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News
by Erdem Gorgun on Nov 21, 2019
THE HOMESPUN BEAUTY AND HISTORY OF ANTIQUE FRENCH LINENS CHARMED THIS VERMONT HOMEOWNER, WHO USED THEM TO CRAFT HER HOMEโS UNIQUE DECORโAND HER HER LIVELIHOOD.
WHEN WENDY LEWIS HAD HER SON, ETHAN, AND 18 months later her daughter, Innogen, she was overcome with such a profound feeling of love that she vowed to surround them with beauty and history. But the photographer and amateur genealogist didnโt know precisely how she would express her love tangibly until she pulled a piece of 18th-century printed cotton from a pile of textiles at an antiques store in the French countryside. โIt was as if the heavens opened up with an answer,โ Wendy says. โIt was the most beautiful thing Iโd ever seen other than my children. I thought, This is it. What do I have to do to be involved in this?โ Today, as the owner of Textile Trunk, Wendy works from her home in Charlotte, Vermont, and imports thousands of vintage French textiles every year then sells them online or at the Brimfield (Massachusetts) Antique Show. Ethan is 17 and Innogen is 15, and they eat breakfast on chairs covered in antique grain sacks marked with the logos of poppy and millet farmers. They wipe their hands on 18th-century napkins. โItโs normal for them,โ Wendy says. โThey take for granted that they are surrounded by some of the most beautiful art in the world. And I love that I can give them that.โ She found the historic structure that would showcase her livelihood and her passion in a Federal-style house that dates to 1790. The houseโs tall windows and high ceilings felt like the French interiors she was familiar with while living in Europe for 12 years, although it hardly looked like a showcase of anything except 1980s wallpaper. โThe bathroom had blue metallic ducks on the walls, and every room was so dark,โ she says. โBut I knew I could bring it back to neutral.โ Once Wendy stripped the wallpaper and painted the walls chalky white, ecru, and grayโshades picked from the backgrounds of her favorite textilesโthe light poured in. She also painstakingly brightened some of the floors during a week when the kids went to camp. โI got my kneepads out, took a bucket of water and added linen-colored paint to it, swished it around, and then went for it,โ she says.
It took about two years for Wendy to get the house to be what she wanted because sheโs deliberate and methodicalโand very hands-on. She scraped the orange paint off the glass of a salvaged door she found in Philadelphia then installed it in her dining room. A single light bulb hung from the ceiling of her bathroom for five years until she found the exact antique milkglass fixture she envisioned. โIf itโs not right, itโs not going in my house,โ she says. โI would rather have nothing than something that I think doesnโt belong.โ The thrill of the hunt is also a strong motivator. โItโs easy to order something new from a catalog, but knowing Iโve found something imbued with history that may be one in a million gives me a tremendous amount of joy,โ she says. The house is essentially a canvas for her rotating, expanding collection. โI wanted my textiles to be the show,โ she says. โWhatever I wantโblue this month or linen next monthโ they drop onto this stage.โ An old ladder propped against the bathroom wall is an obvious easel, but she also changes up the linens that drape her sofa, bed, and dining table. Although she sometimes sews pillow covers from pieces, most textiles are kept in their original condition and hung or draped in a temporary fashion. Her curtains are antique linen bed sheets that she simply clips to the rods. Wendy curates her private collection, pieces of which fill the weathered cupboards tucked around the house. โThey are the pieces that fascinate me,โ she says. โMaybe I want to know more about their origin. Or maybe theyโre ones I want to use on the changing stage of my house.โ Most of the antique linens she imports are offered to customers. Whether itโs through online interactions or in person at antiques shows, Wendy delights in seeing the look of wonder that once crossed her face in France decades ago. โAll of the stories of my customers now become part of the history of these textiles,โ she says.
News
by Erdem Gorgun on Nov 20, 2019
A cramped and crumbling 1840s English cottage bursts back to life once it falls into the right hands.
