RESIDENCE Antiques and curios accent this pretty Bradford on Avon cottage

A GOOD VINTAGE

Words by Lydia Tewkesbury Photos by Chris Wakefield

Thoughtfully selected antiques and American folk art-inspired decoration blend in this cosy Bradford on Avon bolt hole

Moonwind Cottage is the beautifully curated home of Elizabeth Munday. Owner of Heritage Trading Goods on Etsy, the keen antiques enthusiast spent many hours scouring local markets and auction houses to find the considered period pieces that accent her recently renovated Bradford on Avon home.

How long have you lived in your house and what did it look like when you bought it? When we moved in August 2016, the previous owners had not long completed the extension, which is light and modern. However, the original house had not been touched in years – swirly Artex ceilings and wood chip wallpaper everywhere. It felt like a period cottage but not in a cosy, welcoming way, – particularly upstairs. All four of us lived in the two-room extension for six months while we stripped the rest of the house back to bare bones and built up from there.

What was your vision for the décor of the interior of the house? As the original house dates to 1670, I felt the interior should reflect some of that history, so I have kept it quite classic but used a mix of antique styles to add interest. I designed each room around a key piece or collection that means something to me personally and although the rooms consequently have distinct styles, I wanted them to flow together quite naturally. For example, in the spare room I covered a whole wall by framing my grandmother’s sheet music from the 1930s and took the style of the room from there.

What are the common pitfalls that people fall into when redecorating? People often decorate for others rather than themselves, whether they are thinking resale or they lack the confidence to trust their own imagination. This approach does stifle their inner flair as they buy and house what they think is fashionable and don’t use what actually has meaning to them. In the short term this can still result in a pleasing room but in the long run, they are often not truly satisfied with it and have to do it all over again in five years.

In your opinion, which room should you start with when redecorating and why? There’s always one room that you have a vision for before you even get the keys. Start with that room and get it just how you wanted it. The success boosts your confidence in tackling the rest of the house and, if it doesn’t work out, you have limited the mistakes to one room and learned in the process.

Who or what are your inspirations when it comes to style and décor? My grandmother and mother both filled their houses with antiques and I can’t now consider a room complete without some period accent as they add so much interest. I also spent my teenage years in America, where vernacular architecture and folk art is revered and this was catching. For example, I usually paint the accent colour on the woodwork in a room rather than on the walls, which is traditional across the pond, and I like clean lines. When all else fails, frankly Pinterest is a great source of inspiration.

What local shops did you source your décor, homeware and accessories from? For environmental reasons, I try to buy second hand as much as possible and obtain most of my accessories and homewares from flea markets such as the Frome Independent or local auction houses. However, that is hard when it comes to the fabric of a house, so we used Farrow & Ball paint, and went to OKA and Jim Lawrence for lights, switches, and window and door catches. We also used Newmans Joinery to replace some of our sash windows.

Teenage years spent in the US influenced Elizabeth’s aesthetic

Elizabeth Munday (ABOVE) has filled her home with antiques and second-hand finds sourced from local markets

What are your favourite independent homeware shops in Bath? I am always impressed by the stock at The Salcombe Trading Company and I love Rossiters, where every nook and cranny is stuffed with temptations.

Do you have a favourite room or is there any part of the house you are particularly proud of? I love the master bedroom, which was also the most challenging room to redesign as it was very asymmetrical and originally had an ensuite bathroom shoehorned into the space. It is the only room with dual aspect windows, out of one of which you can see the Westbury White Horse. I designed the room around the antique framed Rossetti print which hangs over the bed and which was my parents’ 21st birthday gift to me. It is a pre-Raphaelite piece and so the wallpaper had to be William Morris. All of the furniture, including the cupboards my husband painstakingly built, has an Arts and Craft feel to it which keeps the room simple and restful.

What do you want people to feel when they enter your home? Interested. I love it when people ask about a piece and what the history is behind it. I want people to treasure these bits of our collective past, and inspiring them to use them in their own homes is a good place to start.

Elizabeth carefully sources pieces that are visually interesting, regardless of value

What did you learn from designing your own home? There’s no one right way to do it and if you do it with sufficient confidence, it generally looks right in the end.

Whose house would you like to have a snoop around? Belcombe House in Bradford on Avon is a stunning Georgian house with amazing gardens that are occasionally open to the public. I was lucky enough to see the Iford Opera there last summer and so wished I could sneak inside the house itself!

Does the interior of your home reflect your personality? I am a magpie and inveterate collector. Mercifully, I also sell antiques through my Etsy shop, Heritage Trading Goods which allows some of my finds to pass through to new homes.

Like me, the décor is not motivated by trends and has generally gone its own way.

Does your job impact on your home at all or how you have decorated? Hugely – appreciating antiques has become a way of life for me. I’m interested in their aesthetic appeal rather than their value as museum pieces, so I source visually interesting pieces for both my home and my online shop.

Finally, what’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said about your home? A friend of mine said it should be in a magazine and approached Bath Life on my behalf! For more: www.etsy.com search HeritageTradingGoods for Elizabeth’s shop

Got an amazing local home? Want it to feature in Residence? Contact lydia.tewkesbury @ mediaclash.co.uk

“Like me, the décor is not motivated by trends and has generally gone its own way”