At Home With Andrea @vintage_mollys

This week I'm at home with Andrea, the vintage-loving lady behind the popular home instagram account @vintage_mollys where she shares images of her  converted farmhouse. Read on to learn more about Andrea, her home, lifestyle, and top tips for home styling.

 

Tell us about you

Hello, my name is Andrea and l'm forty seven, married to my lovely hubby and we have four children, a son of 24, twin daughters of 21 and a son of 12. We live in the beautiful Worcestershire countryside, overlooking the Teme Valley. We bought our house in 2005 after falling in love with it at our first viewing.  It was originally a fruit farm and is surrounded by open fields and apple orchards. The house had been unlived in for years and practically everything was falling down or had already fallen down.

 

Tell us about your home

Our home is a mix of converted barns and a new build. The original house was in such a bad state that we had to start again and the planners stipulated that we had to build an extension in the courtyard to link the main house to the barns that were already there and link them up as one dwelling

As a result we ended up having to have two staircases, which the children used to love for hide and seek!

 

How would you describe your home?

My home style is a little bit of a lot of things! I love shabby chic, farmhouse style and florals but I also love a bit of modern thrown in too, but definitely not minimalistic!

 

Which is your favourite room in the house?

I can't really choose. I love our kitchen because it really is the heart of the home, we all eat together at the centre island most nights and it's where we all congregate to chat.

Me and my hubby and both of our daughters also all love to cook, so one of us is always making something, from homemade pies from me, to roast dinners from hubby, or fabulous cakes from our daughters.

I also love our main bathroom, it's got double doors and a Juliet balcony looking out over the fields and is just so light and airy and considering it was one of the first rooms we did, it hasn't dated at all, so I think we made the right decision going for earth colours and travertine tiles.

It was also the one room in the house I could stand being in when we moved in, as I was pregnant with our youngest son and this was the only room that didn't smell of paint and make me feel sick.

 

How does your home reflect any passions or interests?

 My home is full of shabby chic bits and pieces that l've picked up over the years and lots of vintage and modern China teacups and tea sets that I collect from Vintage Fairs and charity shops.

I also love painting old furniture and making it look lovely again. Last summer I painted an old garden table and benches and a little shed that we'd had for years and the transformation was amazing.

 

What are your favourite items in the home?

My favourite item is a vase that belonged to my nan, that my mum gave me a few years ago. It’s very shabby chic and to me just the prettiest item I own. It is my nan, Molly, that I named my Instagram account after.

 

When you moved into your house was it the finished article or was it a project?

Oh definitely a project! It’s an ongoing project, as there's always something that needs painting, mending or replacing.

 

What renovation and decorating have you done?

We had builders and tradesmen to do all of the building work, plumbing etc, but to begin with we spent every weekend, while we were waiting for planning permission, clearing out the barns of years of sheep and cow dung! We were very hands on and the older three children al! used to be there with their spades helping we also did all the decorating ourselves.

 

Have you had any DIY or styling disasters?

I regret changing the colour of the walls near the fireplace in the dining room to a yellow colour, which hubby and the children all hated and now I do too, it seemed like such a good idea at the time, so this year I’ll be changing it back to cream.

 

What is your top home styling tip?

My top home styling tip is just do whatever feels right for you and your home, don't follow trends just because everyone else is going for that particular look, if it isn't what you really like.

Also, we used Dulux Natural Calico in literally every room when we moved in and it's still my favourite colour now, it's neutral and makes every room feel so light.

 

ls there anything in your home that you couldn't live without?

Yes my dog Ruby!

 

They say that a every home tells visitors a story about who lives there. What do you think your home says about you?

That l'm a floral, pretty china, collecting horder who loves shabby chic and cups of tea!

 

The Home Edit

 

Lived-in or showhome?

Lived in and cory but tidyl

 

If you could only paint your walls one colour, which one would it be?

Natural Calico.

 

What is your pet hate when it comes to your own or other’s homes?

I don't mind at all what other's homes are like, but I hate everyone's shoes being kicked off and left by the front door at mine!

 

Favourite front door colour?

 Sage Green.

 

Carpet or Floorboards?

Floorboards and rugs downstairs but definitely carpet in the bedrooms.

 

Kitchen table dining or formal dining room?

We love eating in our kitchen but also love the dining room for special occasions and Christmas.

 

High gloss or rustic?

Rustic definitely!

 

Wallpaper or Brick Walls?

A mix of both

 

Want More?

If you enjoyed being at home with Andrea, 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 view more of these "at home with" articles here

Catch up with Andrea's instagram account here. It's well worth a look