What surprises most people about me is that I rent, and have done for a while. Having decorated the space in quite a distinct style and being an interiors blogger, this often comes as a shock. I guess it goes against that British expectation that you need to get on the property ladder and have your own place to be happy. I always knew we wanted to make the space our own and thankfully our landlord has been brilliant, always easy to communicate with and allowing us to do almost everything we wanted to the flat. We pay £800 a month, which seems reasonable all things considered; I know that would be much higher if we lived in London , where I'm originally from ( Croydon to be exact). I grew up in the Middle East from the age of 9 as an expat because of my father's job; when I came back to the UK at 17 we moved to Birmingham and I've stayed ever since!