This beautiful house in Headingley is home to 15,000 books

This beautiful, book-filled home is the work of a woman who loves colour
The house is full of colour and booksThe house is full of colour and books
The house is full of colour and books

When Steph Worsley first set eyes on her detached Victorian home in Headingley, it was a minimalist’s dream. “It belonged to an architect and his partner so the interiors were immaculate and very calm, uncluttered and neutral,” she says.

Eight years on and they couldn’t be more different. The property is full of colour, books and art and it is very family friendly. Steph and her husband have four young children and a dog so ensuring the house catered for their needs was vital, though the biggest challenge of all was accommodating 15,000 books.

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“My husband collects books and he doesn’t like getting rid of any, which is fine,” she says. “We all love reading and it’s exciting for the children to have such a huge choice. There’s everything from novels to non-fiction and when the children get older they’ll be able to earn their pocket money by dusting them.”

The house in HeadingleyThe house in Headingley
The house in Headingley

The solution to storing and displaying the collection includes using the spaces around doorways by turning them into bookshelves. Walls in the hall and sitting room have also been requisitioned as floor-to-ceiling libraries. The book spines offer a rainbow of interest, which Steph is more than happy with. “I love colour and I’ve looked into the original colours that might have been used here in the Arts and Crafts and Edwardian eras,” she says.

She has had many of the rooms in the house repainted in strong shades by Farrow and Ball and Little Greene. “I’ve used a lot of peacock colours like Farrow and Ball’s Hague Blue and they show the art off far better than a white background. The darker walls somehow amplify the colours in the pictures,” she says.

The art is an eclectic mix of everything from originals, prints and posters to cards sent to the children by their grandmother, which have been put in little box frames. More colour and pattern comes from flooring from Jim’s Carpets in Leeds, and from rugs, some of which are from Habitat, one of Steph’s favourite stores.

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She also shops at John Lewis, Laura Ashley, Ikea and Wayfair for new items, which are teamed with antique and vintage pieces handed down by family and from auction houses. Favourite hunting grounds are David Duggleby’s Auctioneers in Scarborough and Morphet’s in Harrogate.

The hall has been requistioned as a libraryThe hall has been requistioned as a library
The hall has been requistioned as a library

The property’s gorgeous good looks come from Steph’s love of interior design. She studied economics and maths at university but she has always had a creative eye. Her work has landed the house a place on the books of Yorkshire-based agency Lifestyle Locations, which sources properties suitable for photo and film shoots.

One of the big attractions for those hiring the Worsleys’ home for a shoot is the kitchen. It is now more than double the size of the one that they inherited with the property. “The original kitchen was tiny so we extended it out and it’s been life-changing,” says Steph.

What was the old kitchen is now a cosy sitting area leading to the new kitchen, creating one large, open plan space. The kitchen units are from Howden’s and are topped with quartz. The walls are painted in Farrow and Ball’s Blackened, a soft white colour.

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The long table is bespoke and was made to seat 10. “We couldn’t find anything that was just right for us so we had the table made and painted the legs white. The chairs and bench are all from Ikea,” says Steph whose next project is installing an outdoor kitchen.

The kitchen is from Howdens and the table is bespoke with chairs and bench from IkeaThe kitchen is from Howdens and the table is bespoke with chairs and bench from Ikea
The kitchen is from Howdens and the table is bespoke with chairs and bench from Ikea

Outside, there is a huge garden stretching to almost half an acre. It was the main selling point when the Worsleys bought the property and they have transformed it into an idyll that suits all of the family with tranquil spaces for adults and play areas for the children. It has been a Godsend during lockdown.

“Headingley wasn’t our first choice of location but when we saw this house and its garden we knew it was right for us. We could see the children growing up here,” says Steph, who had her preconceptions of Headingley challenged.

While it is still popular with students, more families are now moving in. “It’s changed a lot. There are still students here but they make it a fun place to be and it’s such a great location. There are plenty of amenities and you can catch the bus or cycle into the city centre really easily.

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“I can’t see us moving for a long time,” says Steph, who satisfies her love of interior design by regularly changing the look of the rooms. “I can’t help it. I’ll often move something from one room to another just to freshen things up and create a different look,” she says.

The sitting area in the open plan kitchenThe sitting area in the open plan kitchen
The sitting area in the open plan kitchen

*The Yorkshire Post would like to thank Lifestyle Locations for its help in sourcing this Real Home. Lifestyle Locations is an agency dedicated to providing a diverse range of locations available to hire across Yorkshire and the North West. All of the locations can be hired for advertising, filming, photography, TV shoots. https://www.lifestylelocations.co.uk/

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