At Home With Melanie @home.at.number39
This week we are at home with Melanie, the creative lady behind the popular home interior instagram account @home.at.number39 where she shares wonderful images of her new self-build home in the countryside. Melanie is also co-host of @lovelyirishhomes. Read on to learn more about Melanie, her home and lifestyle, family and also her top home decor tips.
Tell us about you
Hi, my name is Melanie and I live with my husband, 3 children aged 13, 10 & 6 and our Great Dane Misty in the Co. Antrim countryside in Northern Ireland. Currently I am a housewife after previously working in the banking sector for 10 years. Now, in between mum duties, I host over on Instagram a page called @lovelyirishhomes which helps to showcase other home accounts. Myself and the other hosts love to share and support other accounts and I have met some fantastic people along the way within the lovely Instagram community.
Tell us about your home
We self built our home beginning in 2018 and moved in in December 2020 so we’re not even a year old yet. A pandemic and 2 lockdowns threw into the mix were certainly a challenge but we got there in the end.
How would you describe your home?
I would describe our home style as modern with lots of pops of colour!
Which is your favourite room in the house?
Ahhhh that’s a tough one! Can I have two??
I love our open plan kitchen as its the main hub of the house. We all gather around the kitchen island in the evenings to catch up on each other’s day. I also love our snug area with our blue log burning stove although I think our dog loves it more.
How does your home reflect any passions or interests?
We both have a passion for art especially local artist Terry Bradley - we have a few of his pieces which we hope to add to over time.
What are your favourite items in the home?
My favourite items would have to be my armchairs, my living room sideboard and my chaise in the bedroom as it’s so lovely to sit there and take in the beautiful countryside views.
When you moved into your house was it the finished article or was it a project?
Definitely an ongoing project! We have 3 rooms not even started yet, one of which is still a concrete floor. At the minute we have so many tasks on our to do list but we aren’t in any hurry. I think you need to live in the house a while to get a feel for it and decide what you want and for where.
What renovation and decorating have you done?
Having built our home from scratch, the entire house had to be designed and then decorated, a project we have both really enjoyed! I’ve learnt I certainly have a lot more patience than I thought I did!
Have you had any DIY or styling disasters?
None yet thank goodness.
What is your top home styling tip?
I created a lot of mood boards along the way as well as getting lots of inspiration from Pinterest. I also learnt to go with what I wanted and not what other people thought I should be putting in my home. At the end of the day it’s your home, style it how you want, not how others think it should look.
Is there anything in your home that you couldn’t live without?
My husband and my children, a house is not a home without your family in it.
They say that every home tells visitors a story about who lives there. What do you think your home says about you?
I think our home describes us as a family home, chaotic at times but our door is always open. It would probably also say that we are not afraid of a bit of colour!
The Home Edit
Lived-in or showhome?
As much as I love a show home look, my home is most definitely the lived in version
If you could only paint your walls one colour, which one would it be?
Farrow & Ball Ammonite is such a great neutral colour, then, if you wanted to you can introduce colour through artwork, furniture etc.
What is your pet hate when it comes to your own or other’s homes?
I honestly don’t have one, everyone has their own style which I respect.
Favourite front door colour
Farrow & Ball Cooks Blue is on mine and I love it!
Carpet or Floorboards
Floorboards
Want More?
If you enjoyed being at home with Melanie, 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 Melanie's instagram account here. It's well worth a look!
Kitchen table dining or formal dining room?
Kitchen table or in our case kitchen island dining
High gloss or rustic?
Both
Wallpaper or Brick Walls?
I have neither but I love both.