At Home With Amee @regent_lodge_georgian_home
Each week we feature the people responsible for some of the best Instagram home theme accounts.
This week we are at home with Amee the very creative lady behind the excellent home instagram account @regent_lodge_georgian_home where she shares the renovation of an old countryside Georgian house which she and her husband Kev are transforming into a fabulous home. Amee also likes to wear fancy dress occasionally so her account is well worth checking out if you need cheering up!! Don't forget to look out for Coco the dog.
Tell us a bit about you
I’m Amee, a psychology teacher and I live with my husband Kev and our reno dog, Coco. Kev is very “handy” and will turn his hand to anything around the house; from lime plastering to joinery, plumbing and electrics - I tend to end up doing the labouring and make the decorating decisions. Whatever work we are doing around the house, Coco will always be sat right beside me.
We relocated as we wanted to live in the countryside and be closer to my parents. We have horses, cows and sheep at the end of our road and beautiful countryside all around.
Tell us about your home
We live in a Georgian, double fronted house built in 1785 set at the foot of the beautiful Malvern hills. There are stunning views of the hills from the back of the house and views towards the Cotswolds to the front.
How would you describe your home?
I really love period homes and try to be sympathetic when decorating. I just don’t think having everything “new” would suit our home. I regularly visit a local flea fair and love finding one off pieces to fill our home with. I just love the idea of not knowing what you might find. From copper pans to ornate mirrors, French chandeliers to Persian rugs. We’ve also tried to restore as many features as possible. We are adding cornice and ceiling roses and fireplace hearths where they’ve been removed.
Which is your favourite room in the house?
It’s not a room but I absolutely love our arched window in the landing. I love opening it up, sitting on the top step and looking at the beautiful colours in the trees on the hills. It’s perfect spot to take a second. I’m hoping that the kitchen will become my favourite space once we’ve finished it!
How does your home reflect any passions or interests that you have?
We love period homes and researching how to restore/refurbish them and it’s our little hobby. We are making an effort to restore the house sympathetically, using the correct materials. We’ve recently restored some of our sash windows using linseed paint. We’ve insulated with sheep’s wool and used breathable lath & plaster & claypaint on the walls.
What are your favourite items in the home?
My favourite feature has to be the original flagstones in the entrance hall. They are 230+ years old and they are just beautiful. I often wonder about all of the people who have walked on them and lived in the house during that times.
We’ve been lucky enough to be in contact with a lady in her 90s who was born and grew up in our house so I have to say the history that comes with the house is my favourite thing about the house. The house has been a butchers, a school, flats and home to a Colonel who served in WWI & WWII. Amazing!
When you moved into your house was it the finished article or was it a project?
A complete project! We ripped the bathroom to bare brick and started over. We will be doing the same in the kitchen soon which involve removing the chimney breast between the kitchen and dining area to do so. Hopefully the rooms which just need decorating will feel a walk in the park in comparison.
Have you done any renovation?
We have done everything 100% DIY! Plumbing, electrics, plastering, joinery, brick work repair, sash window restoration. We’ve also decided we are going to do the building work in the kitchen ourselves too, which includes removing the chimney breast, adding steels & fitting the new kitchen. Scary and exciting!
Have you had any DIY or styling disasters?
We used old cornice adhesive to fit some cornice and thought “ahhh, it’ll be fine”. It started to set within about 10 seconds. We tried to move it into position but there was absolutely no moving it, so we had to admit defeat, take it all down and start over. Very frustrating!
What is your top home styling tip?
Fill your home with pieces YOU love. Things which remind you of happy times or people you love. I also love to add one black item to the room to add a little drama to the space. Our cast iron radiators are black and they add such a feature to the room.
Is there anything in your home that you couldn’t live without?
The cast iron radiators! They are so cosy and make such a statement.
They say that every home tells visitors a story about who lives there. What do you think your home says about you?
Right now it definitely tells visitors renovators live here! It’s covered in dust and there are very few finished spaces in the house. The house has stood for over 200 years and we aren’t in a rush to get it “finished”. We are just really enjoying the process of renovating and watching the hard work pay off. We hope to decorate it carefully and lovingly so it can stand for another 200 years.
The Home Edit
Lived-in look or showhome?
Lived-in
If you could only paint your walls one colour, which one would it be?
Earthy greens - they feel so relaxing and bring a sense of the outdoors, in.
What is your pet hate when it comes to your own or other’s homes?
Wallpaper chimney breast feature walls
Favourite front door colour
Farrow and Ball Sulking Room Pink
Carpet or Floorboards
Carpet upstairs floorboards downstairs
Kitchen table dining or formal dining room?
We are knocking the kitchen and dining room into one large space but we still plan to keep the two spaces separate. I’d love to have a formal dining room for special occasions but I’m not sure how often it would get used!
High gloss or rustic?
Rustic
Wallpaper or Brick Walls?
Wallpaper
Want More?
If you enjoyed being at home with Amee, you might like to take a look inside other popular home styling accounts on instagram and find out more about the people behind them. You can see more of these "at home with" articles here