AT ONE POINT IN TIME, THIS COTTAGE housed factory workers. At another, squatters staked a claim to the abandoned structure. When Justin Capp bought it in 1998, it was the home of a 102-year-old opera singer. Justin, a chef and leather artist, easily recounts the history of the houseโhe grew up next door to it in a Northamptonshire County village in the United Kingdom. โIโm a local lad so I knew the place all my life,โ he says. โWhen it came up for sale, it was a low price because of its sorry condition, and I bought it.โ Justin put his artisan skills to workโpulling in his father, mother, and brotherโand together they replaced rotting floorboards, replastered the walls to a clean white, and reworked fireplaces. When he met eventual partner Angelos Bratis, an international fashion designer, the home took a modern turn. โIt leaned more rustic and traditional English in style,โ Angelos says. โI introduced color and modern design objects to the house.โ Now the home has an international flairโmuch like the men themselves, who also have a home in Angelosโ native Greece. Here, clean-lined 1950s Italian upholstery and lighting mix easily with the English antiques Justin has rescued over the years. Pops of blue inspired by the Aegean Sea brighten rich, natural woods. Items discovered during travels, such as vintage Moroccan rugs, visually bridge the styles.
News
by Erdem Gorgun on Nov 19, 2019
Auckland-based owner of homeware store Collected, stylist and pilot LeeAnn Yare talks us through her boysโ bedroom makeovers.
When we moved into our Sandringham bungalow, Tyler (now 11) was a toddler, and Dylan (now 10) was just a week old. The house was a sea of beige, so I quickly took charge and decorated their rooms in a playful way appropriate to their age. But after a decade of accumulating stuff and the general wear and tear that kidsโ spaces are subjected to, it was time for a makeover to ensure their rooms reflect their personalities as they move into their teenage years. This time round, Tyler and Dylan basically designed their own spaces, with a little guidance from me. Dylanโs more into colour and chose a bold, fun half-and-half scheme, whereas Tyler wanted something a bit more grown-up. We were working to a budget, so needed to carefully choose what to keep and what to ditch, and work out how what was being reused fitted with their overall looks. The nine-to-11 age bracket is a really good time to do this because at this stage theyโre developing their own tastes and sense of style, and becoming more responsible for looking after their own belongings. We went through everything, including clothes, books and toys, and sold and freecycled so much stuff. Every single thing that went back into the boysโ rooms was considered first. They decided to swap their blinds because they worked better size-wise, and agreed that the colour schemes of their existing rooms actually suited each other instead. Tylerโs world map mural involved a stay-or-go discussion, but it made the cut, so he chose his wall colour to match some of the countries. The boys are growing fast, so new beds were at the top of the list, meaning the vintage hospital beds theyโd had since they were babies (which I found for $75 a pop on Trade Me) sadly had to go. We replaced them with supersupportive Sealy beds; opting for king singles gave them more room and meant we could keep our collection of single duvet covers and just buy new sheets. Storage was key. I find low drawer storage on castors to be really practical, and it handily fits below windows, too. Dylanโs room has never had a wardrobe, so my husband Glen built him one. He turned to Google and looked at friendsโ houses, then drew it up and built it from leftover materials we had lying around, and had sliding doors and a wardrobe inner built and fitted. We swapped the boysโ recessed lights for some much more attractive round white ones that almost disappear into the ceiling. Choosing designs that fit into the original cut-outs made the process easy and cheap, yet they make a real difference aesthetically. The topic of carpet required a family conference over a box of samples; all four of us had to agree because we were carpeting our master bedroom as well. In the end, Dylan and I came up with a really convincing argument to get our favourite colour and style across the line! This project was something the boys and I enjoyed doing together, but ultimately they chose what they wanted, including some pieces from other rooms in the house. Weโve now instated a one-in-one-out policy, so weโll see how that goes.
