A stylish, Scandi home filled with vintage finds

By Molly Malsom

Published: Tuesday, 04 January 2022 at 12:00 am

For salvage and vintage furniture enthusiast Lisa Waldron, moving to Suffolk with her husband Tom and their five children presented her with the perfect opportunity to indulge her passion for interiors. The couple had left London in search of more space and a slower pace of life, both of which they found in abundance in their seven-bedroom Queen Anne home.

Built in 1707, and expanded during the early Edwardian period, the house, with its period charm and sense of light and space, proved to be perfect for much of the reclaimed and vintage furniture and decorative items that she had already accumulated over many years.

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Lisa has painted the exterior woodwork of her Suffolk home in a pale sage green to complement the red brick. She has used two reclaimed zinc dolly tubs from local shop Vintage 49 as planters for the olive trees at the front door.

Lisa loves looking for one-off vintage pieces rather than buying new, preferring the character that comes with age. ‘They all have a story to tell,’ she says. ‘It’s important to me to reuse things where possible and I get a buzz from rescuing something that may otherwise have ended up in landfill.’

Lisa describes her style as ‘eclectic’ and says it is heavily influenced by time spent in Denmark and Sweden on holidays many years ago. This aesthetic has guided her through the creation of her home, which is decorated in warm neutral shades that provide a timeless backdrop for a stylish mix of vintage and antique pieces.

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Original period features blend with reclaimed pieces in the music room. Neutral walls provide the ideal backdrop for the colours and textures of wood, zinc and natural soft furnishings. A gilt mirror and old framed map add interest

But for all its Scandi stylishness, the house is also incredibly practical, and Lisa has given just as much thought to what will help a household of seven run smoothly, as she has to the overall aesthetic. For example, she has used many of her vintage finds to create brilliant storage solutions.

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All around the house, large zinc containers, salvaged from factories, have been upcycled into attractive storage for the many toys, shoes, books, blankets and clothes that all families tend to accumulate. She is drawn to the texture of traditional materials like galvanised metal, wood, ceramic and sisal. ‘They’re beautiful, but also brilliantly durable,’ she explains. In the snug, an old merchant’s chest serves as both a coffee table and somewhere to hide away unwanted clutter.

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Lisa commissioned a local carpenter to make the kitchen units and the island, adding a Caesarstone worktop. Reclaimed zinc storage crates are used throughout the house, giving the look an industrial edge. Lisa’s collection of vintage kitchenware includes oversized wooden boards, which she uses as sharing platters.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, old tin containers on racks above the kitchen units provide the ideal space to store all the family’s recycling, while also being attractive and in keeping with the look of the home. In the twins’ bedroom, a collection of old wooden crates has been secured to the wall to provide storage for the girls’ picture books, while also forming an attractive wall display.

The family were lucky enough to inherit the original wooden parquet flooring in the property, however a rainstorm during building work sadly destroyed the floor in the sitting room, which had to be replaced. Lisa scoured reclamation and salvage yards until she found the perfect match, and you would never know the difference unless you were told the story. To add comfort underfoot and soften the wooden floors, she has used different natural rugs, including large cowhides bought at a local market and knotted wool rugs.

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Lisa and Tom’s double bed is actually two single beds, which Lisa found in a London antiques shop. She fixed them together and added a double mattress. The bedside table is a former dental cabinet that Lisa found in a junk shop and upcycled.

Besides her love of rugs, Lisa is a self-confessed chair addict, and she has amassed an impressive collection of benches, vintage chaise longues and antique chairs, which she has had reupholstered. A row of flip-down cinema seats provides useful extra seating in the big kitchen/diner, for whenever friends and family drop by.

The neutral, Scandinavian-inspired colour scheme of warm greys that runs throughout the house is punctuated here and there with pops of colour from vintage signs. And although the house is filled with hard, industrial pieces and lots of wood and metal, Lisa has softened the rooms by using plenty of texture.

‘I love sheepskins and have lost count of how many we now have,’ she laughs. Her favourite ones are the Icelandic long-haired rugs that adorn many of the vintage chairs, benches and sofas around the house. ‘Everyone strokes them when they come to visit and the children love to curl up on them.’

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The girls’ antique single beds came from eBay and have been pushed together to create one giant bed. The typography theme continues with each of the girls’ initials above their beds and an alphabet poster on the wall. Natural baskets provide useful storage.

Although there is little variation in colour in her home, Lisa’s knack for layering texture has ensured that it feels warm and welcoming, as well as aesthetically pleasing. A nature-lover, she always keeps an eye out for things made from enduring natural materials such as earthy pottery, woven baskets and woollen blankets. She also enjoys collecting foraged finds on her walks with the family’s dogs. Vases and vintage pots are filled with seasonal greenery and cuttings from the garden, allowing this stylish home to reflect its calming rural surroundings.

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The kitchen is the hub of the home and Lisa’s favourite room. The focal point is the huge reclaimed stove, which Lisa says is her best find. The parquet floor is original to the house. The old railway clock came from Trainspotters.
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Lisa loves scrubbed and worn natural materials, be they metal, wood or stone. She found someone on Etsy to make the copper kitchen tap to her design.
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In the master bedroom, an old chaise longue has yet to be covered, but Lisa loves the texture of the old horsehair and hessian. The enormous vintage tripod floor lamp was found at a Parisian antiques fair and had to be shipped back to England.
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In the sun room a vintage wooden trolley has been upcycled into a coffee table. An old German bus sign with bold typography adds a splash of colour
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In the master bedroom, an old chaise longue has yet to be covered, but Lisa loves the texture of the old horsehair and hessian. The enormous vintage tripod floor lamp was found at a Parisian antiques fair and had to be shipped back to England.
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Reclaimed radiators provide heating throughout the house, including here on the upstairs landing, which also provides a home for a bench from Lisa’s large collection of antique and vintage seating. A vintage map adds colour and interest.
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In the bathroom the modern rustic aesthetic continues with an Eames-style chair sitting alongside an antique mirror and wall cupboard.
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Old enamel numbers add a shot of colour to the girls’ bedroom, while a vintage school desk and chairs provide somewhere for them to sit and draw. Lisa got the idea for the book storage when the builders piled together a collection of crates that had been left lying around.
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Portrait of Lisa Waldron at home in Woodbridge, Suffolk, UK