Instagram users goes wild over Sunderland mum’s jungle patio wall

Kelly Fairs, 43, has been documenting her Seaburn home’s decorating journey on Instagram at semi_by_the_fair_sea with one particular photo capturing her followers’ imagination.

A tiger, black panther, parrot, giraffe, monkey and an elephant are peeking from the wall in the patio area, which shows a vibrant tropical scene.

Followers have praised the work with one saying, “This is gorgeous”, while another said, “Stunning! This is amazing”.

Kelly, who lives in the four bed semi detached home with her husband David, 34, said she decided on the mural to impress their animal-mad four-year-old son Theo.

She said: "My son absolutely loves animals. All animals – domestic pets, wild animals, sea mammals.

“So we thought for his birthday in May we’d get him a mural on that wall.

"We are really chuffed with it. It looks fab and it gets a lot of comments.

"Our son loves it. He was just so excited. He absolutely loves black panthers. He thought the picture was absolutely great.”

Cats Peg and Ollie weren’t intimidated by the big cats on the mural either.

"They quite liked it because of the comfortable seats,” Kelly laughed.

However, the wall is not the only unique thing in the home as the family owns a drinks cabinet, which used to belong to former SAFC player Bobby Park.

Park was part of the Black Cats’ squad which won the FA Cup in 1973 and had donated the cabinet to a church in East Boldon.

Kelly says she spotted it on Facebook Market and bought it from the church.

She said: “My dad and I upcycled it.

"We sanded it and painted in blue and added legs to it.”

They also added a tropical bird wallpaper to it.

Speaking of the cabinet, Kelly added: "That’s a piece that I am quite proud of.”

The marketing campaigns manager, who has been decorating the house “without breaking the bank” since moving there last June also shared some tips for a refurb on a budget.

Kelly said: “If you look hard enough on Facebook Marketplace or ebay, you can sometimes get a bargain and then add your touch to it.

"You don’t have to spend a fortune on furniture, you can get some nice second-hand pieces and then add your own stamp to it.“

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