News
by Erdem Gorgun on Nov 18, 2019
Once a chaotic student house, Kibi Wrightโs elegant home is now the perfect setting for peaceful celebrations with family and friends
Call me Mother Christmas โ itโs what Iโm known as around here,โ says Kibi Wright as she welcomes you into her house on one of Bristolโs Georgian terraces. Candy pink and adorned with a silver wreath, the door stands out among its more sober neighbours. Inside, the festive theme continues with candles, garlands, baubles and a vertigo-inducing tree glowing with fairy lights in the elegant first-floor sitting room. When Kibi and her late husband Mark first viewed the house in 2001, they needed all the power of their imaginations to see how it could work as a home for them and their two children, Eliza and Oli. โIt had been used as student accommodation,โ says Kibi, โso there were four kitchens and all the main rooms had been divided.โ NEW CHAPTER Despite wanting to restore the house to its original layout, the couple still had to get permission to turn it back into a single home as it had been listed as flats in the Seventies. The restoration took six months, with a few horrors uncovered along the way. โThe builders discovered a carjack holding up a beam in the attic. That meant the roof had to be redone, which wasnโt something we had factored in.โ Fortunately, all the original features, including fireplaces, cornicing and shutters, had been preserved, albeit hidden behind stud walls and fire doors. โOnce they were uncovered and restored, the whole house had a completely different feel,โ remembers Kibi. Having waited patiently for the building work to be completed, Kibi was finally able to turn her attention to the decoration. โIt seemed like quite a grand house after our old flat, so I wanted an elegant scheme in keeping with its origins,โ she says. ELEGANCE REIGNS Today, classic Farrow & Ball-painted walls sit alongside more extravagant papered walls, while antique pieces seem perfectly at ease next to contemporary designs. โI have no problem with mixing things up,โ says Kibi, who draws a lot of inspiration from her travels. โI saw the most beautiful etched-glass door at a parfumerie in Paris and wondered how I could recreate it at home.โ She picked up two glazed doors at a local reclamation yard and enlisted an artist to design and etch them in a similar style. โIโm so pleased with them as I wanted a thoroughly glamorous and indulgent bathroom where I could disappear occasionally to escape the family hubbub!โ Overthe years, the house has adapted to a growing family, which now includes Hector,14, and Oscar,12. Mark passed away in 2017 and the family are adjusting to life without him. โI did wonderif we should move, especially now the oldest two are at university,โsays Kibi, โbut this house has been such a haven for us, as well as holding so many memories, that it wouldnโt be right to leave.
News
by Erdem Gorgun on Nov 16, 2019
Sallyann Cox used her creative talents to extend a small bungalow and make the most of the delightful coastal views.
Idonโt want to live in a bungalow โ Iโm not ready for that!โ was interior decorator, stylist and maker Sallyann Coxโs reaction when her husband R ichard suggested it. It was back when the couple were regularly spending a few months at a time sailing around Greece and knew a lock-up-andleave home would fit the bill. The idea became a sad necessity, however, when Richard was diagnosed with motor neurone disease and had to use a wheelchair. โWeโd looked at so many places, none of which were suitable,โ remembers Sallyann. Finally, and with no real enthusiasm, she went to see a small, two-bedroom bungalow almost untouched for nearly 50 years and had a change of heart. โDuring the viewing, I walked into the cluttered garage and noticed a tiny window on the side โ one glimpse at the view and I realised there was so much untapped potential here,โ she recalls. The house itself had effectively been built facing away from ever-changing views across fields to the Salcombe-Kingsbridge estuary much beloved by the couple. โI knew that by doing some rejigging to the garage, I would be able to make a special place where Richard could enjoy sitting and watching the ebb and flow of the tides, and the boats down on the water โ it would be a nourishing environment.โ In the end, Richard was not able to move in as his illness progressed quickly, but, after his death, Sallyann decided to continue with their plans. โIt was very hard to be there without him and, for the first couple of years, I didnโt do much at all apart from replacing the bedroom window with French doors onto a little balcony; I had a constant need to get outside rather than be cooped up, so opening up the house as much as I could became a priority.โ Two years later, when she felt able, Sallyann began work on the rest of the house. The garage and carport were demolished and replaced with a sleek extension. โI knew I wanted an open-plan space where I could cook, eat and relax,โ she says. The original rooms were reorganised making an extra bedroom and guest bathroom, as well as a large, bright hall where Sallyann makes lighting and mirrors from items she salvages on nearby beaches. โIโve always been drawn to the sea, whether living on it or near it and Iโm always out collecting all manner of things!โ Her creative eye has also been used on the interiors. โIโve designed and decorated shops and restaurants in the past, invariably in vivid colours with a Mediterranean influence, but in this house, Iโve been more restrained with lots of neutrals. I decided to think of it as a blank canvas that I could add to or remove from if I felt like a change.โ There are still pops of colour evident in the soft furnishings and the odd wild wallpaper and vintage find. โI used to have a lot more furniture and general โstuffโ but we sold practically everything when we went off sailing. I had to start again which is surprisingly cathartic, if expensive!โ Renovating the house also proved to be a turning point. โIt was completed in nine months and I barely had time to think about much else as there were so many decisions to be made but it was good to engage with something,โ she says. So has Sallyann been converted to bungalow life? โI actually feel really lucky to live here,โ she says. โThe house makes for such easy living and with beautiful views, too โ itโs an absolute privilege.
