{"id":17474,"date":"2022-12-01T09:30:56","date_gmt":"2022-12-01T08:30:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homesandantiques.com\/?p=37941"},"modified":"2022-12-01T10:13:41","modified_gmt":"2022-12-01T09:13:41","slug":"a-traditional-christmas-in-a-victorian-home","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/rss_feed\/a-traditional-christmas-in-a-victorian-home\/","title":{"rendered":"A Traditional Christmas in a Victorian home"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Sophie Hannam\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Thursday, 01 December 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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\u2018I\u2019ve promised my family that I won\u2019t visit certain shops any more,\u2019 laughs Vicki Savage, who transformed what was once a tired Victorian house into a tranquil family home filled with elegant antiques<\/a>. \u2018But most of the time I can\u2019t help myself. Antiques and junk shops just draw me in \u2013 I think it\u2019s the hope of finding a bit of magic.\u2019 Something of a magpie for certain shapes and colours, Vicki has gathered an eclectic array of furniture and artworks over the years, moving them from house to house. \u2018It\u2019s all a bit random, really,\u2019 she says, \u2018but they\u2019re an expression of me.\u2019<\/p>\n

After years spent refurbishing a c1750s period property in Somerset \u2013 and then building a traditional stone house on the plot next door \u2013 Vicki and her husband Andy were well-versed in the art of renovation when they bought this Victorian semi in Bristol eight years ago. \u2018It was very dated when we moved in,\u2019 she says. \u2018It had plastic windows and a conservatory<\/a> that filled the entire back garden, plus every other room was lined with shelving.\u2019 It was a major project that required stripping the house back to its bare bones and starting again, with a new heating system, bathrooms and kitchen to boot. But, through this arduous process, Vicki has managed to create a family home that she adores.<\/p>\n

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Her signature colour palette, a mix of warm neutrals<\/a> enlivened with Azurite by Edward Bulmer<\/a> \u2013 \u2018the most painful thing to choose,\u2019 she laughs \u2013 flows elegantly from room to room, giving the period property a sense of contemporary calm. On the ground floor, a lofty entrance hall sits between a large living room and a smaller sitting room that leads through to the kitchen, diner and utility room<\/a>: \u2018We knocked a big hole in the wall so that you would drop down into the kitchen,\u2019 explains Vicki Upstairs, there\u2019s a master bedroom with an en suite, a family bathroom and two additional bedrooms belonging to daughters Lottie and Polly, both now home from university.<\/p>\n

Vicki says her love for classic antique pieces came from her parents, who both had an eye for beautiful design and renovated several houses over the years. \u2018I suppose my mother had quite a conservative style, but it was always tasteful,\u2019 she muses, explaining that her favourite antique, the Chesterfield sofa<\/a> in the living room, came from her parents\u2019 home. \u2018Although it\u2019s rather uncomfortable, I do love it,\u2019 she says. \u2018It was great for practising roly-polys.\u2019<\/p>\n

However, unlike her mother, Vicki has an eye for the unusual when it comes to using antiques in her home, and she\u2019s no stranger to upcycling<\/a> a piece into something more practical. For example, in the bathrooms, antique drawers and an industrial unit have been converted into quirky sink stands. And, in the small living room, a vintage<\/a> megaphone has been repurposed as a statement lampshade, while salvaged architectural fragments (a gift from a friend who was throwing them away) are used as shelving to display photos and curios.<\/p>\n

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Vicki\u2019s finest work, however, is to be found in the master bedroom, where she has installed a bijou en suite, hidden behind a panelled stud wall, into which she set a large Victorian pine cupboard. \u2018The inspiration came from a friend of mine who had seen a bathroom hidden behind a sort of secret door. So I sourced these big pine cupboards at Bristol Reclamation as a good way of disguising it,\u2019 she says. \u2018At only \u00a3400 they were a real bargain, and I like that you wouldn\u2019t really know the bathroom was there.\u2019 Although the space is small, Vicki has cleverly transformed it into a secret sanctuary, with a contemporary bath, set at an angle, and patterned tiles in warm, neutral shades<\/a>.<\/p>\n