When Jessica Wilson and Reuben Ewan bought their first home, a flat within an Edwardian tenement building in Glasgow, they knew it needed love – but the creative couple was well equipped and willing to give it. They called upon their handy skills – Jessica is an artist; Reuben a cabinetmaker – to transform what was once a dark and dingy space with magnolia walls and brown carpets into a home that’s full of light, life and colour.

They dived head first into what was their first creative project together, stripping the flat of its soulless past brightening and maximising the space with pink paint, pine and slick bespoke storage. The collaboration was a success: not only have the couple created a home they’ve fallen in love with, but they have also since decided to launch their own business, Perou Cabinet Makers. As their home comes on the market, Jessica and Reuben reflect on aligning their aesthetics and why their pink kitchen is the heart of their home.

Reuben: “Sometimes you forget that this is a one-bed flat. The rooms feel so big, because the windows are large and the ceilings tall.”

Jessica: “The ceilings are incredibly high – they measure more than three metres. The windows start low to the floor and reach up to the ceiling, so they let in a lot of light.

“We’re based on the south side of Glasgow, where people generally live for a long time. On the ground floor in our building, for instance, is a couple that has lived in the same flat since the 1950s. We live within an Edwardian tenement building and before I moved to Glasgow from London, I hadn’t really experienced anything like it. It has a big stairwell as you walk in and beautiful stained-glass windows.

“When we first moved in five years ago, the flat was pretty dingy and run-down. I don’t think any kind of work had been done to it since the 1980s. There was brown carpet everywhere and lots of magnolia paint. The previous owners had done really odd things, like lowering the ceilings in some places.”

Reuben: “We completely ripped it all out. In the living room, we replastered the ceiling and restored the original moulding. We did most of the renovation work ourselves – Jess has become a pretty good plumber!”

Jessica: “After getting rid of all the brown carpet, we started on the kitchen, which has seen the biggest improvement. We took out the stud walls the previous owner had put in, to form a straight wall that ran the length of the kitchen. As Reuben’s a cabinetmaker, we were able to create bespoke cabinetry to fit in all the unusual nooks and crannies and to make the best use of the space for storage. I like everything to be refined. If a handle doesn’t need to be there, it’s got to go.”

Reuben: “We took that to the extreme in the kitchen. There are no fussy details, no handles, everything is incredibly seamless and streamlined. The easiest way to keep things minimal is with really good storage – when you can’t even tell that the storage system is there. The kitchen is the room we worked the most on and has our most distinctive stamp on it. We totally created it ourselves.”

Jessica: “Something we had to bear in mind was that the kitchen is north facing. I really like a minimal white palette, but I felt in here colour would be particularly important given the amount of light it gets. We decided to paint it a soft warm pink that really balances the greyness you see out the window.”

Reuben: “We decided on the pink early in the process. When we first met, we visit this pink-walled cafe a lot, which we really liked, and I think that influenced our decision. It was in Jupiter Artland, an outdoor sculpture park in Edinburgh, and was designed by the artist Nicolas Party.”

Jessica: “As the pink was a bold choice, we wanted everywhere else to be more pared back, with just the occasional pop of colour. In the living room, for instance, we painted the ceiling an aqua green to emphasise its mouldings and the height of the room, but the walls are white, so we can use them as backdrops for large-scale paintings. We have a lot of art everywhere.”

Reuben: “We’ve got a painting by a friend of ours, Neil Clements, who has a studio next to Jessica’s workshop. He’s been a great help to us. He’s really knowledgeable about materials and making things.”

Jessica: “My studio’s quite large, so Neil stores a lot of his paintings there. One time, I noticed that he’d placed one of my favourite works of his in there, so I couldn’t help but take it home. Now it hangs in our living room!”

Reuben: “We have a lot of Jess’ work on the walls too. Our tastes have aligned more since renovating the flat together, but it really feels like a reflection of her work as an artist, which is equally minimal and colourful. As we said, she doesn’t like unnecessary details – and she has very specific ideas about wood, too!”

Jessica: “I like wood! But it’s also brown, which is fine in small doses. I just don’t want to live in a brown house. I want there to be colour and lightness. I don’t like lots of different wood types together either. For example, our wardrobe is made from the same pine as the floor.”

Reuben: “That’s something we do agree on. Finishes are really important to me. We’ve experimented a lot with paints and different finishes, like with the kitchen worktops. We might not play around with the wood types, but we do toy with different textures and sheens.

“It’s been really good for me to live with my work because I’ve noticed the flaws, which has helped me improve. You can see how it wears and how it needs to be cared for. The best way to improve your designs, in my opinion, is to live with it.”

Jessica: “Now, we’re actually going to launch a cabinetry business together, specialising in painted finishes and soft woods. At the moment, people come to Reuben and tell him what they want, but we are going to lead creatively. We’re going to change the dynamic.”

“When we first moved in five years ago, there weren’t as many places to eat but over the last few years, the south side of Glasgow has exploded with nice cafes and coffee shops. There’s an art gallery, the Burrell Collection, which has been closed for renovation but is due to open at the end of the month. That’s really exciting.”

Reuben: “There are good parks too. Pollock Park is close by, which is one of the best in the city, while in the other direction is Queen’s Park, which has a hill with 360-degree views of the city. And it’s good for sledding when it snows. I walk through the park and pass the local bakery to get to my workshop, which is a really nice commute.”

Jessica: “But the landscape is also made up of lots of industrial buildings. My studio, for instance, is in an old school. The area has suited us both really well as young creatives developing our practices – and the flat has been a really great place to live. We’ve been able to experiment creatively and see our work progress. It’s been beneficial to both of us. Since I was a kid, I’ve wanted to renovate and build houses – and now I can say I’ve done it.”