From a career in PR to floristry and now interior styling, Leoma has all the key ingredients for a successful Instagram – and that is exactly what Style The Clutter is. We found her account after Leoma tagged us in some beautiful shots of her updated boot room using our hooks, and are now avid followers of her delicious home updates.  An eclectic mix of old and new, Style The Clutter gives us a tour of Leoma’s home, influenced by traditional rustic French style and mixed with clean contemporary Scandinavian design.

Leoma, we want to ask what drew you to this house, but it is obviously a stunning space! What features in particular sealed the deal for you?

I was instantly drawn to the high ceilings and beautiful period features along with the well balanced layout. Moving a bit further outside of London meant we were getting more internal space and a bigger garden too, so that was a massive drawing point.

When did you decide to depart the floristry world and move into interiors?

It sort of just happened! While I was pregnant with my son I struggled to keep on top of the floristry, as is was very physically demanding, so I focused more on the house. I also started helping a few friends out with their projects and it all took off from there… Since then I have done further projects all through word of mouth and of course I can’t seem to stop tweaking my own home, which is something I absolutely love doing.

What encouraged you to document the renovation progress online?

I was quite housebound when my son was born as he suffered from allergies, so I just started taking pictures of our home and bits that I was working on at the time. I wish I had documented more form the beginning, but we had already lived in the house for 1 year before I started Instagramming so had already done a lot of work to it.

You describe your home style as traditional rustic with a scandi twist, where does this influence stem from?

I went through a more contemporary phase in our last property however I have always loved mixing old with new, our current home lends itself to this style beautifully. However thinking about this more in depth, I think the traditional rustic side stems from my upbringing. My mother is French and loves antiques, as did my great grandfather who was a collector. I remember being wowed by his barn full of grandfather clocks and beautiful armoires as a child and used to love exploring through all his treasures.

How do you tap into adding your own personality into a home?

I think this is something that has happened organically over time. Colour, accessorizing, textures and pattern play a major part and say a lot about personalities and individual style. As I have got older I am a lot more confident using quite daring tones, especially as a colour pop within a room for example, painting just the inside of a door bright pink, in fact I can get quite carried away…

We love the branch feature above your dining table – inspired! This must be influenced by your floral background?

My floral background definitely comes out over Christmas and that was how the branch came about, as Christmas trees in that specific room always tend to die very quickly, due to the underfloor heating. I decided to hang a branch over the table and decorate it for the season, however it has now become a permanent feature and been up for 8 months, I love tweaking it each season and for family celebrations.

Which has been your favourite room of the house to design?

The utility/laundry room was the most satisfying, originally a very annoying dead space as its very narrow and quite small. It took me a while to figure out what to do with it, I even considered taking out a wall! However through creating a wall to wall coat rack with a storage bench below and cabinets on the other side with lots of shelving, it has totally transformed the room and it now works so well. For storage and as a second entrance to the house.

Which has been the most challenging?

The room we now have as a play room was quite challenging as it was a through room with no windows except for a glass door going into another room. The chimney had been blocked up, so it really didn’t have much to it. So we decided to open up the chimney and put in a stove, we took out the doors this opened up the whole area into the orangery/kitchen which works really well giving a nice flow to the house. I then brightened it up with fun kids accessories and a pink sofa, its’s now such a nice airy room for the children to play that will turn into more of a snug area when they get older.

If you could go back and give advice to yourself before starting up the project, what would it be?

I wish I had lived in the house longer, instead of making rushed decisions before we moved in. It’s always a good way of getting a feel for the space, however I sometimes think if you don’t go for it, you never will. So it’s about finding a balance between the two and perhaps not rushing so much and having a little mull… I also think it’s good to go for things that you really like and that will last and be timeless rather than a trend or something you are not sure about.

Last but not least, what is next for ‘Style The Clutter’ in 2018?

What next… I have started to revamp rooms/homes all through word of mouth for clients, which is very exciting! I also might open a little online shop at some point focused on styling the clutter, but this is still very much in the pipeline as I Iove being a mummy too, so I’m trying to work out a balance.