News
by Erdem Gorgun on Nov 15, 2019
Geri OโToole and Cathal Glynn pooled their skills to turn a derelict cottage into a bright family home.
Design is in Geri OโTooleโs DNA. Her father set up a furniture retailer in Limerick named Browsers, which Geri runs today, and her late mother was an interior designer for the business. Geriโs childhood was steeped in swatches, mood boards, antiques and fortuitous saleroom finds. โI used to work in the shop during the holidays. I just loved being there,โ says Geri, who now also runs her own interior design business, Geri Designs, from the shop. She found her match in her husband Cathal Glynn, a joiner whose skills proved useful when the couple bought a ramshackle, single-storey cottage in Castletroy five years ago. โMountshannon House was built in the 18th century and burned down in the Twenties. Our house was built on the estate after the fire,โ explains Geri. โThe property was derelict when we first saw it. But we like a challenge, so we bought it.โ The couple โ who have a four-year-old son, Finley โ have transformed the house, knocking through to create an open-plan kitchen-diner/living area on the ground floor. They extended up to the roof space to create an additional floor with two bedrooms and a bathroom. โWe didnโt need planning permission because we stuck with the original footprint,โ says Geri. Instead of adding a third bedroom upstairs, Geri reconfigured the floor plan to include a vaulted ceiling, adding unexpected drama to the living area downstairs. She designed the new staircase using urban materials that contrast with the wide oak beam, salvaged from a hotel in Cork owned by Geriโs father, and exposed brick walls, which lend a rustic warmth to the area. โI wanted to balance the clean lines and modernity with natural materials โ I donโt like too much perfection,โ says Geri. Cathal made sash windows using the original weights, and the existing brick fireplace downstairs was restored. โWe tried to preserve as much of the old building as possible. I love these original features; they give the house soul,โ says Geri. An understated palette underpins the calm, light feel of the home. Monochrome tranquillity abounds upstairs, where a roll-top bath sits against walls papered in a motif of swirling clouds. โI love the way the wallpaper makes me feel as though Iโm floating up on high.โ The pale backdrop is warmly sprinkled with antiques and heirlooms gathered by Geri and Cathal over the years. Silvered mirrors illuminate the sitting area, soft Persian rugs adorn the floors, and modern artworks by Irish artists, such as Markey Robinson, enhance the rooms. โThe way we decorate has changed so much. People used to stick to one look, but nowadays weโre more open to mixing and matching,โ says Geri. Nearby, a set of dilapidated outbuildings are in need of attention. Geri and Cathal have various ideas: the barns might become a holiday rental, or a workshop. Whatever their decision, one thing is clear: a transformation is in store.
News
by Erdem Gorgun on Nov 14, 2019
Magnus Pettersen and Ella Jones gave a tired Victorian property a contemporary twist with a clever use of vibrant colours and natural materials.
