Meet the Expert

Sally Wilkie, creative director of Home Barn in Marlow, Buckinghamshire

I run Home Barn with my sisterin-law, Sarah.

We’re married to brothers and have known each other for over 20 years. Our love of vintage began when we were doing up houses and used to swap pictures of things we liked.

In the early 2000s I was working in Ohio as a fashion designer.

At local ea markets I discovered American vintage – decorative tin tiles, quilts and grain sacks – a style that has always been part of our look. A er returning to the UK in 2009, we toyed with the idea of opening a shop, a creative yet exible business to combine with having young children.

We came across a great location

– an old tithe barn that had a farm shop and a butcher’s on site, and convinced the farmer that an interiors shop would draw more customers. The space was used ABOVE A salvaged timber dining table, £1,050. BELOW A deconstructed armchair, £420, both Home Barn. for storing tractors and we had to clear everything out ourselves.

Our style has evolved over the years

and we work with local artisans making ranges such as our salvaged timber dining tables. We divide the shop into room sets so customers can imagine things in their own homes. We change accessories such as cushions and china seasonally, to bring a fashionable edge to the vintage and antique pieces we stock.

There’s never a typical week.

We’re open seven days and either Sarah or I are on hand. Some days I’ll be out sourcing – we go to all the interiors shows and make four buying trips to France each year and America too. Other times I might be taking photos for the website or styling up a room set.