uFurnish.com Founder Deirdre Mc Gettrick sat down with Kirstie Waterston - 2025 uFurnish.com Home Awards Winner to talk all things interiors inspiration and advice for those on their own interiors journey.
Name: Kirstie Waterston
Instagram handle: @renovating.rose.lane
Location: Aberdeenshire
Sum up your home interior style in 3 words or less: Vintage, thrifted, nostalgic
What’s your favourite item in your home?: Not an item as such, but the original staircase is very striking, it’s quite grand and unexpected, because our house just looks like a bog-standard Scottish cottage from the outside.
If your home had a theme song what would it be?: “I’m not like everybody else”, by The Kinks
Toilet roll over or under on the holder?: Over, and if I stay anywhere where it’s under I put it over! I don’t know why anyone wants it against the wall.
Do you place your cups and glasses facing up or down in your cupboard?: Up. I think if there was any residual water inside it would leave unappealing marks around the rim.
What inspired your home’s interior style and how did you bring that vision to life?
It’s a work in progress and my interiors style has evolved quite organically, but I’m really inspired by bygone eras. I have always loved old objects and styles; I became fascinated with Victorian buildings after doing a project at primary school, and that love of history has never left me.
But I’m not married to one particular movement so it’s an eclectic mix. There’s quite a bit of Arts and Crafts reflecting our home’s late-Victorian heritage, but there’s some mid-century in there too. Anything goes really, sometimes I’m just drawn to ideas or items and somehow it works. I’m constantly picking up bits in charity shops or vinted and keeping an eye on local vintage sellers for unique pieces, but I also like to make my own decorations, curtains etc too.
How did you balance your design goals with your budget and do you have any clever hacks or cost-saving tips for readers?
Our renovation is very piecemeal, I do what I can myself but I’m time poor (as well as cash poor!) so nothing happens very quickly.
But I think being forced into a slow renovation makes for a more considered approach. Don’t rush into the big decisions; live in your home first and get a feel for how it works for you. When we bought our home it was when everyone was knocking through internal walls to create open plan spaces, but now trends are moving back towards compartmentalised living. A project like that would have blown the budget, and now with two young (and loud) boys, it’s good to be able to retreat into our own spaces.
What has been your biggest challenge designing your home and how have you overcome it?
Undoubtedly the continuing rise in the cost of living and cost of materials, and things outside our control like council tax rising year on year. As far as possible I like to work with what we have, I will never strip a wall back to brick, if the old plaster is sound - I’ll repair it instead. Also, I live for second-hand finds, marketplace, vinted, salvage yards, vintage and charity shops are the best places to find what I’m looking for, I don’t tend to buy new unless I have to.
If you could give one piece of advice to someone starting their own renovation journey what would it be?
Get to know your property, particularly if it’s an older, pre-1920 build as they need to be treated differently to cavity wall construction. Learn about breathability and traditional materials; if surveys have flagged up damp first look to eliminate the source. Is the roof leaking, are the gutters full, are the air bricks blocked, are the chimneys properly capped, is there any ventilation, can the house breathe?
Is there a particular space in your home that you’re most proud of and why?
My boys’ playroom, this was such an unloved and awkward space when we moved in and now it radiates joy. The house was extended at some point creating a room off a room down two steps - not a very useful space.
Small, dingy and cramped, it bore little resemblance to the rest of the house because it was devoid of character.
The flooring was chipboard but I felt floorboards would be more in-keeping with the rest of the downstairs. My old school was being demolished and we asked the contractors if we could have some of the Edwardian flooring.
To our amazement two ton bags of parquet from the old maths department were lowered into our garden one day, and it took me the best part of a year to clean it up and re-lay it. The quality of the old wood is unrivalled and it’s really added warmth and character. I then installed Arts and Crafts style panelling and painted it a really cheerful custard yellow.
Where do you find your inspiration? Are there designers, Instagram accounts or brands that influence your style?
I mostly find inspiration in the past. I have the TV habits of an elderly lady, I love watching period dramas, the interiors and sets can be a treasure trove of inspiration. I adore an Agatha Christie set in a stately home - it can be hard to focus on the plot when the interiors and costumes are so exquisite! I also really like Victorian railway architecture, and our downstairs loo takes inspiration from railway tiling and paint colours.
In terms of designers, I feel my values align with the principles of William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement; the rejection of consumerism and mass production in favour of handcrafted items really appeals to me.
For that reason I really like the brand Rowen and Wren, their classic and conscious designs evoke a timeless nostalgia. I have a small brass towel rail by R&W and it’s developing a lovely lived-in patina.
What did winning Best Before & After Transformation in the ufurnish.com Home Awards mean to you?
It absolutely meant the world to me and I’ve met so many incredible people as a result. I struggle with shyness and putting myself out there, and I just thought I couldn’t possibly compete with incredible designers. I didn’t even expect to get nominated, let alone get to the finals or win, I still feel like an imposter. If I had thought there was any chance of winning I would definitely have painted my nails for the awards do!
What's the next interiors project you want to work on?
My never-ending bathroom project. Our bathroom hasn’t been touched since the 1990s and features two layers of, seemingly impenetrable, blue wall-to-ceiling tiles which I’ve been removing for the best part of six months.
I can’t wait to see the back of them. I have a gorgeous old sink with chipped paint legs I salvaged from an old church about three years ago, so I look forward to finally seeing it in situ.
Each month we'll be interviewing one of our uFurnish.com Home Awards finalists asking them all about their home renovation journey, their inspiration and more so be sure to come back each month to learn more. Find out more about our Home Awards here, follow us on Instagram here for more inspiration and updates and subscribe to our emails here for weekly offers and more.