Lynn O’Rourke: ‘Is there room for yet another glitter-glue man’

My own home falls into neither camp. I generally leave any minimalist leanings at the front door as I encounter the large plastic play kitchen and the pink piano in the hallway. As for my other half, he would be quite happy to fill the walls with shelves and pack them with his vinyl collection. Then if he could line his guitars up somewhere and turn the extension into his own personal bike workshop, he would be a happy man.

The girls are just as bad. Every tiny figure made or artwork created has to have its moment on display, and as my youngest is heavily into glueing cereal boxes and toilet roll tubes together, and covering them with glitter, any hankerings for minimalism are a waste of time. Each creation is either put on display or my lack of appreciation is met with the reproachful, wide-eyed stare of a talented young artist who has been seriously wronged and might just cry about it. There isn’t a great deal of styling involved in the end look, simply the question of whether there is room for yet another glitter-glue man.

Despite how different each one is, I love all of the homes we are featuring this week equally. When it comes to streamlined interiors, Stewart and Heather Orr have created a stunning space with their self-built home near Oban on page 4. Katie Johnson and Gordon Forrest’s Georgian house in East Lothian is ideal for family life, and is beautifully styled with artworks, refurbished furniture and vintage finds on page 10. While on page 14, interior design guru Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen welcomes us in to a fabulous home full of life and colour.

• You can find extra pictures from these homes at