Kirstie Allsopp

Property and interiors are in Kirsty’s blood. She is the eldest of four children, with one brother and two sisters and was brought up for most of her childhood in the village of Inkpen in Wiltshire. When she was young, her mum’s job was to mount and frame pictures and her father worked at Christie’s Auctioneers.

Kirstie AllsoppFrom a young age, Kirsty was fixated with the look of her bedroom. “I didn’t have posters of pop stars (it’s true) but I remember buying my first second hand picture – it was an embroidered garden scene I found in an antiques market in Hungerford and I thought it was truly beautiful. I had a dressing table full of bits I collected and for my twelfth birthday my mum turned my bed into a four-poster dressed with white fabric, green bows and a pink trim.”.

Kirsty bought her first flat when she was 21 and her first proper job was working with Interior Designer Nicky Haslam. She then when to work for Country Living Magazine selling classified space and in 1996 she followed her dream of being involved in property and set up a property search company with a friend.

A few years later, she met her on screen husband Phil Spencer and they’ve been a happy couple for more than 15 years. Together they have made for Channel 4 Location, Location, Location, Relocation, Relocation and most recently Love It Or List It. They have written books together and even have their own property finding app. More recently, Kirsty began her passion for crafts, up-cycling and all things British when she renovated Meadowgate, her home in Devon.

She’s presented Fill Your House for Free, Kirstie's Home Made Home, Kirsty’s Handmade Britain, Kirstie's Vintage Home and Christmas specials which have all been hugely successful for Channel 4. Kirstie's has also published four craft books and is also involved with designing a homewear range for Marks and Spencer and is the face of the Handmade Show at Hampton Court.

In 2010, Phil and Kirsty decided to start their own production company – Raise The Roof Productions and if that isn’t enough, Kirsty’s involved with HomeStartUK, The Princes Regeneration Trust, Keep Britain Tidy and has over 400,000 twitter followers. But first and foremost, Kirstie is a mum and more than anything she cherishes family time with her partner Ben and their boys. She says “I’ll admit, the number of boys in my life means I can’t get too neat or too precious about our home, which is probably a very good thing, but the best bit about being the only girl in our house is that I don’t have to share my bathroom with any of them. I have managed to keep one small corner completely for me”.

So, why is she a #Houseproud hero?

This property and craft expert never skimps on saying how she feels and has an opinion about everything. She loves a pan drawer, knows which wall to knock down and can even sew a Christmas decoration – what a woman! She says

“In 15 years of going around the country house hunting I have observed that the further north you go from London the cleaner the homes are”

Want to find out more?

Kirstie on Twitter

Kirstie on the web