When Magnus Pettersen and Ella Jones upsized from a small modern townhouse to a larger London property, they were looking for a project. The couple, who met 10 years ago, had completed three renovations before buying this three-bedroom Victorian terrace. โIts converted loft, extended kitchen and big garden were huge draws for us,โ explains Ella. They also loved the location on a tree-lined road. โItโs very peaceful and close to lots of green space,โ she adds. Used for shared occupancy for years, the house was severely neglected, with strippedout period features and a confused groundfloor layout. โThere was a bathroom in the middle of the sitting room,โ Ella recalls. Magnus is an award-winning product designer and Ella is a fashion designer working for global brands, so they brought a strong creative vision to reimagine the property. They lived on-site throughout the year-long renovation, acting as interior designers and project managers. Magnus and Ella worked alongside their builders, who were also able to complete all of the carpentry to a high standard. Knocking down the internal walls at ground level turned small rooms into bright, open-plan living spaces. The couple were keen to lay concrete flooring, so they dropped the floor level at the front of the house to meet the kitchen, where there had been a step down. They also moved the kitchen units and added double doors out to the garden and a skylight window above. To fit the supporting beam for the window, they had to move the staircase. โThe old stairs were rickety and falling to bits,โ explains Ella. So the couple designed a new staircase for the builders to make. โThey also made the kitchen unit doors that we planned to look more like furniture than a fitted kitchen,โ explains Ella. Keen travellers Magnus and Ella have filled their home with treasures from their trips and many of their interior ideas come from abroad. Throughout, beautiful Moroccan rugs add warmth and texture. The rugs are all from Ellaโs extensive collection, which she sells in her east London shop, A New Tribe. A visit to Japan in 2017 influenced their design of the wood and reeded glass partitions that partially divide the kitchen and sitting room, while also framing the area by the front door where the hallway originally stood. โThe reeded glass panels are a nod to mid-century open-plan homes and create a subtle division with a lighter effect than solid walls,โ says Ella. Inspired by the Swiss-French architect, Le Corbusier, the couple planned their colour palette using his Colour System, where every hue can be combined. The vivid blue wall in the kitchen-diner helps to zone the space and contrasts with the earthy neutrals, greys and blacks used elsewhere. On the first floor, they turned a bedroom into a bathroom, removing the ceiling to fit a pitched roof and adding a large window. The bathroom walls were finished with the tadelakt-style lime-based plaster typical of Moroccan bathrooms, and the pair designed a reeded glass shower screen to echo the ground-floor partitions. โCompletely transforming a property is so satisfying,โ Ella says. โBut it was such hard work. Next year weโre planning a holiday instead.
News
by Erdem Gorgun on Nov 13, 2019
Victoria Gedgeโs goal was to preserve her homeโs history while making it practical for modern living.
The one thing Victoria Gedge noticed when she viewed her future home for the first time was its smell. โI said: โWe must buy it, because it smells like a National Trust propertyโ,โ she says. โMy husband Dale replied: โDamp is what you can smell,โ but I was sold.โ They were looking to upsize after their wedding in 2013, as their current home could no longer provide enough storage to suit their needs. The couple were keen to remain in the same area of Norwich, but were on the hunt for a house with three bedrooms and a hallway entrance. โThe type of property we had in mind isnโt hard to come across in Norwich, however there werenโt many within our price bracket,โ says Victoria. โEach one we viewed required a compromise of either size or location, until โ unbelievably โ we found our dream home right around the corner for an affordable price. It seemed too good to be true.โ Victoria and Dale made an offer the very same day, but it had already been sold. Disappointed and disheartened, they put their search on hold and even considered a loft conversion in their current home instead, but the universe had other plans for them. โBy chance, we were walking along a tiny one-way street near the city centre one day and saw a โFor Saleโ sign poking out of the bush in a front garden,โ Victoria recalls. โWe went straight on Rightmove to see the price, but it was way over our budget. We viewed it anyway, and I fell completely in love with it.