At Home With Jenna @our_country_life__

This week we are at home with Jenna, the country and wildlife loving lady behind the beautiful instagram account @our_country_life_ where she shares fabulous images of her stunning woodland cottage. Read on to learn more about Jenna, her home, lifestyle, family and also her top home decor tips.

 

Tell us about you

Hey, I’m Jenna! I live in a quaint and cosy country cottage nestled in a charming woodland setting with my other half and two dogs. I enjoy spending time outdoors and love going on adventures with the dogs. In my spare time I enjoy photography and love taking pictures of the various wildlife that comes to visit.

We moved into the cottage in May 2021 and we really love the lifestyle of country living. In previous years, we have taken on renovation projects and spent our time buried under bricks and dust so it has been nice to take a step back and enjoy slow living for a while.

 

 

Tell us about your home

The cottage is a Grade II listed building that is made from stone and was built in the 1700’s, the cottage has some original features which I absolutely love such as the stone surrounds around the windows they are truly stunning and the inside has a modern country cottage vibe. 

  

 

How would you describe your home?

I would say that our homes style is definitely “modern country cottage”. Our colour scheme is very light and neutral with lots of beige, creams and greys flowing throughout the entire house. I add in delicate patterns using fabrics and enjoy playing around with different textures, I also love to use rustic wood and natural materials to bring the outdoors inside.    

 

 

Which is your favourite room in the house?

Can I have two? My favourite room/s in the house are probably the orangery and/or the kitchen. The orangery provides beautiful views of the surrounding woodland and is a great spot for spotting wildlife – deer, rabbits, birds, weasels and our regular visitor, the pheasants.

The kitchen is light and neutral with a cute and cosy feel, it also provides a lovely view of the woods.   

 

 How does your home reflect any passions or interests that you have?

One of my passions is wildlife photography and I don’t need to venture much further than my garden to get some great shots. We have many different species of birds and wildlife visiting our garden daily and I love pulling on the wellies and heading out with the camera to explore and capture images.

I also enjoy making a house a home and I am looking forward to putting our stamp on the place this year.  

Over the last couple of years, I have found a love for gardening. Our home offers lots of outdoor space to grow flowers, fruit and vegetables. This year I am hoping to create a vegetable patch and we will also have some exciting new additions in spring which I will document on my Instagram page.

 

What are your favourite items in the home?

I love these little trays, they’re brilliant for having a morning coffee in bed or offering tea and biscuits to guests.

 

 I also love my mixer and baking accessories. I use all of these things weekly for baking or making bread.

 

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

It wasn’t as bad as our last project homes but the cottage definitely needed some TLC, I will be making some improvements over the next few months but I don’t plan to go to the extent that we did in our old house because this isn’t our forever home.

 

What renovation and decorating have you done?

We haven’t started any decorating at the cottage yet, we only moved in around May and we spent the entire summer enjoying the outdoor space, exploring and planning outdoor projects.

 

Have you had any DIY or styling disasters?

Loads! We have completed two previous renovation projects and carried out all of the work ourselves so there has always been plenty of disasters but luckily nothing that couldn’t be fixed.

 

What is your top home styling tip?

Keep it simple and stay true to what you like. It’s far too easy to get caught up with trends.

 

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

Fresh flowers & candles – I just love my home to be filled with pretty fresh flowers throughout the year. They also add a pop of colour to my neutral home style pallet too which means that I can easily change the feel of a room simply by adding fresh blooms to suit the season.

 

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

My home would probably say “neat freak who loves the outdoors” – I like my home to be clean and tidy, that’s often a challenge in the winter months having two dogs and there will always be a pair of muddy wellies knocking around the entrance ready and waiting for outdoor adventures.  

 

The Home Edit

 

Lived-in or showhome?

Lived-in

 

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

Egyptian Cotton

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

Clutter!

 

Favourite front door colour?

Olive Green

 

Carpet or Floorboards?

Floorboards (my favourite flooring is actually stone though!)

 

Kitchen table dining or formal dining room?

Kitchen dining

 

High gloss or rustic?

Rustic

 

Wallpaper or Brick Walls?

Brick Walls

 

Want More?

If you enjoyed being at home with Jenna, 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

You can catch up with Jenna's instagram account here. It's well worth a look!