Boris and Carrie Johnson famously spaffed £200,000 up the wall to revamp the No11 Downing Street flat, because Carrie couldn’t bear to live in predecessor Theresa May’s “John Lewis nightmare”. Out went the chrome table lamps, in came the handcrafted gold wallpaper, £15,000 silk sofas and a £3,675 drinks trolley (just the essentials, really).
But has Carrie had a change of heart? Yesterday she paid a visit to Ikea and Costco, and was shocked to find “they have everything. And it is all ENORMOUS.” She shared this intel with her burgeoning Instagram following, declaring that she “loved” the experience.
Downing Street got its makeover from Soane Britain, the glitzy interiors company run by Lulu Lytle. Soane is famous for its hand woven rattan lampshades, which sell for thousands of pounds. We wonder if Carrie had a pinch-me moment when she saw Ikea’s own version, which costs £35.
Carrie has become an active social media presence and shares lots of influencer-style interiors tips to her 89,000 followers. Since the Johnsons moved to a house in Oxfordshire, her taste has become more salt of the earth. She diligently scours antiques fairs and car boot sales, documenting her vintage furniture finds. Will the discovery of Ikea now have her plumping for plywood flatpacks?
The gold wallpapered No11 is now home to chancellor Jeremy Hunt, after Rishi Sunak opted for the smaller flat in No10 – the first Prime Minister to do so since John Major. When Hunt moved in he made one change: replacing the carpets, which had been picked by Theresa May.
