As part of our interview series, My Happy Home, television presenter and property expert, Amanda Lamb, talks about her least favourite decorating trend, the historic house she'd love to look around, and why she always sets her alarm an hour early.
Former model Amanda Lamb has presented property shows including Channel 4's A Place in the Sun and Selling Houses with Amanda Lamb, and is currently working with DEFRA on its Burn Better campaign for cleaner air. Amanda lives in London with her family.
What makes you happiest at home?
AL: There are two things I would pinpoint the most. One is a moment called 'soubhiye', which translates as 'the whisper of dawn, when the house is still in slumber allowing you to savour the stillness or enjoy a cup of coffee before the day begins'. I love that bit. I'm the mum of two girls, who are 10 and 14, so I always set my alarm an hour before they get up because I love when it's all silent and you can have a mug of coffee and brace yourself – I'm slightly sleepy, but very happy.
The other thing is when the girls and I are on the sofa, watching a movie with popcorn and candles and the fire on. There's something very lovely about being still and just connecting – my happiest times are when everything is still and there's not absolute carnage and chaos! I love being on the couch – it's my favourite space.
Tell us about your childhood home
AL: I grew up on a very large housing estate just outside Portsmouth. It was a local authority house and we were the first family in there, so it was very bare and there were no carpets. I can still remember going in that front door for the first time – I would have been four – and thinking, 'Wow, this is ours and no one else has been in it!'
It was a typical 1970s three-bedroom semi-detached house in a cul-de-sac, which was lovely because every house there had kids of my and my sibling's ages. Interestingly, there was no number 13. The builders were superstitious, so they never built a number 13 and there was a big gap where it should have been, which you would never get nowadays. I have very happy memories there, with lots of street parties and lots of fun. It was a great place to grow up, very close to the sea and the countryside, so we had the best of both worlds.
I think I've got my decorating gene from my mother because she was always changing something and making our house feel like a home. Wallpaper was her thing, my dad used to have to do it, so we always had a constant turnover of wallpaper in the living room. We went through a Laura Ashley phase too when everything was country chic, and we had lots of houseplants and soft furnishings.
What is your favourite room in the house?
AL: I think it's probably my bedroom because it's the one room in the house that is mine – even though kids and dogs are always in there, it's my space that I decorate. It's funny because when I was a kid the last thing I wanted to do was to go bed, and now I'm a grown up the only thing I want to do is go to bed! It's a sanctuary, where I retreat and rest, but it's also a place where I've spent time with my children reading stories together. I find teenagers are monosyllabic until about 11pm, then all they want to do is talk! Normally when I'm in bed, my oldest daughter will jump in and say, 'Mum, I just need to talk to you about something' – so I find the bed itself is a space where everyone congregates.
I keep changing the decor in there, and I'm about to change it again. It was very dark, painted in Farrow & Ball's Hague Blue, and I loved it – but it's a very sunny room and it showed up every single mark. Then I went really light but that's not working, so I'm going to change it again. The girls said to me the other day, 'could you just stop painting for five minutes?' Never!
What would we find in your bedside table?
AL: Books. I adore reading. I’ve got into the habit of leaving my phone downstairs now in the kitchen, which is brilliant because instead of constantly picking it up and checking it the whole time, I wait until the morning, so now there are lots of books.
A friend bought me a beautiful bottle of pillow mist with real crystals in it, so that’s there as well, and a cuticle oil (which I never put on – my nails are a mess!). I've just bought a Lumie sunrise alarm which has revolutionised my mornings. I love the feeling of it just gradually nudging you into the day.
What's the best decorating advice you have ever received?
AL: Take your time. If you're moving into a new home, slow down, don't be in a massive rush. Live in it for a while and work things out, like where the light comes. If you can afford to, get professionals in, especially for things that involve any sort of power tools. Also, don’t be swayed by interior trends. I think a lot of the time people get carried away by what is really trendy at the moment. Go with what you like, not with what everyone else is telling you to like.
If you keep a fairly neutral palette, whether it's dark or light, you can chop and change around. Accessories and soft furnishings can make or break a room. And if you get a bit bored, move your furniture around – I used to do that a lot. Even just moving your bed to a different position will make a big difference.
What is the biggest bargain in your home?
AL: All of the baskets that I keep around my fireplace. I live very close to Kempton Park, which has a big antiques market where I found the most incredible baskets. I’ve got three: one wire basket, that farm workers would put on their back to throw potatoes in; one big metal basket that I keep my logs in – it’s super important to burn dry logs to minimise the release of harmful particles – which I picked it up at Kempton market for about £10; and a beautiful old French one with a distressed look which used to store oranges, which was about £20.
What is your most treasured possession at home? Why is it so special?
AL: I'm a big fan of decluttering but I have a box in my bedroom which is probably the thing that I would rescue in a fire. It contains cards and little letters my children have written and all of their baby scan pictures. I put them in a beautiful old vintage box that I found at Kempton market and it's lovely looking through it and remembering their handwriting when they were little.
What would top your list for the worst decor trend?
AL: It's really funny because I used to love a feature wall and now I hate them. Last year I did a feature wall in my bedroom and now I hate it – I think it just dates everything. I'm not averse to an avocado bathroom suite, which I know a lot of people hate, but I think feature walls are my least favourite trend, along with Artex and woodchip – but I guess they're not really a trend any more as they're quite old school.
Are you green fingered?
AL: I am outside, but not inside – so in the garden very much so. I like a very soft look, the English country cottage feel, and love white flowers. Somebody told me once that white flowers are the only ones that you can see in the dark and at dusk, which I had never really thought about before. I’m not so great with indoor plants though – I end up killing houseplants a lot of the time. I have one that's still going and I'm quite proud of myself because I've managed to not kill it for the last three years!
If you could have a snoop around anyone's house, whose would it be and why?
AL: I'd quite like to go round the Brontës' house in Haworth in Yorkshire at the time when they were living there. The Brontë sisters wrote some of my favourite books so I like to imagine what it must have been like for them living in that vicarage. I'm such a huge fan of writers, so I'd also love to have a look around Charles Dickens' house – or any writer of that genre.
• Burning releases tiny, harmful particles that are damaging to your health and the environment. DEFRA's Burn Better campaign is highlighting three things you can do to reduce the release of harmful particles when using a stove or fire: 'check it, sweep it, feed it'. Find out more at uk-air.defra.gov.uk/library/burnbetter.
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Cara is Commissioning Editor at Country Living, covering everything from style and interiors to sustainability, artisans and the great outdoors. She has previously worked for Good Housekeeping, Homes & Gardens, House Beautiful, Prima and Red, and has an MA in Magazine Journalism from City University. Follow Cara on Instagram @caralaskaris or Linkedin.
