At Home With Anna @hall_farm_cottage
This week we are at home with Anna. Meet the very creative, decorating mad, lady behind the inspirational instagram account @hall_farm_cottage where she shares images of her stunning Norfolk farm cottage.
Tell us a bit about you
I’m Anna, I am 48, I work full time as a podiatrist, I live in a 4 bed semi Victorian farm cottage with my partner out in the sticks on the Norfolk/Suffolk border. We have lived here for 8 years and are both Norfolk bumpkins born and bred.
Tell us about your home
The original half of the house was built in 1890 as a farm workers cottage, designed in the same style as a hall on the field opposite us. The cottage was doubled in size in 2004 by the previous owners.
How would you describe your home?
Modern country cottage. My furniture and decor is a real mix of old and new. I like pops of colour and pattern that you perhaps wouldn’t traditionally expect in a cottage.
Which is your favourite room in the house?
The kitchen, it is a great size with an island and a big kitchen table, it has four windows that give a 180 degree view of the garden. We intend to renovate it, for now it has had a make-do revamp using tones of green to make it feel connected with the garden.
How does your home reflect any passions or interests that you have?
Decorating is my hobby, there is a botanical/nature/country living influence reflected in the decor.
Our families are important to us, I come from a big family, my grown up daughter and her 3 children live 10 miles away, our grandkids have their own bedrooms here and our kitchen table extends to seat 12
What are your favourite items in the home?
I have 2 pieces of antique bedroom furniture I bought when I had my first home 25 years ago. The dressing table has little drawers that have warped shut, trapping jewellery inside that I have not been able to get at for the last 10 years!
When you moved into your house was it the finished article or was it a project?
The exterior of the original part of the cottage had been neglected.
We ended up having a new roof due to years of nesting house sparrows, the brickwork was re-pointed with lime mortar, the 16 wooden sash windows all needed attention and we had a soul crushingly expensive drainage issue with a ditch around the garages.
What renovation have you done?
My family own a busy independent hardware store in Norwich, I’ve had lots of DIY practice with my previous home which was a total doer upper, I feel DIY ing is kind of in my blood! At home, I project manage and my partner is power tool operative! The interior is a slow work in progress, we have the kitchen, Utility room and 3 bathrooms to renovate.
Have you had any DIY or styling disasters?
Fortunately no DIY disasters. My partner thinks I have too many cushions!
What is your top home styling tip?
Practice makes perfect, I love Abigail Ahern’s video tutorials for styling, it’s worth swotting up on basic interior design principles to avoid design crimes (The Great Indoors Podcast series is fabulous for advice). Do it all with love and happiness and try not to think about all those hours of life lost to faffing!
Is there anything in your home that you couldn’t live without?
Cushions!
They say that every home tells visitors a story about who lives there. What do you think your home says about you?
I hope our home feels relaxed and happy, I can’t wait until we can have big family gatherings again.
The Home Edit
Lived-in look or showhome?
I’m insanely tidy so have to say show home
If you could only paint your walls one colour, which one would it be?
Farrow&Ball Off white, a green based neutral
What is your pet hate when it comes to your own or other’s homes?
In my own home, pesky lime scale (East Anglia has the hardest water in the country). In others, all grey clone homes
Favourite front door colour
Black
Carpet or Floorboards
Wool carpet upstairs, floorboards with rugs downstairs
Kitchen table dining or formal dining room?
Kitchen table dining
High gloss or rustic?
Rustic
Wallpaper or Brick Walls?
Wallpaper