โ Dale needed a little more convincing, though the promise of a games room in the cellar sealed the deal, and after some negotiating they managed to secure the house. But the excitement โ or, more accurately, drama โ was far from over. Victoria and Dale moved in just before Christmas to no double glazing and just a smattering of radiators. โI remember being completely freezing while wrapping gifts, and using candles to try and heat the living room,โ says Victoria. The house required seemingly endless work, and being Grade II listed only made matters more complicated. Consent was required for many a project to begin, while some renovations were off the cards altogether. The chimney, which Victoria had planned to restore in order to install a log burner, was a gust of wind away from collapsing onto the roof, and a leaking tap in the upstairs bathroom saw the entire room and ground floor hallway flooded. By far the biggest challenge was renovating the cellar. To solve its damp issues, the couple decided to get the room tanked, but despite being given the go-ahead in advance, a conservation officer โ who turned up at the house unannounced after the procedure โ informed them that they needed to apply for listed building consent, which would see work put on hold for six weeks. โDuring that time we had some extreme rain and the tanking failed,โ says Victoria. โThe new floors had wet patches and the plaster was soaking, but the company completely washed their hands of it. I think my tears could have flooded the rest of the house.โ With basement woes eventually resolved and an extension underway that meant rejigging their brand newkitchen, Victoria took on the master bedroom. โAs I was deciding on what to do with the floor and furniture, Dale was flying out to Sierra Leone as an NHS medic to assist with the Ebola crisis,โ she recalls. โI decided that I could at least have the bedroom completed for when he returned.โ Friends and family popped by to pick up a paintbrush and pour cups of tea, and the room quickly came together. Restoring their charming home has been a labour of love, and while the house isnโt quite finished, it has a whole new identity that is classic in style and sympathetic to its history. Plus, both Victoria and Dale adore it. โA house which throws as many curveballs as this one could test any relationship, but weโve laughed and cried our way through the renovations together, and have come out the other side still as happy as we were when we purchased it,โ says Victoria.
News
by Erdem Gorgun on Nov 11, 2019
Elisabeth and Aldo Ciarrocchiโs inviting family home makes the most of its industial heritage.
Elisabeth and Aldo Ciarrocchiโs daughter Isabella, now 11, was a toddler when they began house hunting, and Elisabeth was pregnant with their younger daughter Piera, now eight. โWe were living in small flat not far away, and all we knew was that we needed something larger for our family,โ says Elisabeth. โWe both liked the idea of warehouse-style living and as soon as we walked in here, we fell in love with it.โ When the Ciarrocchis got the keys to the property, it was desperately in need of some TLC. โThe ground floor was covered in laminate and there was a basketball hoop hanging from one of the posts,โ Elisabeth reveals. โThe kitchen was cluttered with wall cabinets and it had a low bulkhead ceiling to accommodate the sunken bath in the bathroom above.โ After moving in nine years ago, and replacing the flooring throughout with reclaimed wooden floorboards sourced from Crosby Hall in Londonโs Cheyne Walk, the couple delayed renovations until 2016. โIt was important for us to live in the space first, so that we could discover the best way it would work for us,โ says Elisabeth, who together with Aldo, runs reclamation business Encore Reclamation. In this time, they tried to find an architect who would assimilate their ideas. โWe met with five architects,โ says Elisabeth. โThey were all great, but one in particular seemed to really listen and understood that we wanted to keep things simple, plus he is local, which was handy when it came to picking up samples. When we were ready to start work, we had a very clear idea of what we wanted, so the internal design became a real collaborative effort.โ The layout of the large double-height living space didnโt change, but has been made more flexible. In conjunction with Space Group Architects, Elisabeth designed the kitchen peninsular unit so that it could be moved around to work as an island when she fancied a change of scene, and when the space needed to be opened up for entertaining. The dining table was put on wheels for the same reason. On the first floor, the walls were pushed back to widen the mezzanine, and the vast bathroom was divided into two to create an en suite to the childrenโs bedroom. The internal windows within each room that open on to the mezzanine were also repositioned and widened to draw in more light. The budget was tight, but Elisabethโs desire to retain the buildingโs factory feel helped keep costs down. โI like the unfinished look,โ she says. โWhenever the builders wanted to put the finishing touches on something, I told them not to. I didnโt want anything to look sleek and polished.โ She also applied these design principles to the kitchen units. โAs the builders were running behind schedule, they fitted the kitchen door fronts temporarily, for Christmas,โ she explains. โThe plan was to take them off and paint them later. But once they were fitted in their pure MDF moistureresistant state, and finished with shellac we liked how they looked. The kitchen fitter thought I was crazy, but heโs grown to like the style, too, and is fitting similar kitchens elsewhere!โ When it came to furnishing the property, most of the vintage pieces were sourced from eBay, and Elisabeth and Aldo also picked up bits and pieces from car-boot sales and through their reclamation work. Now that the renovation is finished, the couple are delighted that their vision for the apartment has become a reality. โWe really wouldnโt have done anything differently,โ says Elisabeth. โItโs perfect for us as a family.
