This week I am joined by Laura! She is 27 and living in Kent with her husband Dan, and their little girl Bertie, and two sausage dogs. Currently on maternity leave, she is enjoying having the time to not only embrace being a new mum, but also pursue lots of creative projects that have always been on the back burner while Topshop ruled her world! Sounds like a winning combo!
How would you describe you interior style?
Quite straightforward really; I like simplicity and maximizing light. Scandi design and graphic prints will always have a place in my heart. Overall though, there has to be a balance of form and function, especially important now there’s a little person around.
Tell us a little about how you selected and acquired your lovely home:
I guess you would call it a funny story. I grew up in a huge house, which at one point homed four generations. In 2006 came a time when we were all ready to spread our wings. My parents took over a great pub, and my grandparents moved into a lovely little bungalow. Dan and I were ready to buy but hadn’t truly begun the hunt. The couple who ended up buying the family home were selling a three bed terrace, and somehow or another we ended up viewing it. We fell in love with the large open space downstairs offered, and the rest is house swap history! It probably wasn’t the most financially savvy purchase in that it was the peak of the market, property prices were at an all time high, but it felt right, and I’ve no doubt it will be our family home for a long time to come.
What a lovely story! Let's start in the living room, what is your favourite thing in here?
I’m having a bit of a love hate relationship with this room at the moment. By having a white space it flows really well with the rest of downstairs, and takes advantage of the differing lights day-to-day, season to season. I’m dying to add some bold prints and a splash of colour though. I love the original Victorian doors throughout the house, and they work especially well with the white. My most recent purchase is the mustard dipped leg side table. So lets count that as my three favourites; light, doors and table!
I love that table! Favourite thing in the kitchen?
Both Dan and I love cooking, we are total foodies. The kitchen may look tidy, but behind every drawer front and cupboard door is every cooking utensil and saucepan you could ever need. The kitchen itself isn’t to my taste at all – roll on the day I can get a white kitchen, concrete work top and mint green Smeg, so my favourite thing would have to be the accessories; crockery, cutlery, chopping boards and mugs!
Your bedroom:
This room is next on our hit list! We haven’t touched this room since we moved in (6 years ago!) so the walls are still a hideous custard colour and its really cluttered. I have an ideal in my head; a light-filled, serene and peaceful space. Nothing will stay except our bed, and my collection of linen.
Baby's bedroom:
Oh I really love Bertie’s room. I found creating this space very cathartic through a really hideous pregnancy. It was a shell, so its filled with everything we hand picked. I particularly like the Victorian chest with china handles. I spent a good few months hunting down the perfect one. At the moment it doubles up as a changing table, yet has longevity, and will be used long after the days of nappies.
What are you inspired by when you shop for your home?
I feel like I’ve really started to find my interior style in the last couple of years. I’m drawn to midcentury furniture from the likes of Eames and Ercol, and accessories and prints which you don’t see in every high street store and show home. Supporting independent businesses is so easy now with the likes of Etsy and Instagram, I love that you can hunt down treasures.
Any brands you'd like to claim your undying love for, or any new brands you'd like?
As a designer Sir Terence Conran is synonymous with style for me. I love that nearly everyone will be familiar with his design, without perhaps knowing who he is. He’s a hero of British design.
Danish super brand Ferm Living is another favourite. In their own words “it is modern, but also has a reassuring homelike quality”, which, alongside being well made, is all you could really need.
Finally: What's on for wish list?
We have been threatening to install some filament light bulbs for forever, we just can’t quite decide where!
A few pieces of white Le Crueset would be ideal, as well as some marble serving platters.
Finally, my sanctuary like bedroom, and everything I need to create it!!!
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