Elle’s Modern Country Home | Downstairs

Many of you will be familiar with the lovely Elle who has written pieces on both Rock My Style and Rock My Family. Elle’s insta feed is filled with beautiful photos of her modern country home and I’ve been dying to get her Victorian semi on these pages for ages. So make yourself a cup of tea and let’s put our feet up in the downstairs of Elle’s cosy house.

We have been in this house just a few weeks short of three years. Not only has that flown by, but the house has been pretty much transformed in that time. I am actually struggling to think of one thing that has stayed the same? Here begin the confessions of an interiors addict….

The house had two bedrooms when we moved in; it now has three. We moved the bathroom into half of the original second bedroom, and created another smaller room out of the other half. The old bathroom then became a bedroom. Like most Victorian semis, it is typical in its layout; sitting room at the front, a dining room in the middle of the house, and the kitchen to the rear. Upstairs now has a main bedroom, a bathroom and two smaller bedrooms.

Sitting Room

The sitting room was the first room in the house to be “finished”. We replaced the floor, added shutters to the bay window, and had a wood burning stove fitted into the fireplace to warm up this once draughty room. The fitted cabinets were here, but we removed shelving and added wooden panelling to the back for a more finished look. We also built in log storage to the other side of the chimney breast; useful, but most people comment on it as a lovely feature in the room. I always get asked where our mirror is from; all of the over mantle mirrors I have in the house are from One World. The side tables in here are both antique market finds, the footstool I made, the chest under the window is Etsy and the big arm chair is Cotswold Co.

Hallway and Landing

The hallway and landing were all decorated around the time we completed the building work upstairs. The banisters had been dark mahogany, so we painted them in F&B Elephants Breath for a lighter finish. We also replaced all of the carpets throughout.
We added a downstairs toilet/ cloakroom underneath the stairs into what had once been an under stairs cupboard. Dropping the floor and adding match board panelling to the walls has made it feel as though it as always been there.

Dining Room

The dining room has probably been changed the most times since we moved in. I think I am happy (for the moment?!). We removed a gas fireplace and filled the space with logs, then added a beam as a mantle piece. It also doubles up as a workspace in here, so I have my desk in the corner from Swoon Editions, with a cosy chair to curl up and write in (One World).
I always get asked about our table; my husband made it. The chairs and bench are all old, a mix of purchases from eBay and Gumtree, all have been painted. The bench is an antique Hungarian settle.

Kitchen

The kitchen was the most recent room to be re-vamped. We are planning a kitchen extension and side return next year, so we just wanted a quick pick-me-up in here to make it liveable. We painted all of the cabinets and removed hideous tiles. My husband fitted new work tops and I changed the tap on the sink to suit. The thing I get asked about most in here is the shelf on the wall; it’s just an old off cut of a board from a reclamation yard, and the brackets are from an antique market. We painted the cupboards in F&B “Hague Blue” and the lower units in Cornforth White. As it was just a temporary fix we used basic white tiles and really inexpensive worktops to finish it.

We’re back next week with the upstairs of Elle’s abode and I can’t wait to share all the gorgeous details.

{STEAL ELLE’S STYLE}