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  • Apr 18, 2025
  • 5 min read

This is a relatively easy feature to get your head around: every piece, regardless of size or provenance, is £500 or under. Naturally, that means some offer better value than others — but the aim here isn't about metrics, it's about creating rooms where everything is second-hand, mostly sourced from cottage industry businesses where your money actually means something.


It’s also about building homes that don’t look like everyone else’s. Instead of spawning a thread of Instagram comments asking, “Where did you get that from?”, you can rest easy knowing that your hours spent trawling, hunting, and uncovering have produced a home with real character — not some AI-churned Pinterest pastiche.


Of course, I know that hardly applies to this audience — lovers of the unique, the slightly odd, the quietly brilliant. But it’s worth saying, for the wider world, which increasingly seems to be designing its interiors by copying whatever their favourite influencer is flogging that week.


Here, we trust in antiques. And in that trust, we create homes that are interesting, idiosyncratic, and above all, comforting — sanctuaries to hold us steady while the world lurches outside.


Sitting Room -


As ever, the sofa remains a tricky customer when it comes to the sitting room. We all know they tend to cost a small fortune — and, in many cases, that’s entirely fair. But if you're not wholly repulsed by the idea of a leather sofa, then this number from UKDK is quite the handsome fella.


Of all three rooms, this one has my favourite occupants. The cupboard on the right has real presence, the rope coffee table is a jovial companion, and that bookshelf at the back is a stalwart member of the team.


A round of applause for Stowaway & Modants, too — they never let me down when it comes to lighting. If you’re in the market for something slim, elegant, and quietly assured, I’d say start with them.



Sitting Room
Sitting Room

Clockwise From The Sconce



Rocking Chair - Stowaway, Hans Wegner J16 Rocking Chair, £425



Pewter Bowl - Eesome Daalderop Holland Bowl, £205




Side Table - Fat City Antiques, Georgian painted pine occasional table, £280









Bedroom -


Here we come with an odd one. This setup is for the eccentric bon vivant — someone who enjoys a room with a bit of richness, a touch of theatre. I’ll admit, I don’t entirely understand the configuration. But then, beds are tricky beasts. They’re expensive, especially second-hand, and you often find yourself having to manoeuvre the entire scheme around them.


In this case, the bed is quite the statement — which means the rest of the room follows suit. The result is something rather extravagant, a little offbeat, but not without charm...


My particular loves are, of course, the Bengt Orup etchings — and naturally, anything from Tat. But if I were to cast the net a little wider, I’d have to say that mirror from Kernow Vintage is quite heavenly.



Antique bedroom setting: wooden bed with blue floral bedding, red armchair, dresser with mirror, framed art on green wall, elegant lamp.
Bedroom Scheme

Clockwise From The Floor Lamp



Sconces - Tat London, Sconce 01, Pewter, £195 each - (product placement - new tat product coming out April 2025)












Dining Room


Well, well, well — what do we have here? A rather higgle-de-piggle dining room, that’s what. This one came together around a true triumph: the table and four chairs for a grand total of £380. Frankly, that feels like daylight robbery — the good kind.


Now, I’m not entirely sure how or why a folding screen has found its way into the dining room, but we needed a splash of red, and the screen delivered just the right flourish.


And of course, no dining room worth its salt is complete without the blue and white patterns of Spode. Some things are non-negotiable and will forever have a place at our table.


As you’ll see, there’s quite the array of Tat art — I will forever campaign to make you see the beauty I do. But the piece I loved most, which didn’t fall under the Tat umbrella, was the set of framed 19th-century tiles. They bring exactly the kind of texture the wall needed.


Room with blue wall, red divider, wooden furniture, blue-seat chairs, and art. Features blue plates, vase with flowers, and hanging lamp.
Dining Room

Clockwise From The Pendant Light




















 
 
 

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