News
by Erdem Gorgun on Nov 09, 2019
Emma Hatfield Watkinsโ use of a subtle palette and thoughtful touches brought the character back to her elegant, much-loved 18th-century property.
When Emma Hatfield Watkinsโ husband, Iain, was a teenager and mowing his neighbourโs lawn to earn pocket money, he never imagined that, one day, he would buy the house heโd often admired from across the garden. Over the years, the property, which is surrounded by barns, has witnessed a number of reincarnations. โDuring the Seventies, an occupant sold the house and moved into one of the barns which theyโd converted,โ explains Emma. โThe surrounding garden was then divided up between the two owners.โ In the late Eighties, Iainโs family bought that barn and he converted the adjoining stables into his first home. When Emma and Iain got together in 2004, she moved into the stables with Iain. Captivated by the tranquillity and charm of this idyllic, rural location, a year later, when the pair discovered that the adjacent house was on the market, the news instantly piqued their interest. โAlthough the stables were great, we needed more space,โ says Emma. โThis was a chance to bring both gardens back into the same family and own a wonderful home, while living close to Iainโs parents.โ Having dug deep, Emma, an interior designer who owns Hattie Hatfield Decorative Antiques & Interiors, and tree surgeon Iain, bought the property. โAlthough the house was lovely, most of the original fireplaces had been blocked up during the Seventies, and, somehow, with all the changes that had occurred over the years, it seemed to have lost its sense of identity,โ says Emma. Keen to inject the house with the character and soul they felt was lacking, the couple began their sensitive restoration project. The first room to be updated was the Nineties kitchen. โWe replaced the dark ceramic floor tiles with limestone flooring, which we continued into the hall to give a sense of cohesion and lighten the spaces,โ explains Emma. Iain removed a small gas fire in the kitchen and spent weeks painstakingly building a stone fireplace from scratch. โThis was the first of five previously bricked-up fireplaces to be reinstated,โ says Emma. Not long after the kitchen was finished, the pair were forced to turn their attention to the bedrooms. โOne day, I walked in to hear the sound of gushing water and, on closer inspection, found that a header tank in the loft was overflowing,โ says Emma. โThe carpets in two of the bedrooms and landing were soaked. โFortunately, I caught the problem before the water ruined the new kitchen and, luckily, only the ceiling in that room was damaged.โ Once the repair work was completed, Emma was able to focus on the decor for the bedrooms. โI felt warm, muted colours would work well to create a calm, relaxed feel, so I chose a subdued palette with lots of layering to inject depth and interest,โ she says. Over the years, the pair have poured their hearts into creating a home full of antiques. โIain has turned his hand to everything from the plumbing and electrics to building work,โ says Emma. The house has constantly evolved, particularly since the arrival of Tillia, now nine, and Tobias, now seven. โWhen the children came along, Iain turned an annexe into a snug and added a home office,โ says Emma. This hard-working coupleโs devotion to their restoration has culminated in an exquisite home thatโs welcoming and sophisticated yet family friendly. โIain and I feel incredibly privileged to play even a small part in its rich history,โ says Emma. โItโs wonderful to see the children running carefree across the lawns with our dog, Hattie. It was clearly a great investment of Iainโs time all those years ago.
News
by Erdem Gorgun on Nov 06, 2019
WEATHERBOARD WALLS AND WHITEWASHED INTERIORS HAVE BREATHED NEW LIFE INTO A FIFTIES HOUSE, TRANSFORMING IT INTO A RELAXED COUNTRY HOME WITH AN EAST COAST FEEL.
