A mum spent £8,000 decorating her home in honour of one of her favourite animals - the zebra.
Paediatric nurse Emma McAllister embarked on the makeover when she was shielding at her three-bedroom semi-detached home in Washington, Tyne and Wear, during the pandemic.
The 35-year-old, who lives with her three children, Noah, 11, Zac, 8, and Felix, 7, as well as their labrador Monty, says she was bored and decided to start decorating "her blank canvas" house to pass the time.
"I experimented with bright colours and patterns to make my home a happy place during an awful time,' she explained.
"I have always loved zebras and found so many different home interiors with this pattern so decided to use it throughout my home.
"I came across a big zebra print in 2020 which I purchased and put in my bedroom. I loved it every time I walked into the room and this made me want to buy more zebra things - which I did.
"Doing my home interiors gave me something to focus on and I loved seeing the transformations paint, wallpaper and panelling can make."
Emma has spent £8,000 redecorating her home - which she bought in 2020 for £207,000 - to fit her zebra theme, and says it took about six months to complete.
"My bedroom is the biggest room and covers the very top floor as the house is a three story home," she said.
The house is also painted mostly in black and white, with zebra-like stripes by the stairs and black and white block walls.
Emma also has a zebra-print rug in her living room, as well as a zebra vase, and in her bedroom there is zebra bedding.
And though Emma loves her zebra decor, she says that not everyone is so enthusiastic.
"My home has a mixed response and it's not to everyone's taste," she said.
"The kind of comments I get can sometimes be very negative. For example, one person said 'your house would give me a headache'.
But she added: "I have had some lovely feedback though, such as people saying they would never have thought these colours and patterns would work but I've done a great job."
Emma says her kids weren't keen on the zebra print at first, but added: "Now they actually love it and always point out zebra things if they see them."
The £8,000 also covered the cost of installing a bath into her bedroom and adding a fake chimney breast and fire in the living room.
"I always love relaxing in a bath and after previously staying in hotels which have baths in bedrooms I decided to add a bath in mine," she said.
"I got a plumber to come and do the plumbing and a joiner to box in all of the pipe work. This was the most expensive thing I added in my home, I also panelled the walls too.
"My living room is quite small but I added a fake chimney breast wall and put a fake fire and the TV here which makes the room feel bigger."
She said she's constantly changing and redecorating the house because "I really enjoy doing it".
As for Emma's future plans - she is hoping to one day meet her muse.
"I haven't met a zebra but it's my dream to go on a safari and see them in real life," she said.
