Vintage Indie would like to welcome you to another My Vintage Pad Home Tour. We are very excited to show you the gorgeous home of Natasha from Oxford, UK. Natasha is a perfect example of how mixing vintage with modern can be breathtaking. She also shows many beautiful examples of why you should recycle vintage and reuse it in your home.
I live in a 1930's house, in the city of Oxford. My house and the others that surround it, were built in the 1930's, to house the manual workers employed by the nearby Morris Motors car factory. My house still boasts many of its original, 1930's features. These include fireplaces, parquet block flooring, terracotta floor tiles, cupboards, doors and picture rails. The renovation took two years to complete, and during this time I collected vintage items, similar to those that may have lived in the house, during its 80 year history
What is your favorite part of each room?
Living room:
I wanted the living room to feel like a cosy retreat. I also wanted it to remain fairly minimal. I achieved this through the use antique mahogany wood furniture, and pale green and blue sort furnishings. I particularly like the Sanderson floral curtains, which I found in a charity shop, and the antique crystal chandelier, which came from an antique shop.
My favourite items in the room are Tretchikoff's print of The Chinese Girl and the 1960's blue plastic clock, which plays a 'music box' style tune of The Colonel Bogey March.
Kitchen and Laundry Room:
In contrast to the living room, the kitchen and laundry room are filled with bright, colourful and cheerful objects. I mixed vintage with modern, and used lots of different vintage floral prints. These rooms are forever changing and growing, as I find more and more vintage items I can not resist bringing home!
I especially love the pine wall cupboard in my laundry room. The cupboard was a present from my grandmother, to my mother, before I was born. While growing up the cupboard housed my mother's Beatrix Potter porcelain figure collection. I have since painted the cupboard cream, and it now houses my vintage kitchen and laundry room accessories.
Dining room:
My dining room is one of my favourite rooms in the house. It looks out onto the garden, and always seems sunny and bright. The 1960's curtains were a purchase off eBay, and the 1960's sideboard belonged to my partner's nan. I like to mix vintage floral prints, and I think the curtains and Cath Kidston table cloth work really well together. My Eames chairs are reproductions by Vitra, and are a design classic.
Bedrooms:
Despite living in England, I love to utilise the French style in my bedrooms. I like the delicate antique furniture and textiles that were used in historic France. My antique French chair and dressing table create a very feminine, glamorous and romantic feel.
And finally, I could not show you my home, without introducing you to a few of my vintage Bambi and Babycham deer. There is at least one vintage deer in every room!
Where do you find inspiration for decorating your home?
I am inspired by everything around me – magazines, books, television, fashion, art, shops, nature, buildings and people. I love to wander through antique shops, flea markets and charity shops. Nothing fills me with more joy than bringing home a cute, rusty old tin and finding a suitable spot for it in my home!
How do vintage things play a role in your room/home?
Vintage things play a huge part in my home, and in my life. Things from days gone by were better made, and they are still here, which proves they have stood the test of time!
A lot of today's interior design is too stuffy and serious. I love the quirkiness of mid 20th century home decoration; what could be more cheerful than a 1950's pineapple ice bucket and some wall mounted flying ducks? They are charming, add character, and are always a talking point. There is nothing nicer than hearing someone say 'my grandma had one of these' or 'my mum had one just like this.'
I also believe it is ethically and environmentally correct to recycle and reuse.
Any advice for creating your look?
Never underestimate where you can find beautiful and inexpensive items for your home. My vintage collections have come from car boot sales, flea and vintage markets, antique shops, charity shops, junk shops, eBay, family and friends and even out of skips!
If you are interested in vintage things, friends and family are always glad for you to take things off their hands. There is currently a 1970's record cabinet in my shed, which is crying out for a new home. After all 'one woman's junk is another woman's treasure!'
If you are in the Oxford, UK area Natasha is available for interior design. Please feel free to contact her via this email address.
All photographs in this feature are copyright Natasha.
