Portsmouth mum transforms her 'magical' home in Copnor into a fairytale dream inspired by her children

Tilly Marchant transformed her home in Queens Road, Copnor, into a ‘magical’ setting inspired by herself and her two children.

The former builders apprentice has revamped her property more than eight times over the last decade.

Her latest work, the children’s bedrooms, were inspired by Rigby, six, and Marla, nine.

Ms Marchant told The News: ‘I redecorated their bedrooms because we were going through lockdown and we couldn’t go anywhere.

‘We tried to drum up ideas about where they wanted to be and what they missed the most, and that’s where the forest theme came about for my daughter’s room.

‘My son missed going on holidays, so he decided to go with the jungle set-up.

‘The rest of the house is me and what I like personally.’

Both rooms resemble stories from a fairytale or children’s book.

Marla’s forest room contains real ash tree logs, measured to fit and screwed into the bed.

Her drawings came to life through MDF panels which Ms Marchant painted deep blue – building the bed.

An old antique door was turned into a built-in wardrobe, and hand-painted clouds adorn the ceiling.

She added: ‘Marla’s very airy fairy like that, and we used to go for lots of walks in the forest prior to lockdown.

‘So when we couldn’t do that, I decided to drag that indoors instead.’

Ms Marchant said Rigby’s jungle-themed bedroom, mainly built from builders planks, was decorated to look like a Balinese treehouse.

She also used paint and wax to make the wood look ‘derelict’, and used the wallpaper to add depth to the room.

Ms Marchant said wants every project to fully compliment the theme.

She said: ‘If people are picking a theme, say Minecraft, they often just buy Minecraft bedding and maybe a lamp or something.

‘I try to make it magical, and take it one step further, so you can be in the theme rather than just having bits of it around.’

The mum of two said she was given free rein to redecorate her bedroom as a child – and has never looked back since.

Ms Marchant’s own room is decorated on a Japanese theme, but said she is already thinking of changing it.

She said: ‘I redecorate my house yearly whenever I get new inspiration.

‘I can’t help myself.

‘As soon as something is done, I give it six months but then get bored and think of something else.

‘I’ve just redone my front room, and I’ve already got different ideas for it.’

SEE ALSO: Southsea school bus driver caught three times over drink-driving limit on his way to drive bus containing dozens of children

Ms Marchant said her favourite room is the kitchen, with a gothic and Medieval layout she thought of after visiting a church on a Jane Austen walk.

She uses second hand furniture and unwanted materials for her creations.

Even after the hard work on her children’s bedrooms, she’s looking forward to when they want an entirely new look.

Ms Marchant wants to turn her passion into an interior design career, and loves the reaction people give when they see her creations.

She added: ‘I don’t think there’s any better feeling than walking into a new room and feeling completely different.

‘Decor makes you feel something, so as soon as I can change it around, it gets me excited.

‘People can walk into it and say ‘wow’, that’s something I love to do.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

Subscribe here for unlimited access to all our coverage, including Pompey, for just 26p a day.