Our Nest: Growing into Georgia and Matt’s nature-inspired Bellway Oakwood home

One of the best reasons to buy a new-build home is having a completely blank canvas on which to express your individual personality – which is something you can’t do while you’re still renting. First-time buyers Georgia and Matt couldn’t wait to wave goodbye to their rented flat, and begin adding colour and unique character to their very own Bellway Oakwood home.

Three years after moving in, the now-newlyweds are still in love with their Bellway home in Manchester, and have created a visually stunning interior that any professional designer would be proud of. With a dramatic monochrome colour palette of matte black and soft grey, accented with light wood and natural greenery, it’s easy to see why the couple’s dedicated home Instagram account @the_oakwood6 has attracted tens of thousands of followers.

“After living in a rented flat with no garden, we knew that we wanted to buy a new-build home so we could put our own stamp on it from the beginning,” reflects Georgia. “A new build was the perfect blank canvas for us, and with our busy lifestyle, meant we didn’t need to dedicate time to a home renovation project.”

As well as the potential for interior design, the couple wanted a home that that offered flexibility in its layout, and would serve them for many years to come.

“We chose a Bellway home due to the high standard of finish, and recommendations from family and friends.

“The Oakwood was our ideal long-term home; we loved the open-plan living and dining area as we like to host our friends and family, but also having the ability to close off each room makes it super cosy, especially in the winter.

“The layout of the Bellway Oakwood makes it a great future family home too, with good-sized bedrooms and enough room to grow into over the years.”

From blank canvas to Instagram-ready interior

Georgia and Matt’s interior design journey began before their home was even built, at the options meeting with their Bellway sales advisor. The couple were able to select aspects of their new home, including kitchen and bathroom fittings, and flooring, an opportunity that Georgia took very seriously:

“We built out our home interior style from the kitchen, as we chose light grey shaker-style kitchen cabinets, complimented by a neutral floor and carpet. I even brought a load of flooring samples to our Bellway sales centre to make sure I’d got our choices right!”

With no redecorating or renovating required in their new Bellway home, Georgia and Matt could immediately begin the process of creating their dream interior. Starting with house plants for natural elements, and then moving on to a colour palette of darker shades and greenery as they found confidence in their style, the couple have been patient in decorating their new-build home and achieving the impressively cohesive décor that you see today on their Instagram account.

“I love mixing neutrals with darker tones and patterns, and have tried to incorporate nature and greenery throughout our home to bring a bit of the outside in,” explains Georgia. “I love looking for ornaments and pieces to add to our interior, especially feature items that I can work around when styling – although our most treasured and special piece of furniture is our marble coffee table, as it was handmade by my grandad, before I was even born.

“I’m really proud that we’ve taken time on each room and haven’t rushed anything, and managed to make the rooms flow and work together. I think it’s okay to just live in your home for a while whilst figuring out exactly how you want it to look. It’s a marathon, not a sprint!”

Connecting with the homeowner community on social media

Having purchased their new Bellway home during the Covid-19 lockdown, Georgia initially set up their home Instagram account to connect with other first-time buyers at similar stages in their journeys. What she never anticipated was that their home interior journey would attract over 65,000 followers, and more importantly, that it would lead her to meeting her future bridesmaid.

“I started our Instagram account purely as a way of connecting with other buyers who were in the same position, so we could all learn from one another while going through the process off buying our first homes. From there, I actually met some of my now best friends and amazing neighbours – including previous Our Nest guest Emma, who was a bridesmaid at my wedding earlier this year!

“Being part of a brand-new Bellway community is so lovely, having friends around the corner and being able to pop into their houses for catch ups. I’m so grateful for how social media introduced me to so many people, as well as providing me with inspiration on how to decorate and fill my home, which helps me to keep my content fresh and interesting too.”

Reflecting on the process of decorating a new-build home

“We’ve made so many decorating mistakes along the way, and I think that’s normal!” laughs Georgia when she looks back on their home décor journey. “The number of holes we’ve put in the walls from poorly-placed pictures and wonky mirrors is honestly impressive.

“We’ve been learning so many new skills since we moved into our new Bellway home, but it’s been such a fun process, and sometimes getting it wrong is all a part of it. Having complete autonomy over what you can do in a new build home is what makes it most exciting.”

The couple’s advice for future new build homeowners is to “take your time” – even if that means it takes months, or even years, to develop your signature home interior style.

“New build Bellway homes are already built to such a great standard, so if you want to wait a bit and decide what your style is, or just to see how you use the space first, that’s totally ok!”

You can see more of Georgia and Matt’s interior style on Instagram at @the_oakwood6, including five things they love about their Bellway Oakwood home. For more inspiration from real Bellway homeowners, take a look at some of our previous Our Nest features – such as Sarah and Jonathan's Bellway Addingham, which has an impressive outdoor kitchen, and Amy and Jake’s Bellway Chandler love story.

If you’d like the chance to be featured in a future edition of Our Nest, share your interior style with us @bellwayhomes using our dedicated hashtag #mybeautifulbellway.