What It's Like to Furnish Your First Home When Your Parents Are Antique Dealers

Furnishing your first home is a rite of passage that usually comes with neither the luxury of a limitless budget nor a lifetime of collected treasures. For many people, it means inherited furniture or a trip to IKEA to fill your space with things that work 'for now'.

But that's not everyone's story. I came across several viral posts by online content creator Rosetta Ottilina, who recently bought her first flat with her boyfriend and is in the process of furnishing it. The difference in her journey? Her (wonderfully supportive) parents are also antique dealers, and it's given Rosetta a unique perspective on what it means to curate her home.

"It made me patient, as antique finding is not instantaneous; inquisitive, as we would always discuss the history behind things," Rosetta tells me when I ask what she thinks the impact of her parents' profession has had on her relationship with building a home, "and made me value things because we would see beautiful old furniture that has remained intact. Things being repaired rather than replaced, and items being passed down through generations."

It made her think about why she was incorporating a specific piece of furniture and how it added to her space, rather than just adhering to the latest interior design trend.

Of course, when you grow up with antique dealers from around the world passing through your home, sharing their stories and beautiful furniture, it's easier to make these distinctions. "It made me appreciate not only the beauty of design, but the stories behind it," she adds. "And it made me not have a specific preference for one style of furniture and design; my parents' house has a mixture of different things that didn’t necessarily 'go' but were beautiful." With that in mind, decorating her first home was as natural as calling upon those childhood memories.

"My childhood home was a happy place to be; a big pitch pine kitchen table that holds my fondest memories, stained glass and hanging crystals reflecting rainbows all around, sitting in chairs that came from my grandparents' home, a dresser containing art materials and games alongside an incredible array of glasses," Rosetta Ottilina recalls.

Eclectic is the buzzword here, and it's the mindset guiding Rosetta's own journey decorating her first home. Beyond striving for a timed-versus-timeless interior, Rosetta and her partner knew they wanted character. "Before we even found our place, I had a big box of things I had found at car boots, flea markets, charity shops, or in my parents' workshops," she shares. These pieces will all eventually find their spot in their home.

Of course, this was also inspired by Rosetta's childhood. Living with antique dealers meant getting up at six in the morning to root around car boots, being put on silver-polishing duty at Christmas, and finding beautiful antique dressing tables for their bedrooms.

"I still meet my mum at the car boots on a Sunday morning, and I cannot pass a charity shop without having a quick look," she says. "But now I am finding things for my own home, and it feels like I have what to look out for — hallmarks, materials, woodworm — ingrained in my brain after all these years of observing my parents."

Even with a deep-rooted appreciation for antiques, design styles and interior tastes change and evolve throughout history. Exploring and developing your own tastes is what's really essential to an authentic home. "There was definitely a time when I moved home from university; my room looked entirely different to the rest of the house," Rosetta says. "You'd go through these colorful rooms full of things, then you would open my door, and it would be like we had been robbed." (This was when everyone wanted IKEA drawer units, and beige minimalism in interior design was in.)

"Still, my parents allowed this; our rooms were decorated however we wanted, and this let us explore our own style and find what we liked," explains Rosetta. She credits this freedom of expression with leading to a heightened appreciation for antique, vintage, and retro decor.

For Rosetta, it's less about strictly collecting antiques with no room for contemporary elements and more about intentionally avoiding what she refers to as 'throwaway culture'. Trend-chasing is at an all-time high, with people buying things for a specific season, or adopting a theme only to throw everything away a couple of years later.

"Growing up around antiques showed me how many beautiful things are already in circulation, and I want my home to be able to tell a story of my and my boyfriend's life, where we have been, our stages of life, our hobbies and daily patterns," she explains.

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Conversely, before buying her first home, Rosetta shares, "I rented a very modern new-build flat, and it never really felt quite like home." (That's not to say these new builds can't feel homey; transitional styles are made to blend contemporary design with traditional influences.) "My boyfriend works in construction and comes from a property development family, so with both influences we definitely wanted somewhere with history and character," she explains.

And luck seemingly fell into their lap — they bought a flat in a Grade II listed converted coaching inn, with big sash windows, cast iron radiators, and high ceilings, in a historic market town. "I love that the building dates back to the 17^th century and has so much history we have learnt about, and that as it is Grade II listed, its original architecture has been preserved. Living in a building whose history and architecture have been carefully protected feels like a very natural extension of my upbringing," says Rosetta.

Plus, it's the perfect excuse to lean into that history and design a modern home that blends the house's character with the character of the people in it. When you take the time to collect pieces with history, they become a part of your history. "We are so much more than just this moment in time," says Rosetta, and having antique pieces that have been around for decades is a great reminder of that.

For instance, "I have a beautiful leather pouch that belonged to my great-great-grandmother, which is over 100 years old, and I sip tea from the same cups my great-grandmother once did. I get ready in mirrors that have reflected the faces of women over so many years, ones who may have lived in very different circumstances to mine and paved the way, and I love that I can feel connected to them. For now, they are mine, and a part of my life, but they are beautifully made things that have already lasted generations and will eventually be a part of someone else's life, and I think that is beautiful," says Rosetta.

"With social media and quickly changing trends, I think we must be careful not to lose our individuality and uniqueness; the very nature of a home is that it is so personal," Rosetta adds.

In practice, this means breaking the idea that everything needs to look perfect, cohesive, or expertly curated. "In my parents' home, there was never a plate, cutlery, or glassware set. It was just a mixture of lovely things: wine glasses that were Georgian, vintage French, or Victorian rummer, bone handle, and Kings pattern cutlery," says Rosetta.

Things will get scuffs and show visible signs of age, but they can be mended (that said, some things should never be thrifted). "Still, things would never be bought for a season then thrown away, and this is such an important value I am glad I was taught," adds Rosetta.

And to that note, patience is a virtue when building a home. "My dad often says when I ask him for something, 'I can find you something similar, but not tomorrow!' I always have things in mind that I would like in our home, but part of it is finding it; it wouldn’t feel as good if I could just order it from a warehouse somewhere with next-day delivery," says Rosetta.

The thrill of spotting something you have been searching for is part of what makes thrifting so exciting. "My boyfriend and I bought our home nearly a year ago, and there is still lots we want to do and things we would like, but we don’t mind that. If we bought everything on fast furniture sites and filled every space in our home immediately, it wouldn’t feel meaningful to us, and the fun would be over so soon," says Rosetta. It pays to be patient and let your home evolve with you.

Also, remember to be open-minded; "sometimes you have an idea for a space, then you spot something completely different that you love, and it works out even better," she adds.

"With our kitchen shelving, I knew I wanted things out; my parents have big shelves full of a mismatch of vintage jars with ingredients, and beautiful pottery hanging below. I love finding interesting and beautiful everyday things," says Rosetta.

Our homes are not meant to be show homes; they must work for us and our daily life. And when you are intentional about what you buy, it will be all things you love. "There is nothing wrong with a home showing that people exist in it! Beautiful things should be seen," says Rosetta.

She adds, "I often sit at our table having my breakfast, looking around at the things we have collected and just feel so much appreciation, and I know my mum does the same in their home."

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