At Home with @no.74home in their Cornish townhouse
Updated: May 11, 2021
In this series Hutch join the people from behind some of our favourite Instagram accounts, discussing their own homes, design inspirations, and tips for sourcing sustainable homeware.
To kick off the series we’re excited to be at home with Rachael Whatley of @no.74home. Rachael is a visual merchandiser and lives in a town house in Penzance, Cornwall with her fiancé Jonny and their cat, Winter.
Rachael, tell us a bit about your home …
I live in a three-storied, terraced town house in the centre of Penzance (Cornwall). I haven’t been far, living in the area all of my life and our home is actually the one I grew up in! When I was thirteen my family and I moved across the street into my grandmother’s house but kept our previous home in the family. Fifteen years on I moved back into our first home where I now live with my fiancé Jonny, and our naughty chit chatty rescue cat, Winter.
What’s your favourite piece of homeware or furniture in your house?
It has to be our dining room table. I used to work as a visual merchandiser for a well-known high-street brand, where the table top was originally a denim display platform. It was being discarded and they allowed me to take it home and make use of it. The trestle legs were also reclaimed and together I’ve created a one-off piece of furniture that will be home to plenty of wonderful social moments.
Who are your interiors inspirations?
I spend a lot of time browsing blogs, home accounts and Pinterest, so I take a lot of inspiration from various images and try to incorporate them in my own way, to the spaces of our home. I don’t like to copy hence why I like a lot of my things to be one offs, so then others can take inspiration from my images and find treasures of their own. If I ever need a little inspiration to start a project however I do pick up my @devolkitchen catalogs, I think their styling is perfection and it’s the dream to one day have one of their kitchens.
@lucywilliams02, who I have followed for years, will forever be another one; from fashion to homeware. I cannot wait to follow along on the renovations of her new home and see the final blasts of colours and prints that she chooses. Finally a new little find. A calming influence - @ingredientsldn demonstrating a wonderfully slower pace of living.
Sources - Instagram: Lucy Williams, Ingredients Ldn, Devol Kitchens
Where do you find pieces for your home?
Pretty much everything in our home is second-hand. Before I even had a place of my own, I used to collect homeware pieces from charity shops and store it all under my bed. When we moved into our home, I had so many bits I could almost kit out our whole kitchen.
Charity shops, Facebook marketplace and second hand furniture stores are my go-to. Seeing a space that you imagined come together is the most rewarding feeling, it’s one of the things that makes me love being a Visual Merchandiser.
“I like the challenge of hunting down pieces I’m after and it’s the best feeling when you find what you’re looking for.”
What are your top tips for people wanting to renovate or do up a house?
Take your time and research. Start a mood board and collect samples, from fabrics to wallpapers. It’s hard not to get carried away as you just want everything done as soon as possible, so you can end up having a lot of regrets. Focus on one room at a time and think about what you want out of that space.
“It’s important for your home to represent you, it’s where we spend the majority of our time and where we should feel most comfortable.”
It took me a while to figure out what I liked as when I was younger, I was easily influenced. However now buying for my home comes so naturally, I know what I like and what suits us.
It’s a comfortable and homely home which I’ve tried to keep personal, from the artwork around our house to handmade ceramic pieces. We are lucky to have a lot of talented people in Cornwall and I feel honoured that we can call some of them our friends.
What is your favourite thing about your home?
That it’s full of wonderful memories, old and new. From childhood to where I am now in life. It’s the place I look forward to coming home to everyday. It’s calming and cosy. It’s where I get to be my most creative self and an output for my forever boggling visual mind.
And finally, how do you ensure that you incorporate sustainable pieces into your home design?
As mentioned earlier, my favourite places to find homeware gems are charity shops and second-hand stores. As a result, naturally the majority of my interiors are pre-loved sustainable pieces. And in my honest opinion, these pieces were made to last and be loved for as long as possible.
Thank you so much Rachael for letting us into your home, and providing lots of enviable design inspiration! It’s great to see how sustainable pieces and second hand furniture have been styled together to create a chic and cosy space, and gain some helpful insight into the design and sourcing process.
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