faye, who was involved in the complete renovation and transformation of the Manor House hotel and restaurant in Lindley, which won the award for best hotel interior at the Northern Design Awards.The family’s skillset came in handy when Faye modernised her own home, a cottage in Holmfirth.

The sitting room

She and her husband, Adam, bought it a year ago after he fell in love with the property.The double-fronted house, which needed updating, is in a good location and still boasted some period features. One of the most striking is an extra-wide staircase.The cottage was built by a mill owner but it was later divided by his two daughters, who installed an extra staircase.When it was converted back to a single dwelling, the two sets of stairs were combined.“The work we needed to do was mostly cosmetic apart from the bathroom. We ripped everything out and started again,” says Faye.

Space was tight but she managed to swap the old shower for a bath from Burlington and completed the transformation with Original BTC lights above the sink, walls painted in Farrow & Ball’s Railings and Terrazzo tiles on the floor.The main bedroom is painted in relaxing soft pink and grey with a feature wall of decorative plates.

Faye and Adam’s daughters Nancy, four, and Betsy, one, have their own rooms, each of them different. The star attraction is Nancy’s wigwam from eBay, which Mum customised with fairy lights and paper pompoms. The latter are among Faye’s favourite accessories.

Downstairs, the once magnolia dining room is decorated in Mallard Green, a colour from the Dulux heritage range.“I was looking at Farrow & Ball paint for this room but I really liked this colour and Dulux heritage paint has a really nice depth to it,” says Faye, who has made liberal use of rugs to add warmth and texture to the floor.The dining table and chairs are mid-century, as is the sideboard, which has been upcycled with black and gold paint and wallpaper from Divine Savages.The mirror is Victorian and the vases are new from Oliver Bonas and Graham & Green.

Picture perfect

There’s also a gallery wall of portrait art, which Faye much prefers to landscape paintings. It includes a print by one of her favourite artists, Rebecca Sophie Leigh, whose work can be seen on Instagram @seedofmemoryart“I find Instagram really good for finding independent artists and makers. It’s great for supporting people doing their own thing and in return you get something unique,” says Faye, who is also a fan of Etsy.com, where she found the leopard print lamps, and eBay.The sitting room is painted in Little Greene’s Basalt, a deep blue, and what was a mahogany fireplace was treated to a coat of Little Greene’s Jack Black.“I like dark colours because they have a cocooning effect and I’ve always lived in Victorian houses that lend themselves to that look,” says Faye.The atmospheric and cosy look is complemented by wall lights from Graham & Green and an antique, oriental drinks cabinet from a shop in Slaithwaite.

Interior tips

Full of interiors tips, Faye reveals the secret of her perfect looking velvet sofas, which are decorated with quirky cushions bought from the Factory Collective.“They are in polyester velvet, which is easy to clean, rather than cotton velvet, which can be a nightmare to maintain.“As we’ve got young children, I didn’t want to spend a fortune on them so they were only £650 each from Sofa Sofa.”While she has to eschew luxury sofas for now, flowers are a must-have. She buys both real and artificial with the latter sourced from Abigail Ahern, antique shops and high streets stores, including M&S.Faye and Adam have also turned what was a study in the cellar into a spare bedroom/snug and are also contemplating converting the garage into a home office.

“We aren’t sure whether to do that or not as we’ll probably only stay here for five years. Then we hope to move to somewhere bigger,” she says.“Top of my wish list is an amazing hallway, a stunning staircase and a large kitchen.”Robinson-King Interiors and Joinery specialises in residential and commercial projects. www.robinsonking.co.uk