Since I was little, I have just loved my Nanna Nellie’s big rattan 1950’s chairs. She lived with us in a Granny flat at the back of our home in Sydney, and I spent many an day sitting with her on them chatting over a cup of tea served in her china teacups. They remind me of her, home and my childhood. When she sadly passed away, they stayed a fixture in my parents house, being updated by my Mum with 90’s floral covers, and a whole new set of memories of those chairs came to pass. They now lived in my parent’s games room, and during my late teens and university years, saw many a late night party, and sustained lots of dropped drink stains !

When recently my parents were moving from their current house to a smaller property - they realised they no longer had anywhere for these chairs to live. Now was my chance to grab them ! So they were packed up and sent to me here in England. By this time, they were in a bit of a sad state - so with lots of love and a little advice from Mark - who does a lot of our decorating, I restored them to their former glory.

They now grace a lot of my photos for Island Home. Why, you might ask? Well they are beautiful …I love them, and I think they co-ordinate well with a lot of the items that we sell in-store. Also, and more importantly, by using them, I feel they promote two really key things that I want Island Home interiors to represent.

Firstly, that good interior design doesn’t happen using one look or clearing the decks and starting with everything being new. The way I see it, creating that room that you love, that you feel “at home” in takes blending the old with the new… In my case Nanna Nellie’s chairs and the Hampton’s side table that we stock. For you, it maybe something completely different. The other reason, is I want Island Home to promote sustainability - that just because something is old - doesn’t mean that it should be thrown away. Try and look at things you already have with fresh eyes… its amazing what a new set of cushions or a lick of paint will do.

I have had lots of interest on Island Home’s social media about purchasing Nanna’s chairs. Maybe in the future we might look at replicating them… but for now, I hope they inspire you to take a look at something you have had for a while, and think about how you can give it a new lease of life adding something special to your own home. Good luck !