A L T E R M E H O M E A N E C D O T E S

an interview with you ;

This weeks interview is with Lauren Grace Collins @laurengracehome & @laurengracelife

Nestled among woodlands, down a tranquil lane with views of the countryside, Lauren, her partner Jack, and the newest addition to their home, a 15-week-old Labrador puppy named Basil, reside in a classic farmhouse-style cottage in Kent. The cottage dates back to the early 1900's, a beautiful character property built from red brick, with peg tiles and original internal features such as beams and quarry tiles.

“We fell in love with the location, the character that an older property brings but also the potential for future expansion. We wanted to find a house that we could grow and develop as the years go on rather than moving.” - Lauren

Carefully planning and bringing her interior mood boards to life, Lauren (with the help of Jack!) has done a wonderful job so far in restoring and sympathetically updating the original features throughout, creating a beautiful space to call home.

Lauren tells us that she finds her inspiration on Instagram, Pinterest as well as from movies and places she visits…

“I find inspiration in absolutely everything. It could be from visiting a hotel or a restaurant, a home in a movie (I absolutely LOVE Nancy Meyers movies) books, magazines and of course Pinterest - I could spend hours pinning over there. I love to take different elements from everywhere and merge them into my own style. I also get quite a lot of inspiration from browsing brand sites such as Ralph Lauren, Jenni Kayne Home & Zara Home to name a few... seeing how things are styled and different pieces really inspires me with styling.”

“Personal touches really create a home, whether its family photographs, artwork, upholstery or furniture.. I feel like you can really tell a person by their home. I like ours to feel curated yet comfortable and lived in. I love styling consoles and shelving with trinkets and books picked up along the way & black and white photographs in frames of loved ones and special memories. ” - Lauren

Everyone has that one room or special place within their home, whether its their favourite place to sit and relax, best interior choices or somewhere that makes them feel calm after a busy day. Lauren shares that her living room is this space, not only because it is the only room that they have totally finished - adding the caveat; “at the moment haha” but this space also leads to one of their favourite outdoor spots - the best of both inside and outside!

“This is so tough! My favourite room currently is the living room, mainly because this is the only room that is totally finished (at the moment haha) this was the first room we dedicated all our energy into and it came together exactly how I imagined. It is such a wonderful space to relax all throughout the year, with the open fireplace in winter and the french doors in summer. The little terrace off the living room really comes to life this season, we spend nearly every single day there, from morning coffees in the sun to golden hour bbqs watching the sunset, it's my favourite spot this season.”

It's always inspiring to learn more about the individuals and their homes behind the Instagram accounts we follow. Therefore, we posed the following questions to Lauren to delve deeper into her likes, dislikes, and décor faux pas!

Your favourite home purchase?

I have quite a few favourites but I think the best piece we sourced for our home was our travertine dining table. I found it on Facebook Marketplace for less than £200! Which was such a steal, we drove over an hour with a trailer to pick it up and had to enlist Jack's brother to help us carry it in. A piece that we will keep forever. 

Worst home decision / purchase? 

Probably my worst home decision is starting too many rooms at once. I have a tendency to get a little bit too excited and start working on multiple projects at once, which always ends up in unfinished rooms and a looming to-do list. On reflection I would have operated on a one at a time policy haha. 

Where did you first hear about Alterme Home?

I saw some of my favourite accounts sharing their beautiful cushions and when the draft excluders had been shared via stories I knew it would be the perfect Mother’s Day gift for my mum who’s currently re decorating her living room

Lauren’s favourite piece(s) from our collection?  

An old favourite has got to be the Kitchen Garden cushions - I have four of them now and I'm constantly moving them around the house from the living room to the kitchen and sometimes I pop them out on the garden furniture when I am hosting. The hand painted design is so unique and I just absolutely love the detail it gives to a room. 

A new favourite is the Secret Garden cushion, I love the soft floral and artichoke pattern and the linen fabric, the colour is such a gorgeous timeless shade of neutral shade. Beautiful for a bedroom.. or just anywhere to be honest! 

One for fun… we asked Lauren; looking at the fabric / design of our cushions from our range which one would she be and why?

Love this question! I would say the Jasmine Sage Stripe with Ruffle Trim - classical and quite uniformed with a sprinkling of fancy. 

We are also big fans of the Jasmine sage stripe with ruffle trim, in fact it has been one of our best sellers to date! A wonderful choice and reason too!

We have loved chatting to Lauren about all things interiors and hoped that you enjoyed reading and the insight into Lauren, Jack and adorable puppy Basil’s home, make sure you follow along for more renovating, gardening, decorating and puppy content over on @laurengracehome!

How ADORABLE is little Basil and Lauren has even made sure his basket and bed work beautifully with her home décor.

Thank you for reading & a huge thank you to Lauren for taking the time to be a part of our interview blog series!

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