LIVING ON HER OWN MEANS TV PRESENTER SARAH CAWOOD CAN INDULGE HER LOVE OF ALL THINGS FLOWERY, FLOATY AND FEMININE

She made her name on The Girlie Show, so it’s hardly surprising to find that Sarah Cawood’s home decor style is distinctly… er… girlie.

“I like cosy, shabby chic,” she says. “I might live in London but I’m a country girl at heart.

"My last flat was very modern but I’ve totally grown out of the minimalist look.”

The single 35-year-old TV presenter bought her current home, a two-bedroomed garden flat in north London, five years ago.

Although she didn’t have to make any structural changes, she set about transforming the interior with calming pastel and floral colours, which are now its signature style.

Sarah started with the master bedroom, painting the walls a soothing sage green and adding pretty pink and cream accessorises.

“I love my bedroom,” she says. “I use it for absolutely everything, from reading and sleeping to gossiping on the phone, so I wanted to make it as snug and cosy as possible.”

The rest of Sarah’s elegant Victorian home is just as warm and welcoming.

“Friends say my flat has a lovely, relaxing feel,” she says.

“If they come round for lunch and end up snoozing on the sofa afterwards, I consider my job as a hostess well done.”

When she’s not entertaining friends, Sarah, who hosts The National Lottery Euromillions Draw, loves to go shopping for new additions to her home and considers herself to be a practised bargain-hunter.

“I buy interiors magazines featuring stuff that’s at the more affordable end of the market,” she says.

“And I window-shop constantly. I could spend all day wandering round Laura Ashley, John Lewis or the boutiques near my house looking for things that suit my romantic taste.”

Sarah is presenting The National Lottery Euromillions Draw on April 25, BBC1.

1. CUSHIONS “It’s such a chick thing having cushions all over your bed but I love them. They’re mostly from Laura Ashley, as were the rose patterned bedspread and cream throw.”

2. TEDDY “This was a gift from my stepmum. Everyone should have a classic teddy bear sitting on their bed.”

3. BALLET SHOES “I used to be a ballerina at The Royal Ballet School and also performed in Phantom Of The Opera. My old shoes look so pretty, I’ve hung them up, but there’s no way I’m putting those b******s on again. They’re killers!”

4. SUITCASE “This used to be my granddad’s and I love it. My mum kept my old baby clothes in it but now I use it just for decoration.”

5. GLASSWARE “My friend Fearne Cotton gave me this gorgeous peacock perfume bottle for my birthday.”

6. DRESSING TABLE AND STOOL“These are from the same shop in north London as the table lamp. I love antiques but can’t afford to buy the real thing, so I buy reproductions like these instead.”

 

SARAH'S STYLE TIPS

* If you can’t afford to buy antiques, hunt out copies which look just as good, but cost a lot less.
* Avoid cream carpets – they may look great, but I’ve spilt so much make-up on mine that it’s now absolutely filthy and costs a fortune to get cleaned!
* Don’t throw out old treasures. Follow my rule: if you love it, put it on show.

 

Words: Vicki Grimshaw; Compiled by Sally Gillam; Photography: Alun Callender; Hair and Make-Up: Sara Bowden

 

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