Modern Vintage

One of the tricky aspects of deciding what 'look' to go for in a new-build, is balancing a space that has barely been standing for two years with a love of design from yester-year.

I'm a huge fan of 'vintage' - yet I do tire of its overuse as a label for anything that isn't straight out of Ikea - but a new-build full of items older than me may not quite work.

We've decided therefore to go for a mix of eras and styles and to simply have what we like in our home! A common theme is colour (there seems to be a lot of orange in particular), as it's a welcome contrast to the standard cream the whole house seems to be dominated by. Until we get round to painting/papering walls, it's our accessories that are going to do the talking.

The living room is proving to be my least favourite room to give some character to. It's on the first floor, which I actually really like, with a lovely view and three windows giving great light. However, it's a bit of a funny shape, it feels tucked away and we hardly spend any time in there, favouring the more character-filled kitchen.

A relatively new addition is a Uniflex Q-range sideboard, designed by Gunther Hoffstead that probably dates from the 1960s. We bought it from the amazing Godfrey's in Brighton; I would definitely recommend a trip there if you're in the area and you like sideboards! It seems quite at home in the shiny new living room and is happy residing underneath some less aged Habitat CD racks.

Despite having lived here for seven months now, there are still 'naked' light bulbs in need of shades. The two lights in this room have been bare for months and it's really been bothering me. I have become super-fussy about light shades and dislike most of the ones I see in shops.

Fortunately, the magnificent Winter's Moon interiors website came up trumps. Based in Chichester, they sell a combination of vintage, recycled and handmade items. My last purchase from there was a seventies-tastic patchwork quilt which lives in the guest room - I'll blog about that another time. Their products are beautiful and their customer service is fantastic - do take a look. I chose two of their Nasturtium small pendant light shades having seen the fabulous print on my lovely friend, Stella's, Pinterest board. Although new, the print has a wonderful Scandi-vintage feel and they're already making me want to spend more time in this funny little room.