DNA tests have become an increasingly popular Christmas gift for those eager to find out if they have a bit of Viking blood, some Irish ancestry, or a distant connection to some exotic location. The wonderful BBC Sounds series The Gift presents the other side of these tests and their often-unintended consequences: sisters who turned out to be mothers; friends who turned out to be relatives; and new brothers and sisters who turned up, all around the world.

The period just after Christmas when the results roll in has been referred to as “Sibling Season” or for those more pleasantly surprised than shocked to their core, as their “Christmas Bonus”. If you’re wondering what on earth this has to do with Katherine Atkinson’s extraordinary house, bear with whilst I stretch this analogy, but suffice to say that every addition that Katherine has made to this glorious home feels like they’re welcoming a new member to their family.

Most houses tell you very little about the owners because this is rarely how they reveal themselves. Most settle for a neutral colour palette, practical, contemporary furniture, and a design aesthetic borrowed from IKEA, or maybe Heals if you’re lucky. Very few houses wear their hearts on their sleeves quite like the Old Forge does. Katherine hasn’t so much designed a home with a vintage feel – it’s more like the house has evolved in her image. Her DNA is present in every detail.

Old furniture is hunted down on Facebook Marketplace, with the same excitement and enthusiasm that you might track down an estranged but interesting cousin, who’s living in some remote and distant town. Once safely secured this furniture is then welcomed into their life, like a long lost relative. Katherine isn’t just decorating their home; she’s bringing together a family of fabrics and furniture, textures and colours. She has cleverly made this eclectic mix look serendipitous and organic, when in fact, it’s all very considered and quite deliberate.

In interior design terms, this is referred to as the “red thread”, a phrase borrowed from the Scandinavian den røde tråd, meaning a clear, continuous theme that ties a space together. It’s about coherence; the story that your home is telling. For some that might be a spacious and glamorous place to party or entertain. For others it might be a family home centred in the kitchen, and around cooking and eating together. Or it could be a home with no airs or graces, where everyone can be themselves.

But practicalities aside, the real story of a house is how it makes you feel. How colours and materials, form and style, can create a mood. When your home feels calm, intentional, and “just works”, then it has a “red thread”, and the Old Forge certainly has that.
Katherine’s colour palette draws from spring and autumn, and as a result the Old Forge is joyful and optimistic like spring, and yet at the same time warm and comforting like autumn. The house is playful, witty, and fun: just look at the fabulous wallpapers from Ottoline and Mini Moderns.

And it definitely doesn’t take itself too seriously either: witness the magnificent Tiki Bar and husband Tom’s collection of Tiki mugs in their conservatory. The flying ducks on the wall behind the bar will make you smile too.
But the Old Forge is also traditional, deferential, and sincere – you can see that in the way that Katherine has lovingly re-covered footstools, re-upholstered chairs, and rescued, and revived, the fabulous G-Plan dining chairs that now sit around her bespoke dining table. “I love the simplicity and elegance of midcentury design,” she says.

Last year, Katherine finally had the chance to create her dream kitchen and dining space. Walls were knocked down and the room was opened up. Pluck provided the vintage-style kitchen, including an island with hob and downward extractor, the pipework for which had to be taken underground. It’s a wonderfully modern addition that illustrates Katherine’s love of function, not just form. Something that extends to her deep affection for her G-Plan dining chairs. They aren’t just there because they look nice – they are a pleasure to sit on too.

With this space expanded, there was now room for a big dining table that could seat friends and extended family. The perfect dining table can be hard to find, so one of Katherine’s great indulgences was to get hers made, bespoke from walnut, by Hardman Designs. It is a thing of beauty and, texturally and visually, works well with the teak furniture that’s close by.
Katherine already had six of these lovely, curved back dining chairs but was on the lookout for two more, which Facebook Marketplace duly found for her in Margate, and that she then collected on her way to a Libertines gig in the town.

Although they’re made by G-Plan, these dining chairs are not a style that you see very often, so this discovery was particularly satisfying. If you share Katherine’s love of midcentury design, then try and track down a copy of The G-Plan Revolution by Basil Hyman and Steven Braggs. “I think there is something so pleasing about a midcentury sideboard,” she smiles.
Katherine puts a lot of love, thought, and a great deal of care into upcycling and repurposing numerous pieces of furniture – like the bureau that became a drinks cabinet – making them feel part of the family, which in turn makes this home what it is.

Katherine’s design aesthetic, together with her passion and authenticity, are why more than 58,000 people follow her Instagram account that details her transformation of the Old Forge. She is definitely one to follow.
You can see her love and respect for tradition and family connections in the art that fills the walls. Katherine’s grandmother was a keen photographer, who entered her photos in competitions.

Amongst the collage of pictures in the principal bedroom is a wonderful landscape photograph of the Lake District, taken from one of their annual family walking holidays. The painting of the swans brings back fond childhood memories from its time in her mother’s bedroom, whilst the primroses were painted by a beloved great aunt. As for the sunflower, well that’s just big, bold, and happy. The vintage art sits well next to the linocut prints by contemporary artists like Clare Curtis, Angela Harding and Maidstone’s Judith Westrup.

Like most things in this house, Katherine’s art is very personal, reverential, and always a lot of fun. Although Katherine’s son may not 100% agree with the last point. On a family trip to Aldeburgh, Katherine and husband Tom bought the seascape picture that adorns the wall with the yellow wallpaper. After underestimating the size of picture and overestimating the space in their car, they soon realised they would struggle to drive it back, so her son kindly offered to get the train home to Kent!

“If I’ve decorated a room and there aren’t any plants in it, I don’t think it looks finished,” says Katherine. The vintage look that she has mastered so expertly extends to the greenery that completes each room. Monsteras have a Retro look that is very much in keeping with the rest of the house. They bring a softness, as well a calming hue, whilst their shadows give off a real 60s vibe. If you’re a plant lover like Katherine, you may well share her view that some plants like you and others don’t. Alocasias being one of the latter. Katherine convinces me that Calatheas are divas, but that they are with everyone, so that’s something she can live with.

You’d expect a house with this much style and character, to have its own soundtrack – one based on a really cool record collection. And so, it proves. Music is an important part of the family’s lives and that of the house. Katherine is a 90s indie kid at heart – the concert tickets and her extensive Converse collection, arranged in rainbow colour order like a piece of wall art in her office, give that away.

Music is a passion she now shares with her children, that peaked last year with trips to see Pulp, and Oasis at Wembley.
To create a house this stylish and with so much personality takes a keen eye, and a commitment to constantly improve and update. Katherine is on permanent lookout for more. Consequently, the algorithms on Facebook Marketplace, Vinted and eBay understand her design DNA.

They know what she’s looking for. And they regularly connect her to vintage furniture, fabrics and homeware that will soon become part of not just the Old Forge but her family too. They are to her what Ancestry.com is to those looking to connect with their past and bring newfound joy to their future.

Address Book:
Follow Katherine’s Instagram
@theoldforgeincolour
Bespoke dining table: hardmandesigns.com
Kitchen: pluck.co.uk
Lino cut artists: clarecurtis.co.uk / angelaharding.co.uk / judithwestrup.com
Wallpaper: ottoline.co.uk / minimoderns.com