Country decorating ideas on a budget often need to combine Champagne taste with beer money.
We have our own brand of country interiors at Ednovean Farm. If you imagine a mix of nostalgia, a dash of country chic and a smidgen of up cycling, you will have a perfect snapshot for our style. This week two rooms have been reworked a zero cost. (Well I have left a couple of auction bids for a couple of little extras!)
I’m not sure if the look is bohemian, Edwardian, Arts and Crafts or airily Swedish – come and take a look!
Reworking our country interior in lockdown
I’m sure like us; many people have been restructuring their homes and embarking on projects like spring cleaning and up-cycling to keep the year ticking along. Our itself home was upcycled from a traditional Cornish barn so we’ve had a little practise!
Here at Ednovean as we teeter in and out of lockdowns, our primary Bed and Breakfast bedrooms lay quite and empty. So it has proved to be a perfect time to rethink a couple of our underused interiors
Making a snug -decorating ideas on a budget
So first of all I cleared a box room to make a snug. In the process, two Hoovers, a floor polisher, carpet shampooer and a French bed were displaced.
Imagine a look
The look I wanted was a cosy comfortable room – hygge in modern parlance. A room with a definite country style and a dash of Rosamunde Pilcher, a room to incorporated all of our lost treasures. We had some lovely old sporting prints (For example, Lionel Edwards was a prolific sporting artist) and a stack of books that had outgrown the existing bookcases.
For decorating on a budget combine auction finds then splash out on say a beautiful lampshade. This one was made by a delightful gentleman in Penzance
De cluttering
I also had a paperback cull sending mounds of “Beach Reading” off to a charity. But I must admit that later, I weekly put the DVD’s back on the shelves in the next room. De-cluttering I sooo hard, maybe next time!
I also found a stack of magazines we’d been mentioned in and bravely threw some away. I did keep this copy of Residence though. It’s the leading Swedish interiors magazine – Danni’s mane is quite white now and err at least I can still wear the boots! De cluttering takes time!
Low beams, narrow doorways and furniture perils
Moving furniture around an old house with low beams and narrow doorways can be challenging. By the time we’d finished I had a new respect for home removal men!
Firstly, the big bookcase used for storing linen in the office was redeployed. It gave us an inkling of the perils to come, as we tried to slide and turn it under the low beams. Sometimes a few large items can be used in a small space – it’s just getting them in to them!
A plump sofa followed and the difficulty we had in inserting a sofa through our narrow original front door can only be imagined. I just hoped nobody was watching us!
Anxious measurements revealed at least half an inch to spare! Eventually we resorted to unscrewing the legs as it sat wedged in the doorway! And whoosh it fitted – just. It’s made a cosy new room form a forgotten dumping ground and a peaceful spot to read. Sometimes I light scented candle here – at the moment its “Tranquillity” by the Cornish candle company St Eval that combines lavender, orange and ylang ylang – heavy and nostalgic, perfect for a romantic vintage vibe!
Budget decorating ideas for country interiors!
- Repurpose existing furniture Work within a theme within your home allowing you to redistribute furniture to different rooms
- Trawl salerooms and flea markets before buying new Choose preloved furniture with elegant shapes to upcycle with paint
- Take time to absorb the atmosphere of your home to really know its character rather that inflicting a scheme upon it.
- Balance furnishings dimensions to be comfortable to your eye. Large objects can sometimes work well in small paces whereas a collection of small objects can look busy
- Look for the value in discarded objects – the bench in the blog was left behind on the farm when we arrived in the ‘70’s
- Bring garden art in out of the winter weather and enjoy their chunky rustic shapes
- Don’t worry if things aren’t perfect. For instance the lovely bowl here has a crack on the other side but a lining of plastic and an artful turn and who would know? Life isn’t perfect so don’t drive yourself mad trying to achieve the impossible!
- Build a room scheme around an overall plan and then add the elements over time.
The guest sitting room
Whilst the Corona virus pandemic rages, the Guest sitting room is redundant at the moment but I thought a nice airy anti room between the bedrooms would give the house room to breathe.
Repurposing existing furniture
Upcycling a table
Somehow the look in here has come out with a slightly Swedish twist, with pretty painted pieces, set in front of richly embroidered Indian hanging and Persian rug. For instance, the pretty round table was an auction find a few years ago. I up cycled it with Farrow and Balls Elephants Breath emulsion this week. Then lightly distressed it before finally protecting it with a coat of mid brown Briwax.
- Top tips for painted furniture
- Look for elegant shapes when buying old furniture.
- Here the rug was turned to cross the room to help widen the space
For me it all started in the attic and the loss, sometime over the summer, of two silver candelabra. When they went nobody knows, they were there last Christmas and gone by this one. But it made me rethink about the hoarded furniture, to reclaim some of those pieces stacked in corners and rework some underused spaces.
Very often is you have a settled style, items can be moved from room to room to find a new purpose or simply upcycled with a coat of paint. Personally I love auction finds for good quality, unusual pieces and always look there before buying new.
Lockdown retreat
I don’t know when we’ll be open again. Current estimates point to Mid February/March/After Easter/June or September – I notice Chelsea Flower Show has moved to September. Maybe that is prudent.
So perhaps I’ll just light that scented candle in my new little retreat and wait and see.
Stay safe and next week I promise some winter sea views around the footpaths of Perranuthnoe.
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