Wilton Lantern in Matt Black, Walcot Glass Pendant in Antiqued Brass, Chandler Coat Hook in Antiqued Brass

To see her full home transformation follow Leoma on Instagram. Read more about the work behind the pictures on her blog.

‘Natali in Norfolk’ is the Instagram account of Natali Pendleton, documenting her interior design and fashion choices from her luxury country lifestyle in Norfolk. We loved Natali’s dramatic bedroom design featuring Jim Lawrence lights and sockets, and needed to take a closer look at the rest of the beautiful building. In the process of a big renovation, Natali has given us an insider look into her gorgeous Georgian home.

Susi Bellamy’s vibrantly abstract designs are marbled with clashing colours that are certain to liven up your home. Her cushion prints, shades and wallpapers are vivacious and arresting – much like her own interior decor. After noticing Susi had used one of our wall lights on an explosive stucco wallpaper in an Instagram post, we soon fell into the rabbit hole that is exploring her whimsical home.

The Old Piggery in Broom, grazing the edge of the beautiful Cotswolds, caught our eye on Instagram thanks to its cosy modern country vibe. We were thrilled to spot our cottage wall lights featured in this delightfully cosy barn conversion, and even more excited when host Vanessa Taylor agreed to feature on the blog. The open plan kitchen/dining/sitting room has a vaulted ceiling with original exposed beams, an oak floor and a log burner for those chillier days. A perfect country getaway.

Believed to date back to the 16th century, this period space with its carefully curated décor is available to enjoy on Airbnb. We spoke to Vanessa to find out where her love for interiors originates from, why she started up the project and what it takes to be a great host in your own home.

‘Restoring Lansdowne’ is a stunning, dramatic Instagram account documenting the renovation and styling of Kristine Hall’s London home. The Victorian townhouse, first built in 1901, exudes contemporary scandi glamour thanks to Kristine’s stylish touch. After spotting our favourite Holborn lights in her grey and antiqued brass tinged bathroom, we simply had to get in touch to further explore this unique home.

We spoke to Kristine about her beautiful restoration and what it takes to find your own individual style.

At first sight we loved your bathroom, then fell head over heels after viewing the rest of the house. How would you describe your interior style?

Thank you! Our home is a mashup of lots of different styles that I love – midcentury modern, a slight industrial edge, scandi monochrome minimalism, maybe a little 70’s glam thrown in for good measure. My style probably leans towards a more masculine look in general…well, apart from the pink dressing room. I suppose that one’s pretty girly.

I enjoy trying out different looks from one room to the next, but I hope that by carrying certain elements through the house I’ve kept it all feeling cohesive – velvet upholstery, rich wood tones, dark greys, black and brass accents. It was also important to me that the design was sympathetic to the age of the property, so we restored or reinstated original features wherever we could, from the wide pine floorboards, plaster coving and cast iron fireplaces to restoring the original panelled doors and skirting boards.

I’d like to think that when someone walks in they find it calming, sophisticated and comfortable, with lots of interesting things to look at.

What encouraged you to document the restoration progress online?

Well everyone loves a good before and after, don’t they? I was initially encouraged by a good friend to set up an Instagram account to document the project and I’m so glad I did. When your ‘kitchen’ has consisted of a microwave and kettle in the corner of your lounge for two months and you’re washing dishes in the bath, or there’s rainwater gushing into your freshly decorated bedrooms during a loft extension …being able to look back at how far you’ve come at those moments helps to keep you sane.

There’s also an amazing community of renovators and interior design lovers on Instagram, and it’s been a great source of inspiration and DIY know-how. When the going gets tough, it’s amazing having access to so many ultra-talented people with beautifully renovated homes who know exactly what you’re going through.

We like to think an interior design project is always evolving, because personal tastes and needs also ebb and flow, but how long has it taken you from starting the restoration to where you are now?

Although my husband always looks slightly panicked when I say this, our home definitely will continue to evolve and that’s the joy of it really. But the hard graft is definitely over for us on this property. It’s taken over 5 years to get to this stage because we did as much of the work ourselves as possible, and renovated in stages as time and budget allowed. We first renovated the bedrooms one at a time at evenings and weekends, and then brought in some professional muscle to overhaul the kitchen. Some of the most time-consuming tasks were the stripping the original staircase and woodwork, and doing the painting/decorating – at this point I’d be quite happy not to see another paint brush for a very long time.

