There’s nothing quite like stepping into a home that feels personal, and Tori’s beautifully evolving Victorian cottage in the New Forest is packed with personality, charm, and the kind of thoughtful design that makes a house truly feel like home. We’ve had the pleasure of following Tori, of vavaroom, along with her renovation journey, seeing how her love of design has made a dream family home a reality.
Tori, her husband Omar, and their two young boys, aged six and three, have been through their fair share of renovations. Their current project, a charming 1870s Victorian cottage, is nestled in the heart of the New Forest in Hampshire. They made the move from Edinburgh just two and a half years ago, and while the cottage looked picture-perfect on the surface, it’s been a slightly different story underneath.
“It was shiny clean and looking right when we bought it, albeit dated, but under the surface it’s been a shambles! Our eldest has been in and around five renovations since he was born, but this has been the biggest and longest!”
But if anyone has the confidence and vision to breathe life back into an old home, it’s Tori. Her passion for interiors is infectious, and though she doesn’t necessarily follow a set style, there’s a clear thread running through every space she creates. Like many of us, Tori’s go-to source for inspiration is undoubtedly Pinterest and Instagram, but rather than sticking rigidly to one look, she uses social media as a springboard for her own unique style. This free-spirited approach has led to some incredible transformations across multiple rooms in her home, and we were thrilled that she chose several of our tile collections to help bring her ideas to life.
“My interior style isn’t really definable; I just go with whatever I like - which inevitably comes with a lot of changes where I change my mind halfway through and go down a different route! If I had to really put a finger on it, I’d say a modern country cottage with a touch of Nordic cabin. I run with ideas I like on Pinterest and Instagram, usually from huge houses in the US and cabins in Norway, and then end up with something completely different; but it works in the end, I think!”
Tori opted for a selection of our decorative and natural stone products throughout her home to create rich, layered, characterful spaces in a way that feels personal and true to them as a family.
“In the family bathroom we chose Pantheon Carrara for the floor and the shower floor, and Valencia Verde Green Metro Tiles for the walls in the shower and around the vanity,” she shares. “I saw a bathroom on Pinterest and stuck to it like glue! It looks really similar now it’s done too!”
Downstairs, she went for something equally striking but with a different feel, with a rustic stone flooring that ran from the bathroom into the hallway.
“In the WC, we used Salcombe Ivory Crackle Metro, paired with Tudor Sandstone on the floor. I’d seen a bathroom by HAM interiors that I loved and these tiles looked similar, so that’s the route I went!”
Tori’s renovation is a beautiful reminder that the best home interiors are the ones that are alowed to grow and shift, shaped by instinct, inspiration, and a love for making a house feel like home.
“The sample choice was fantastic - free and with free delivery! I put together a few to see what they were like and when I’d chosen, the ordering process was also really simple. Delivery was fast and I had no broken tiles, which was wonderful!”
You can follow Tori’s home restoration journey over on Instagram @vavaroom, for stunning design inspiration and a behind-the-scenes look at the realities of balancing a renovation with busy family life!
If you’ve been inspired by Tori’s real home transformation, be sure to keep an eye on our Customer Stories series, where we’ll continue to share exciting transformations from our community of home-lovers, renovators and design dreamers.
Shop The Look
Valencia Verde Green Metro Tiles & Pantheon Carrara Porcelain
Salcombe Ivory Crackle Metro Tiles & Tudor Sandstone
