My Vintage Pad Home Tour: Sian from Sussex

I would like to welcome Sian K, a scientist from Sussex to Vintage Indie. We hope you enjoy this lovely tour of Sian's home.

Thanks so much Sian for sharing your home with us, could you please just give us a little tour sharing what your most favorite details are.

Despite only moving
into the cottage in March 2008, we have really made it a home. The
cottage is in a lovely little village in Sussex and sits opposite the
beautiful village church. The cottage was built around 1870 and used to
be the village cobblers shop. It was very sympathetically extended by
the previous owners in the late 1980s to provide a dining room and an
extra bedroom.

Although, as with
most of our cottage, it's not yet exactly the way we want it but we are
taking our time and living in the house and not rushing into
renovating. Nethertheless, I am delighted with the way our kitchen has
turned out. It's amazing what a lick of paint and some pretty
accessories can do. The kitchen has very good quality solid wood
cabinets, but they were quite dark so we painted them in Laura Ashley
Eau de nil and the transformation was instant! What I love in the
kitchen is the original mantel shelf and the fact that the previous
owners had kept the original window on what used to be the external
wall. It's little touches like that seen throughout the cottage that
drew us to it when we came to view it in October 2007.

A room that seems to
appeal to all the men who visit our house is my partner's office, which
is actually the smaller of our two sitting rooms, and the old cobbler
shop. We have tried to create a gentlemen's library/study look in this
room and I'm really pleased with it. The lovely original bricks have
been exposed. These bricks are made from a combination of red and blue
clay [you'll notice the odd black brick] and come from the brickworks
up the road, which is still open to this day. On the other wall is the
original wood pannelling from the shop that has been reused her to make
a wall. We got the lovely leather chesterfield sofa from my parents'
neighbour for a token amount and it fits in perfectly. It was this sofa
that actually inspired the whole look for this room. The dresser, which
was made around the same time as the house was built, was a bargain
ebay find and fits in so neatly you'd think it was made for this room.

This is my work room
where I do all my crafting. I love the features in this little room,
like the pretty little fire surround, the wood pannelling and the handy
over-stair cupboard.

This is the new part
of the house so we have tried to make it match in as best we can with
the rest of the cottage by introducing the pretty Laura Ashley
wallpaper and matching curtains. It's a lovely bright room and gets so
much sun in the morning. It also has an amzing view over the Ashdown
forest.

How do you find inspiration for decorating your home?

My
inspiration comes directly from the house. I try to decorate the house
how best suits it. For example, I wouldn't put in a modern kitchen or
bathroom here because I don't think it would do the house justice.
Ideally, when we come to rennovate the bathroom, I would like a roll
top bath and I would like to use an old wash stand and plumb in an old
small butler sink. I want to create a really rustic, but homely feel. I
also don't think a huge open plan white kicthen would suit this house,
I would prefer a lovely small cottage kitchen with an aga and pine
matched in with painted pieces. 

How do vintage things play a role in your room/home?

Vintage
things play a huge part in our home. I like to combine pieces from the
1940s and 50s and also some Georgian and Victorian items. I believe a
home should combine lots of different things, after all a home is about
mixing old with new. My favourite piece of furniture is the gorgeous
French cabinet in our sitting room. I purchased this from a local
antique shop, I just love the colour of the wood. I think there is
always a place for wood and painted pieces together and would never
dream of painting an antique item. 

Do you have any favorite vintage items in your home?

Some
of my favourite items are my 1950s GPO [general post office] bakelite
phone, the dresser in our dining room – another bargain ebay find - and
my desk in sewing room, which is actually an old French kitchen table.

 

Any advice on creating your look?

My
advice is to try and mix and match things, old and new, wood and
painted. I think things can look a bit characterless if everything
matches perfectly. I also think the key is to work with what you have
got. If I had a modern house then I wouldn't decorate it to look like
the cottage because it wouldn't feel right. Likewise, it saddens me
when people modernise lovely old houses. My ultimate goal is to create
a home that's comfy and warm – something that after a long day at work
I can relax in. I believe a house should be a home.

A special thank you to Sian for opening her home to us. Sian is also the proprietress of online shop Lavender Hearts please take a moment to view what she makes!