At Home With Rachel @countryrectorylife

This week we are at home with Rachel the lady behind the popular Instagram account @countryrectorylife where she shares her her beautiful home, pretty garden and the most delicious looking cakes.  

 

 

Tell us a bit about you

 

 

  We live a few miles outside of York in a small hamlet. I live here with my husband our two teenagers and a very stubborn English bulldog called Donnie. 

 

  Tell us about your home

 

 

 

  Our home was built in 1890 as a Vicarage it’s an early Arts and Crafts home and has lots of the architectural features of that time. 

  

 

 

How would you describe your home?

 

 I would say I prefer an English country home style, I love soft furnishings, vintage paintings, and blue and white china. I love to see a minimalistic interior in other people’s houses though. 

 

 

 

 Which is your favourite room in the house?

  Our kitchen. We installed it a couple of years after we moved in, it’s a square room with two large windows side by side. Having had pale painted kitchens before we really wanted something different so we chose traditional cupboards and had them painted “Lake Red” by Farrow and Ball it’s a warm Fushia and makes it feel very warm and cosy, we installed a white and grey Carrara marble work surface and used old gold handles for the doors. It certainly isn’t everybody’s cup of tea but we’re really delighted with it.

  

 

 

 How does your home reflect any passions or interests?

 

 I love fabrics particularly vintage florals,  patterns and velvets and most of our windows have curtain treatments to reflect that, during the last few months I’ve also learnt how to make lampshades which I’ve really enjoyed, in fact if you stand still long enough in our house you’ll get a lampshade plonked on your head! 

 

 

  What are your favourite items in the home?

 I have a beautiful Georgian display cabinet that I bought in a little second hand shop in North Yorkshire,  at some point in the past it had been painted a sage green and the diamond shaped glass panes in the doors have been outlined in an old cream. It holds all my “treasures” from my Aunt’s vintage teapot to my Nans Land Army medal and I love it. We also have an old pine topped kitchen table, its scratched and marked but it’s been used for baking, homework, family discussions, midnight cups of tea and party buffets, I keep thinking about replacing it but it tells a story and I haven’t the heart to say goodbye to it yet.

 

 

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

 The previous owners had spent a lot of time maintaining the structure and upkeep of the house and every room was in a very liveable condition, but I couldn’t wait to make it into “our” home and over time we have redecorated every room, I’m ready to do it all again now though.

 

 

 Have you done any renovation?

  We’ve mostly had tradesmen to help us with this house as we’re definitely not the best with DIY but I have over time learnt how to make my own cushions and soft furnishings. 

  

 Have you had any DIY or styling disasters?

 In a previous home, after dinner one evening, I took it upon myself to paint our guest room in a beautiful terracotta so whist my husband was at the gym, I opened a paint tin and got busy - it was only when I’d finished that I realised that it had dried back bright orange! when my husband got home he found me covered in paint along with the light switches, ceiling, door frames and the room looked like the sun! I’m not allowed a paintbrush now. 

 

  What is your top home styling tip?

 Fresh flowers - lots of them, candles - lots of them. And just buy what you like, everything in your home doesn’t have to match, you just have to love it, layer your home with your treasures and enjoy them. 

 

Is there anything in your home that you couldn’t live without?

 My Aga, It’s like a warm hug. 

  

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

 

 

 That it’s a family house, that Visitors will always be made very welcome and that it’s a home filled with love. 

  

 

 The Home Edit

 

Lived-in or showhome?

  Definitely lived in 

 

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

 “Drop Cloth” by Farrow and Ball a smudgy greige that goes with everything

    

 

 

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

 I’m not very keen on magnolia walls and rooms where all the furniture has been bought at the same store

 

 Favourite front door colour

 

“Pavilion Gray” by Farrow and Ball (but I once had a Fushia front door and I loved it) 

 

Carpet or Floorboards

  I’m a bit of a carpet fan 

 

Kitchen table dining or formal dining room?

 A bit of both, I love a kitchen supper and a fancy formal dinner equally

 

 High gloss or rustic?

  Rustic

 

Wallpaper or Brick Walls?

 

  Wallpaper, I’m a huge fan of it. 

 

If you enjoyed being at home with Rachel, 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" interviews here