Woman Spends Over $65,000 To Turn Her Home Into A 'Pink Paradise'

This businesswoman splurged $65,299 transforming the decor of her new home to create her own pink paradise.

Gemma Markland spent months trawling shops for pink and rose gold furnishings before she had even bought her first house – a four bedroom detached property in Greater Manchester, England.

Busy painting the previously white walls within two hours of receiving the house keys, Gemma is now happily ensconced in her pink palace with her husband, Kyle and her daughter Grace.

Delighted with her rose colored theme throughout, she posted the results on Instagram. Now, she has almost 100,000 fans, and attracts around 600 new followers a day.

“I must have spent about $65,299 on accessories and furnishings to make my house 100 per cent pink. I do try to save where I can, though, so everything has been DIY. For the past 11 months, we have dedicated spare moments, like evenings and weekends, to redecorating," she said.

“Kyle laughs at me, as I will happily spend £1,000 on a table to make sure it's the perfect shade of pink, but I won't pay for someone to do our wallpapering."

Gemma and Kyle (PA Real Life/Collect)

Gemma has given a whole new meaning to “putting your own stamp on a place" after years of having her creative flair stifled by tenancy agreements restricting redecoration, when she lived in rented accommodation.

“Everything when I rented was grey – it wasn't me at all," she said.

So when, in early 2019, she and Kyle had their offer accepted on their current home her mind turned to decorating.

Gemma's daughter's bedroom (PA Real Life/Collect)

And she only had one hue in mind.

“I've always loved pink – but the blush and rose gold tones, rather than the Barbie bubblegum pink," she explained.

“Kyle and I even had a blush and rose gold color scheme at our wedding so, of course, there was only one color I wanted to decorate our first home."

Gemma's dining area (PA Real Life/Collect)

“At first, he wasn't on board with living in a pink house, so I told him it'd just be Grace's bedroom and my office," she added.

“As soon as I started buying accessories, though, he changed his mind. Everybody always asks me how I got my husband to agree to live in this pink paradise, but he likes it and thinks it looks great."

After meticulously scouring furniture and home accessory stores, Gemma accumulated an impressive array of pink treasures.

Gemma's dressing room (PA Real Life/Collect)

“It took me months. I built things up bit by bit, buying things I liked whenever I saw them," she said.

“Because I was working to such a strict theme, I was quite limited with where we could shop."

“I usually searched by color first, then looked within those results for things I liked. On a couple of occasions, I fell in love with a piece of furniture that didn't come in pink, so I bought it anyway then spray painted it. I found some paint from B&Q that was the perfect rose gold shade."

Gemma with Grace and Kyle on her wedding day (PA Real Life/Sarah Horton Photography)

Given that she did everything herself, Gemma's renovation progressed remarkably quickly.

Just before moving in, she set up an Instagram page called The Markland Home, mostly so she could have a place to keep her photos and look back on how far she had come.

To her surprise, her picture diary went down a storm gathering followers in their thousands, who flocked to her page to see what she would post next.

Gemma's house before (PA Real Life/Collect)

“I still can't quite believe I'm at nearly 100,000 followers," she said. “I never thought I'd even get 1,000."

“I wanted to show people what the reality of buying and decorating a new build was like, but I think the fact my house is completely pink is really unique and catches people's eyes when they're scrolling."

“People tell me my pictures are very aesthetically pleasing, which makes me happy, as the showroom look is exactly what I was going for."

Gemma's house before (PA Real Life/Collect)

“Grace absolutely loves it, too, and is always telling people to follow me," she added.

Gemma is delighted with her furniture, but her favorite spot in the house is her dressing room.

As well as a pink carpet, rug, plush chair and several stylish decorations, it also houses a huge wardrobe, with all her perfectly presented blush-toned clothes on display.

Gemma on her 30th birthday (PA Real Life/Collect)

She also loves the pink marble-effect wallpaper in her bedroom, and her blush-toned sofa.

“Because I display my pink clothes and pack everything else away in drawers, it looks like I have a 100 per cent pink wardrobe," she said.

“Actually, I don't wear as much pink as you'd think. I'm not quite at that level yet – I've got blue jeans and dark t shirts like everybody else."

Gemma's wardrobe (PA Real Life/Collect)

“Similarly, I posted a picture of my car not long ago, which is blue and I got so many comments saying how surprised people were that I didn't have a pink car," she said.

Now, Gemma is looking forward to the remaining jobs she has to do to make her home perfect, which include replacing her silver range cooker and knocking through a wall, to make the dining area more open plan.

“That's my next project. I've got the bug for it now," she said.

Gemma's living room (PA Real Life/Collect)

“There is a certain sense of pride that comes with looking back and knowing we did all this ourselves," she said.

Follow Gemma at www.instagram.com/themarklandhome