It has been so long so we did a home tour (our last one was Kemi from Cottage Noir 3 years ago!) and I have really missed them! This time we visited the home of Liv Madeline, her journey has been one I’ve been following on social media and adore her home and style aesthetic of expensive looking neutrals and great basics.
Tell us a bit about yourself….have you always loved Interiors?
I’m Liv , 29 years old and part time midwife and a content creator. I’ve always had a passion for interiors ever since I was a child, I always remember I’d get quite hands on in decorating my family’s home. When it came to picking my career path I chose midwifery because I am deeply passionate about supporting women and families during the beautiful journey of childbirth. I believe in providing personalised care, empowering women to make informed choices, and being a source of strength during this transformative time in their lives. It’s really nice how things have worked out because I’m now doing 2 jobs I completely love.
How long have you lived here?
I’ve lived here for almost 1.5 years, prior to that we were renovating for 18 months. The flat needed a complete remodel and it took us a few years as we were funding it ourselves and the pandemic didn’t make it any easier i.e sourcing materials, finding contractors and also working fulltime in the NHS during COVID. Both mine and my partner’s family homes are 5-10 mins away from our current flat so it was very easy to commute back and forth.
What drew you to this particular property? Could you see the potential straight away?
I didn’t straight away to be completely honest, Rob worked in real estate at the time and this property had been on the market for a while and he saw all the potential it had, I didn’t see it for a while. He joked about us buying it and I just remember thinking ‘no way’, we’d just finished university and I personally didn’t think we were going to get a mortgage in London due to our age and income (at the time we were both 24 ). Thankfully we had some money saved, went to a mortgage broker one day and the process began.
You did a lot of work yourselves, what would you say was the hardest part and/or is there anything you wouldn’t do again?
Yes we did, we hired an electrician, plumber and plasterers etc but everything else we were completely hands on, installing the floors and painting walls. It was hard work but it was also during lockdown so instead of going out socialising on the weekends we’d be in the flat working after work during the week and on the weekends. Personally I don’t know if I would be as hands on next time – I definitely enjoyed it at the time but looking back I don’t think we gave ourselves breaks and it definitely affected my mental and physical health.
How would you describe your interiors style?
I would describe it as contemporary/modern. I really enjoy mixing antiques with modern items. I would also say I also enjoy a neutral palette but I’ve been enjoying adding pops of colour in certain areas.
What are your favourite brands/stores to shop for interiors?
There are so many: Heals, Nest, Ferm Living, Glassette, Nordic Nest. The list goes on!
Where do you buy your prints from?
Current prints are from : @theposterclub and @wallofartcom.
Any tips you can offer to anyone contemplating or embarking on a renovation project?
Don’t feed into the pressure of social media, I definitely did that – seeing loads of home accounts renovating their homes very quickly and constantly comparing to why we can’t do it up as quickly. In retrospect the best thing is to take your time and the renovating never completely finished we still have a little snag list of things that need doing and our garden is in need of desperate help we are planning on starting the garden after our wedding.
What do you enjoy about social media?
I really enjoy being creative – it’s the perfect outlet for me. I use Pinterest a lot for interiors inspiration too.
Thank you so much for having us, Liv!
