{"id":10872,"date":"2022-05-19T10:00:37","date_gmt":"2022-05-19T08:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homesandantiques.com\/?p=29901"},"modified":"2022-05-19T10:18:12","modified_gmt":"2022-05-19T08:18:12","slug":"a-neutral-vintage-filled-home","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/rss_feed\/a-neutral-vintage-filled-home\/","title":{"rendered":"A neutral vintage-filled home"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Molly Malsom\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Thursday, 19 May 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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For interiors blogger and sustainability expert Rebecca Lawson, the key to creating a relaxed and homely environment is to keep everything quite soft and neutral: natural wood finishes for floors and worktops, a muted colour palette for walls and tiling, and layers of cosy textiles. To this calm and cohesive backdrop she adds the quirky pieces, some of which might be found and foraged, that give it character.<\/p>\n

Rebecca is a dab hand at trawling antiques fairs<\/a> and brocantes<\/a> for the gently patinated vintage<\/a> accessories that fill her north London home. <\/span>Walls are hung with vintage bus blinds and old advertising signs<\/a>, shelves are home to attractive vignettes featuring taxidermy<\/a>, antique bottles and seasonal flowers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Rebecca and her husband Gareth bought their house in leafy Winchmore Hill seven years ago, when Rebecca was pregnant with their first child. \u2018We were in a one-bedroom flat at the time,\u2019 she says, \u2018and this was the only house we viewed: I decided on the spot that it was perfect.\u2019 Unlike the speedy purchase, the couple have taken their time over the renovation and decoration of the four-bed property. In fact, they waited two years after moving in before starting to put their mark on their home.<\/span><\/p>\n

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When it comes to building work, Rebecca believes in taking things slowly. \u2018It\u2019s worth living with things for a while,\u2019 she says, \u2018as this will allow you to work out not only what you want, but what\u2019s actually best for a space.\u2019 She took the same approach to the decor, allowing the rustic, reclaimed look that she was aiming for to develop over time. \u2018Start with your neutrals on floors and walls,\u2019 she advises. \u2018Then add in the furniture you love and gradually build in your favourite finds from there.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

The kitchen, a 1980s conservatory, was the first really big change they made. \u2018It just needed to be demolished,\u2019 she says. \u2018It was the biggest job we did and it was a huge relief to get it done.\u2019 In its place is now a spacious kitchen-diner with clean lines, painted cabinets and wooden worktops \u2013 an aesthetic that speaks of Rebecca\u2019s lifelong love of Scandinavian design<\/a>, fuelled by trips to Sweden, Norway and Denmark.<\/p>\n

The same design elements that work so well in the kitchen have been employed throughout the house, where pale woods, foliage, a soothing neutral colour scheme<\/a> and whitewashed vintage furniture<\/a> combine to create a relaxed feel in each room. This unfussy approach has allowed for a natural evolution of the aesthetic and in recent years Rebecca has begun to experiment with darker colours.<\/p>\n

\u2018In the sitting room we went from white walls to Farrow & Ball\u2019s moody Railings<\/a>. It\u2019s so much cosier now.\u2019 Similarly, Hague Blue<\/a> contrasts with white tiles in the industrial-style family bathroom \u2013 Rebecca\u2019s favourite room in the house. \u2018The roll-top bath was a \u00a325 eBay bargain. I then got the builder to weld some taps from copper piping. It was all so easy to create and on a tiny budget, too,\u2019 she says.<\/p>\n

You might also like<\/strong> how to renovate a Victorian house on a budget<\/a><\/p>\n

Texture is an important element for Rebecca and it\u2019s much in evidence throughout the house. Carefully chosen accessories complement and contrast with one another providing visual interest in every room: old tin tiles, soft velvet sofas<\/a>, dried flowers<\/a> and industrial pendant lamps.\n\u2018I adore anything rusty,\u2019 Rebecca says. \u2018It\u2019s the raw touches that add character and style. And they don\u2019t cost a thing to the environment either.\u2019<\/p>\n

Her favourite items are the vintage treasures she has hunted out at antiques markets and brocantes. \u2018They\u2019re decades old and have great stories attached,\u2019 she says, adding that she finds it satisfying to give them a new lease of life. And now with the house completed, the couple have recently begun the slow process of breathing life into their new home and you can follow Rebecca\u2019s progress on her blog, malmoandmoss.com.<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n