Can you believe it’s Wednesday already? Bank holiday will do that you though. Today we’re back with Rebecca for a tour of her elegant snug which will have you reaching for a tin of Down Pipe.

When we bought the house this room was a formal dining room with swirly funky red carpet and gold yellow wallpaper. We filled it with boxes and furniture for a whole eighteen months whilst we did up the rest of the house, a poor neglected room sitting off the hallway. But then once the kitchen was finished and we found homes for all the stuff we’d piled high in there we finally set about giving this room the makeover she deserved. We had plans originally for a dining room but then thought who are we kidding? We’re never going to be formal dining room people, with a table in our kitchen, so then the snug idea came about. A space for all the books we had in boxes – a library type feel and finally a space for all the paperwork my husband has scattered around the house. {What is with men and post/paperwork?!} Our house is very light and neutral so I knew we could get away with a bold colour in here. We’d used Farrow and Ball Down Pipe on our utility cupboards and kitchen island, I’m a bit obsessed with it actually so that formed the start of the room. I think that Down Pipe offsets colour so well against it, especially mustard so we found a wingback mustard chair from eBay and have just ordered a sofabed in a turmeric shade for the back wall so that guests can use it as an extra bedroom. The grey and mustard cushion is from Matalan.

We had the marble fireplace removed and had a wooden/cast iron one fitted that we painted dark. We’d love to have a real fire in here but we’ve already used this chimney breast in our lounge for a log burner. The alcoves are very narrow either side of the fireplace but Ben still managed to create built in shelving and cupboards that are deep enough to fit our Penguin book collection in without sticking out into the room too much. We painted all of this Down Pipe too and then fitted antique brass hardware. I collected the penguin books in job lots from antiques markets and eBay, I love the look they give in here. On the other side of the fireplace I found a home for the Rifle Paper Co travel prints I’ve loved forever and a day. They’re quite bright and colourful, possibly too so for the rest of our neutral house, but in here I think they work well especially with our love of travel and the Globes on display. The prints represent our favourite holidays and Ben surprised me by having them shipped from America for my Valentine’s present this year.

I’m in love with the desk and filing cabinet in here that gives the room a really grown up kind of office feel! We got them from the Cotswolds Company and the brass hardware almost matches perfectly to the rest of the room. I’m ridiculously happy to have a filing cabinet and now keep our mail in here with the wire holder. The industrial style lamp on top of the desk is from Bunnings and the globes are from Urban Outfitters and Homesense. Above the desk we’ve hung the penguin postcard print frames we’d made for our first flat together which are just postcards blutacked together.


Flooring wise the original boards like we’ve got elsewhere downstairs had been replaced with thin pine boards so we just went over the top of them with B&Q interlocking vinyl in a dark oak effect and added a rug I picked up a few years back from a shop in Rye to make it feel cosier. I adore the original sash window in here and it has shutters built in so we don’t need to worry about window dressings.

To finish the room off I just added a log basket {that somebody down our road was throwing away!} some botanicals, a coconut palm from Bunnings in a brass pot and a Monstera plant from a local garden centre in a gold sequinned basket. Continuing on the brass and gold theme I found this big Barn star from Culinary Concepts. The leaf print on the fireplace is from Desenio and the other botanical hanging above the radiator is from a Scandi shop we found in a Norfolk beach town. I’ve ordered a brass shield mirror for above the fireplace {after seeing Lauren’s!} and to give the room a more grandeur feel in keeping with the age of the property we hung a chandelier I got from a local antiques shop. Lastly, I can never resist antlers and these were from an antiques shop in Norwich that sit above the chair.

{STEAL REBECCA’S STYLE}
  • Rifle Print
    SHOP NOW
  • Culinary Concepts Star
    SHOP NOW
  • Anthropologie Globe
    SHOP NOW
  • Sequin Basket
    SHOP NOW