Rebecca’s Minimalist Period Home

We’ve featured many gorgeous Victorian and Edwardian properties on Rock My Style but Rebecca’s stylishly pared back and minimal style is really refreshing. Over to Rebecca for a tour of her Buckinghamshire home.

We moved into our house in 2012 and I can safely say we (I say ‘we’ loosely, was so all me) bought it purely for the bath and sash windows. I have my priorities all v straight….
Originally built for the workers at Bletchley Park back in the early 1900s it was a 3 bedroom property but the previous owners changed the small bedroom upstairs into the bathroom, which I love as it is now a big airy room.
No one warns you about the period property reality that kicks in after the initial excitement of getting your keys, everywhere we looked worked needed doing (and still does!) so took us a year or two to get going with our changes.

Kitchen

The first thing we wanted rid of was the modern kitchen which didn’t gel with the rest of the house. We bought a basic Wickes kitchen, changed the handles and ordered our own scaffold board counter tops to add a vintage feel from ebay. The reclaimed wooden floors were from ebay too. Artwork I pick up from second hand shops and also really like Cavallini & Co wrapping paper to frame and they do great hanging kits too.

The lights are from Etsy and come in different colours too.

Dining Room

The dining room did not always get the best light being at the back of the house and tended to just be a place we dumped stuff on route to the kitchen but since painting the floors Autentico chalk white it has really brightened the room up and we have been enjoying it more.
The dining room table is from Most Marvellous Northampton, a real treasure trove of vintage goodies and they have a cute little cafe too.
The chairs were bought from second hand shops all painted in Authentico chalk paint, and the metal chair is from a interiors shop in Buckingham called The Courtyard at No 6. The bar is painted in trusty old Farrow and Ball Down Pipe. I think the chairs might be getting the Down Pipe treatment soon too! The chaise was from my mothers house, she bought it for her first house over 30 years ago, so I’m classing it as vintage.

Lounge

Most items of furniture in in the house are sourced from charity shops, Age Concern are great, and then painted with chalk paint (I’m a lazy upcycler). Our Loaf sofas were our most extravagant purchase but I just love the cosiness and depth of them.
My style ideas change from week to week and my current obsession is white floors, they are a nightmare to keep clean but I love the look of them, our downstairs floors painted with Authentico chalk paint which was really easy to use. Get yourself a small roller (and the patience of a saint husband) and you are sorted. I’m sure I’ll want to strip them all back at some point but I’ll save that conversation for another day. The colour on the lounge walls is Little Greene French Grey.

Spare Room

The spare room is a work in progress, and still not 100% sure which direction it is going in but it is fun to change things around till I compete happy with it. Cupboards sourced from second hand shops and given the chalk paint treatment.

Bathroom

The bath was originally red when we moved in (!) but we painted it in Farrow and Ball Down Pipe. I’d do the whole house in Down Pipe if I could. Note to self, must ask hubby about that.

Radiators

I have unhealthy obsession with radiators, don’t we all? Our hallway one was bought from a reclaimed vintage radiator company. Ultimately I’d love to change all the radiators in the house. These ones from Screwfix are being currently eyed up.

Overall the house is still a work in progress and my style ideas are constantly changing, but it would be boring if there was nothing else to do, so for now where is my paint brush?