{"id":10653,"date":"2022-04-27T10:19:23","date_gmt":"2022-04-27T08:19:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homesandantiques.com\/?p=1437"},"modified":"2022-04-27T11:00:10","modified_gmt":"2022-04-27T09:00:10","slug":"a-regency-villa-filled-with-renovated-antiques","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/rss_feed\/a-regency-villa-filled-with-renovated-antiques\/","title":{"rendered":"A Regency villa filled with renovated antiques"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Joe Feehily\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 27 April 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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Sheila Wallace is nothing if not modest. Always self-deprecating, she describes the aesthetic of her seaside home as the result of being a \u2018serial junk buyer\u2019. This term conjures dark rooms filled with broken, sorry-looking furnishings and shelves crammed with dusty knick-knacks: a look that has little in common with the elegant, understated home that Sheila\u2019s very much is.<\/p>\n

Standout antiques<\/a> \u2013 Sheila\u2019s so-called \u2018junk buys\u2019 \u2013 are showcased in whitewashed airy, open rooms, and while the pieces may have been tatty when she bought them, this certainly isn\u2019t the case now. \u2018I\u2019ve always been interested in antiques so I taught myself how to restore them,\u2019 she says. \u2018I\u2019m learning and improving all the time \u2013 I learnt not to block paint, it robs antiques of their identity.\u2019 Items which have benefited from her deft hands include a 1950s desk, given a French makeover with two shades of paint, and multiple glass droplet chandeliers<\/a> from the 1900s.<\/p>\n

We first featured Sheila three years ago when she was living in the West Country. Her new home may have smarter architecture (it\u2019s a Regency villa<\/a>) but the cosmopolitan feel remains. \u2018I initially warmed to the French look but then I discovered that Italian pieces were even better. You can\u2019t go far wrong if you keep Tuscany in mind,\u2019 she says.<\/p>\n

You might also like<\/strong> an elegant renovation of an Italian villa<\/a><\/p>\n

What drew her to the house was its proximity to the sea and the vantage from the living room to the garden. \u2018I walked into the living room and saw that I could create a fabulous view down to the garden from there,\u2019 she says. And that is exactly what she did. Sheila is a qualified garden designer and so set to work transforming the unloved space \u2013 bringing a slice of Italy to the south coast.<\/p>\n

Columns, bird feeders, urns and a water fountain are all classical in style and were mostly bought from auctions, junk shops and fairs<\/a>. The exterior walls have also been given a makeover with a splash of pink paint accented with green-painted shutters \u2013 a colour combination inspired by Monet\u2019s palette. Underneath the windows are cast iron rain hoppers, bought from Lawrences Auctioneers. Such is Sheila\u2019s eye for detail that she had closed shutters made to cover over a filled-in window.<\/p>\n

While many pieces have followed her from home to home, such as her \u2018save in a fire\u2019 piece \u2013 the Belgian bureau in the living room \u2013 she\u2019s also sought out new pieces from local markets and fairs, her favourites of which are visited on a monthly basis. \u2018Everything I own is used, shabby and old. If there are cobwebs on the chandeliers, I leave them!\u2019 When buying, her ethos is: \u2018Never conform. If you follow trends, your home won\u2019t have any individuality.\u2019<\/p>\n

You might also like<\/strong> a careful restoration of a Georgian home on the coast<\/a><\/p>\n

And, of course, buying old, handmade pieces is very much part of this. When asked what she collects, her answer is resolute. \u2018Everything!\u2019 she laughs. \u2018Kitchenware, fabrics, furniture \u2013 just anything that has charm and a story to tell.\u2019<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just antiques that Sheila restores. She\u2019s been \u2018decorating\u2019 properties since she was 18, although to her this means more than updating with a lick of paint. In three years of living here, she has moved the staircase and completely reconfigured the layout. Sheila isn\u2019t one to sit still though.<\/p>\n

Of her urge to restore homes to their period roots, Sheila says, \u2018I\u2019m driven. I can\u2019t help it, there\u2019s nothing I can do to stop it. I\u2019m not in control of it, it\u2019s in control of me!\u2019 She may say that she doesn\u2019t have control, but one look around her home \u2013 and garden \u2013 and quite the opposite seems to be the case\u2026<\/p>\n