GETTING TO KNOW ME
Hi, I’m Hols! Follow us as we grow our Devon home inside and out. I’m a mummy and wife working in television, with a lot of train commutes to London. I assure you working in telly often sounds more glamorous than it really is! But the people make it an extraordinary industry to work in.
I live with my husband, my daughter, seven year old loving cocker-spaniel, Milly and three egg laying chickens. It’s sadly not sunny Devon all the time as many like to think. It’s actually mostly rain but when it does shine I swear it’s one of the most beautiful places.
We’ve been married four years but this man has put up with me for over thirteen. My family call him a saint and they’re probably right but I’d prefer to say “we make a good team”. Fortunately, we’ve both been able to return to our roots in Devon with its countryside and coastline as our playground. Our hobbies apart from growing ‘This Home’ include walks and eating delicious food with our family and friends.
As a family, now more than ever, our home is our sanctuary. We would like to share a piece of it with you and see it change as we ‘grow’.
THIS HOME GROWS
I expect you’re wondering what do we grow? Well, it’s not quite as literal as that. Let me explain…
‘This Home’ does indeed attempt to nurture and grow beautiful plants in the garden and delicious vegetables we can eat. However, that’s not actually what I mean by ‘This Home Grows’. It’s not always in reference to the physical sense of growing something. It’s more what it means to grow as people and how that’s reflected within the home.
‘This Home’ has grown a fair amount these past six years; from a couple’s renovation project into a growing family home. I believe the best designs are spaces that reflect and tell the story of those who live in them. Our aim at ‘This Home Grows’ is to grow a home of warmth and timeless design that is honest yet considered. A home that grows with us.
Like us, for many, a house is much more than “bricks and mortar” (there’s a lot of that here, we’re finding out the hard way!). The home is part of the family and we’re looking after it as it kindly cares for us. A place to rest our heads at night and go about our daily lives in safety. Bar the odd dog/baby associated trip hazard and the occasional pile of rubble!
A home grows from the people in it, the happiness shared within its walls and the memories rooted to it. Created from the heart; we hope to unearth our homes potential and share projects that are truly authentic and achievable. I hope you feel welcome and get inspired a long the way.
WHY THE BLOG?
I’ve always had the desire to write “something” just never knew what. Additionally, I’ve had a passion for interiors for as long as I can remember. Growing up I took a keen interest in exchanges between my mum and aunt on styling and room updates (these haven’t stopped!).
Aged eleven, I created my first bedroom mood board, cutting out pages from my mum’s interior magazine collection. I can even recall my mum’s facial expression and saying “that’s quite a mature look Holly”. They probably weren’t the typical choices of a soon-to-be teenager; a decorative stencil hand-painted onto the walls in a rich red paint and an antique dresser displaying a growing collection of vintage perfume bottles. My scouring of second-hand shops for cushions and unique pieces to display became a hobby. It ignited my love for items with a story and is probably one of the reasons why I love working in television.
Our house knows everything about ‘us’ and we’re learning all about it, ‘This Home’, so why not write about it? More than ever, we all want to create a home we feel at ease in that still reflects our personality and style. Becoming a mum during a global pandemic was not how I imagined my maternity but it’s given me the push I needed.
We’ve talked about creating a place for our transformations as we grow our home on the inside and out. This Home Grows is essentially an online family storage unit. I hope when Esme’s all grown up she’ll enjoy unlocking a trip down memory lane. I’m sorry darling we’re such embarrassing parents!
We’ll share old/new projects as we create a cohesive style in the home and garden while showing that beautifully real homes are always within reach and don’t have to cost the earth to transform. Taking pleasure in the small things and learning as we grow; I hope you enjoy following our journey and even help us along the way! If we can inspire an upcycyle idea or make you think about your next room renovation then I’ll be made up!
Stay tuned to see us transform our garden into a family one by building decking/planters and a play area for our little girl all by ourselves. Further grow our kitchen garden with some thrifty buys/diy and inside, start to show our personalities in the key living spaces. The sitting room and dining room need to grow with us as family now – we’d like these to work for cocktail evenings, snuggle on the sofa kinda nights, but also suitable for playing and one day having friends round! I’m SO excited, but most importantly I want to show in all of this that growing a home takes time.
GET IN TOUCH
If you’d like to get in touch with me/us, pop your details on our contact me page.