A 29-year-old interior designer transformed his drab dining room into a playful space that's bursting with color

29-year-old interior designer Richard O'Gorman bought his first house before the pandemic and has spent the past year transforming it.Courtesy Rich O'Gorman

• Richard O'Gorman has spent the past year transforming his drab home into a colorful, cheery space.
• He started posting his designs to Instagram as "House Homo" last spring and now has 32,000 followers.
• O'Gorman told Insider how he transformed his dining room, his boldest update yet.

Richard O'Gorman spent the majority of the past year transforming his two-story home in Birmingham, England, from a space that was "crying out for color" into one that's bursting with it.

Left: Richard O'Gorman in his home. Right: O'Gorman's Victorian Terrace seen from the outside.      Courtesy Rich O'Gorman

Documenting his progress on Instagram under the name "House Homo," O'Gorman has amassed more than 32,000 followers to date. His most recent room reveal, the dining room, is his boldest yet.

O'Gorman's newly transformed dining room.      Courtesy Rich O'Gorman

Like every other room in the house, O'Gorman's dining room was outfitted with a lackluster mix of "magnolia and cookie dough" color schemes when he moved in, he told Insider.

O'Gorman's dining room pictured shortly after he moved in.      Courtesy Rich O'Gorman

After England went under lockdown last March, O'Gorman set out to liven up the space. Within one week, he rendered it practically unrecognizable.

Two views of the dining room after its first transformation.      Courtesy Rich O'Gorman

O'Gorman painted the walls bright orange and decorated the room with a mix of eye-catching items, from a tropical bird rug he had previously owned to a $42 side table he bought on Facebook marketplace.

Close-up of the dining room rug and side table.      Courtesy Rich O'Gorman

O'Gorman kept expenses to a minimum and opted for sustainable items. He found a free piano online, bought a dining table from Made.com for $560, and reupholstered six chairs gifted to him by his dad.

Close-up of the dining room table and chairs, with the piano in the background.      Courtesy Rich O'Gorman

He also replaced the chandelier with a 10-bulb light fixture that he found on Made.com for a bargain price of $105. "I still love it as much as the day it arrived," O'Gorman wrote in an Instagram post in September.

Left: The old dining room chandelier. Right: The light fixture that O'Gorman installed.      Courtesy Rich O'Gorman

As O'Gorman started to transform other rooms, his aesthetic took shape - literally. An archway in the living room inspired him to start painting bold, curved shapes everywhere from the kitchen to the bathroom.

An arrow points to the painted archway in O'Gorman's living room that inspired his aesthetic.      Courtesy Rich O'Gorman

In January, O'Gorman decided that he needed to update the dining room again so that it matched the rest of house. UK paint company Pickleson gifted him a selection of sustainable paints for the project.

O'Gorman paints his rooms using Pickleson paint.      Courtesy Rich O'Gorman

O'Gorman first painted a coat of white over the orange dining room walls to create a blank canvas, then he started adding color to the fireplace and chimney breast.

Left: Close-up of the fireplace mantel. Right: The chimney breast mid-transformation.      Courtesy Rich O'Gorman

Next, he moved furniture into place and started painting around them. Soon, swaths of color covered every wall, including the ceiling.

O'Gorman paints walls in the dining room.      Courtesy Rich O'Gorman

O'Gorman told Insider that he let the paint guide him. "I kind of wanted to take the rule book and throw it out and just have fun," he said.

View of the dining room ceiling.      Courtesy Rich O'Gorman

"My plan is always to keep things minimal and then it just snowballs away from me," he added. The dining room "kind of grew and grew and grew, and I was like, 'Oh, it's crazy.' That's what it is - but I love it," he said.

Orange, pink, blue, and red shapes fill the walls of O'Gormans dining room.      Courtesy Rich O'Gorman

To create his wall murals, O'Gorman first sketched shapes on the wall with a pencil and string then used a small brush to create the outlines. He used a larger brush and about 2.5 gallons of paint to fill them in.

Left: An arrow points to a ball of string on O'Gorman's dining room side table. Right: O'Gorman uses a ladder to paint sections of a dining room wall closest to the ceiling.      Courtesy Rich O'Gorman

O'Gorman also added new decor items, about one-third of which were gifted to him by brands. The remaining items he found online.

Dining room decor includes a mix of gifted and purchased items.      Courtesy Rich O'Gorman

O'Gorman told Insider that he is "always drawn to form and color" when shopping for decor and plans to update the room's pieces regularly. "I'm such a magpie," he said.

View of the dining room looking toward the fireplace to the right.      Courtesy Rich O'Gorman

O'Gorman spent over a month of continuous work updating the dining room a second time and estimates that he has spent a total of $900 on the space.

Left: The dining room fireplace and chimney breast. Right: O'Gorman takes a break from painting.      Courtesy of Richard O'Gorman

"People say it feels fun and joyful and almost silly and playful, but very me," he said.

View of the dining room table, with the repainted side table in the background.      Courtesy Rich O'Gorman

Post-pandemic, O'Gorman can't wait to host in the space. "I am very excited about finally gathering my circle of friends in this room full of circles and throwing a fabulously gay dinner party," he wrote on Instagram.

Left: O'Gorman even painted the dining room doors. Right: O'Gorman holds a celebratory drink.      Courtesy Rich O'Gorman