At Home With Milly @our_sussex_flint_cottage
This week I'm at home with Milly, the lovely lady behind the popular home instagram account @our_sussex_flint_cottage where she shares images of her grade II listed Flint cottage in Sussex. Read on to learn more about Milly, her home, lifestyle, and top tips for home styling.
Tell us about you
Hello, I’m Milly! I am an NHS speech and language therapist, newlywed and mum to Teddy aged 5. My now husband has two lovely daughters aged 8 and 11 who stay with us every other weekend, making us a wonderful, blended family of which I am very proud. To add to our tribe we also have a puppy, two hens and an old cat. We live in a little cottage in a small farming village in the heart of the South Downs, Sussex and have fully immersed ourselves in the local community.
This May, I walked down the road to our ancient village church to get married, where we rang our own wedding bells, a dream come true!
We are surrounded by rolling hills, pastoral fields, and leafy woodland. Having all this natural beauty on our doorstep is incredibly grounding and humbling, we feel very lucky.
Tell us about your home
We live in a 150-year-old Grade 2 listed Flint Cottage. It was built in 1873 for the village farm workers and so is on the modest side but has been extended slightly over the years and now cosily fits a family of 5! It has all the character features you would want from a country cottage; open fireplaces, exposed beams and masonry, solid but wonky walls and not forgetting the trusty outhouse. We also have a lovely garden, home to our precious hens, as well as many garden birds, minibeasts and the occasional hedgehog.
How would you describe your home?
Our home styling is a real mix of both country and contemporary, united by a neutral colour palette and hygge cosiness. My husband is an artist, so every wall and mantelpiece throughout the house hosts a range of created and collected art pieces, adding a small hint of Charleston eccentricity.
The downstairs really lends itself to a more rustic, farmhouse aesthetic, complete with stable doors, butler sink, solid wood worktops, woven baskets, soft furnishings in vintage hues and a huge oak table that forms the heart of our home.
Upstairs, the bedrooms have a more modern feel, but the neutral decor and natural textures continue. I enjoy following the latest kids’ interior trends and styling their rooms has become a real passion project.
Which is your favourite room in the house?
I love our dining room- it’s not just where we eat, entertain, and come together as a family but it is also my husband’s art studio and our cosy snug with comfy armchair and wood burner.
On our more creative evenings, I can be found in here playing the piano or snuggled up with a book by the fire, while my husband paints at his easel, ultimate “hyggelig”.It’s a beautiful room, full of character, lovely natural light, old wooden floorboards, and a garden view, we love bird watching from here too.
How does your home reflect any passions or interests?
We are a creative family and one of my passions is interior styling, I hope that my home reflects this.
What are your favourite items in the home?
I have an expanding collection of small ceramic pots and glass vases, which when filled with a few handpicked stems of meadow flowers, instantly evokes a touch of country charm to any space.
When you moved into your house was it the finished article or was it a project?
The cottage was pretty much the finished article, having been given a recent refresh, we were very lucky. While it’s been modernised over the years, it’s Grade 2 listed status means it still has many of its beautiful original features and we would be limited in terms of renovation.
What renovation and decorating have you done?
We have laid some new tiles in the bathroom and constructed a hen house in the garden, this pretty much concludes our home DIY so far, other than patching up any damage caused by three young children. We’ve learnt than you can never have enough Polyfilla and white paint. One day, we would like to pull up the carpets throughout and put down some reclaimed wooden floorboards, a project for the near future maybe.
Have you had any DIY or styling disasters?
No disasters yet, but there is still time…we will keep you posted!
What is your top home styling tip?
If it’s a wall, paint it white…timeless, fresh, uplifting!
Is there anything in your home that you couldn’t live without?
Our bed. We’ve recently invested in a memory foam mattress, linen bedding and a duck down duvet and pillows- best decision ever!
They say that every home tells visitors a story about who lives there. What do you think your home says about you?
After growing up in London and living in big towns and cities for most of my life, I think my home shows that I have fully embraced a rural existence and love of the country lifestyle.
The Home Edit
Lived-in or showhome?
Somewhere in between
If you could only paint your walls one colour, which one would it be?
White!
What is your pet hate when it comes to your own or other’s homes?
Unmade beds
Favourite front door colour?
We have dark green, it’s the village colour
Carpet or Floorboards?
Floorboards ideally but it's nice for kids to have something soft underfoot so rugs/playmats are a must!
Kitchen table dining or formal dining room?
I guess we do kitchen table dining in a formal dining room
High gloss or rustic?
Rustic all the way!
Wallpaper or Brick Walls?
Brick walls
Want More?
If you enjoyed being at home with Milly, 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 Milly's instagram account here. It's well worth a look