Where do you source most of your inspiration?

My starting point is always the space itself – how we want to use it, how we want to feel when we’re in it, the architectural features and natural light. I find inspiration in the usual places like Instagram, Pinterest and magazines, but also tend to find unique pieces that I love – lighting, furniture, art – and then design a room around them. It’s really important to me that our home is practical for our lifestyle. So the challenge is always to make it fit for purpose and beautiful, within budget.

With interior trends expanding and changing with a turnover as fast as fashion, how do you tap into adding your own personality into a home?

I think some of it comes down to patience and waiting until you can find (or afford) really special pieces that you absolutely love, whether it’s furniture, lighting or accessories. We had empty corners and battered old flat-pack furniture for years because I wanted everything we bought for the house to really add something, to earn its floor space. I found a tiny 1940’s wardrobe online that’s a perfect fit for our master bedroom alcove. It’s really simple but has great lines and a lovely patina. It wasn’t expensive but everyone comments on it and it really completes the room. And I try not to impulse buy – if I still love it in a month or two there’s hope I’ll love it in 5 or 10 years too.

Your hashtag #sassyhomestyle occupies many a style bloggers’ caption. In your opinion, what are the key ingredients for a ‘sassy home’?

Yes, it’s great fun co-hosting the #sassyhomestyle hashtag alongside three super talented fellow interior design lovers. For me it’s about creating really unique spaces and being totally unapologetic about it. It’s brilliant seeing the creative solutions that people come up with, whether it’s tiny spaces, tight budgets or rented properties that can’t be permanently altered.

Greys and petrol blues aren’t for the faint of heart! You haven’t held back when decorating the rooms in dark colours. What tips can you give to our readers thinking about making the leap to the dark side?

There’s no easier way of adding drama than with some dark paint. We are fortunate to have lovely large windows and a good amount of natural light – sunshine on a dark wall can be so beautiful. But equally if you have a room that doesn’t get much light, sometimes going with it and choosing a dark colour can work better than trying to fight it. I find muted, dark colours really soothing and it’s also a great way to add instant character to a room that doesn’t have many features.

In most of our rooms I’ve paired dark walls with lighter (or white) ones as I like the contrast. For example, at the end of our kitchen I used some leftover dark grey paint in the alcoves – it adds another dimension and emphasises the interesting shapes and roof line, without making the room feel any darker.

Renovating a house is a tall order! What drew you to this house in particular?

My husband already owned the house when we met, but I loved it as soon as I saw it. It wasn’t appealing on the surface…at all! But I could see the potential under the swirly 70’s shag carpet and the opportunity to essentially start from scratch and really make the place our own was the dream. It had some beautiful original features like sash windows, cast iron fireplaces and lovely proportions, and the option of building up into the loft spaces was a draw too. And I had been living in a flat in the City so the idea of having a garden was exciting.

If you could go back and give advice to yourself before starting up the project, what would it be?

I’d give myself a better idea of what to expect of a long-term renovation and recommend having a plan for managing the stress of it all. Sleepless nights, diet and exercise routines out the window, financial pressures, minor building disasters, dust and noise, thousands of decisions – it’s a lot to take on and it can really put strain on relationships too. It was 100% worth it, but if I had more realistic expectations of the day-to-day realities from the start, maybe it would have been a little less overwhelming.

Last but not least, what is next for you and Lansdowne in 2018?

I’m in the process of setting up my own interior styling business, so that’s pretty exciting. We have a few small things yet to do on the house, like alcove shelves, and I’m looking forward to spending some time on the garden in spring. We’re also going to build a bin shed. Glamorous, I know. But otherwise 2018 is all about enjoying the home we’ve created, now that it’s finally finished. I’m sure we used to have some hobbies so I’ll probably try to remember what those were!

Follow Kristine’s interior transformation on Instagram at @restoringlansdowne. To see more of our unique bathroom lighting, browse here.