With its weatherboard cladding, peak-roofed dormer windows and Atlantic grey exterior paint, this house would look at home in a New England town on Americaโs East Coast. In fact, itโs tucked down a narrow track in a hamlet in the heart of the Chiltern Hills, close to Marlow and with views across open countryside. Itโs home to Sue and Tony Blakeley, who spotted it three years ago when property renovation expert Sue was looking for a new project. โWeโve lived in the Buckinghamshire countryside since our boys โ who are both adults now โ were tiny,โ says Sue. โOur previous five renovations became family homes that we lived in over three decades. When we saw this house, with its paddock, the location and views were a big attraction.โ Inside, the decor was very dated, with dark brown carpets, lino floors and exposed brick walls. Still, Sue could see the houseโs potential. It was a huge project that she had to fit in around her work commitments. โWe lived through all the changes, escaping to our bolthole in France whenever it became too manic!โ Over the next three years, Sue reconfigured the layout and project managed the build. Plans involved knocking through three reception rooms to create a spacious 100sq m kitchen-diner, which is filled with light from four double doors at opposite sides of the space, crafted by a local joinery company. Sue and Tony also created a snug at the far end, in place of the double garage that previously adjoined the kitchen. โThe butcherโs block came from our lovely local butcher Nick, who was refurbishing his shop in West Wycombe at the time,โ says Sue. โI had the island custom-made out of quartz stone, so itโs the same width as the butchers block, and Iโm a big fan of Neptuneโs pantry cupboards. โThere was a lot of wasted space in the loft, so we took the roof off and put in dormer windows on both sides to maximise the beautiful countryside views where there previously werenโt any,โ adds Sue. โThis helped create the New England style, together with an insulated and weatherboard cladding exterior. Parts have also been rendered and painted grey, and we used reclaimed tiles and bricks to create a more aged appearance.โ In the living room, a wood burner, wall of books and walls painted in a dramatic punch of colour, with soft pink throws and scatter cushions, create a warm atmosphere. Upstairs, Sue chose a soothing, neutral backdrop for the bedrooms, adding pops of colour with accessories and furnishings. โIโve always loved the colour grey, itโs a calm tone to live with and Iโm known for using a lot of it in my projects,โ says Sue. โIโm inspired by classic English design and French influences and I feel passionate about breathing new life into beautiful old buildings or neglected properties.โ The garden was largely a blank slate when they arrived, with a few raised timber beds and an overgrown field at the rear. Sue has designed a traditional parterre garden at the front, with clipped box hedging, box balls and olive trees. โThe front is a lovely spot to sit and enjoy a coffee or a G&T as it catches the last of the evening sun,โ she says. The raised lawn area near the orchard and paddock at the rear is surrounded by mature trees and open countryside. Here, Sue has designed an alfresco dining area, with a Big Green Egg barbecue, lanterns and furniture from her own garden collection. Sue and Tony also enjoy spending downtime at their holiday home in the Dordogne, where Sue is fond of attending local brocantes to hunt out French-style pieces for her projects and her home. But, despite her busy work schedule, Sue always finds time to enjoy her own home and garden with friends and family. โWhat Iโve really loved about this project is that Iโve been able to install so many sets of glazed doors to bring the outside in.
News
by Erdem Gorgun on Nov 04, 2019
Patrick Overwijk has bravely juxtaposed the period features of his 18th-century home with bold mid-century design.
Seventies-inspired Versace wallpaper, bold lighting composed of oversized lightbulbs, and a porcelain cactus that borders on kitsch may not be what immediately springs to mind when you imagine the interior of an 18th-century Dutch townhouse. Itโs exactly these surprising elements though, that make this family home so exciting. While most people would almost automatically team a breathtaking rococo ceiling (thought to be one of the most detailed in the region) with ornate, heavy antiques of the same period, the owners of this home, Patrick and Inez Overwijk, have adopted a more original approach.
Instead, Patrick has fully embraced his love of mid-century design, and statement furniture and lighting come into play in every room. What ties the scheme together is the subtle celebration of the houseโs original features. Despite Patrickโs passion for the 1950s, 60s and 70s, since moving here six years ago, heโs been committed to unveiling its floors, ceilings and walls โ many of which were hidden under softboard coverings and layer upon layer of paint. โThe whole house was filled with old elements โ from the kitchen tiles to the ceiling of the living room. It has quite the personality,โ he says. It was this rich sense of the past that originally drew Patrick to the house: โWe always wanted an old house, filled with history. It was our dream.โ Historically, the property has been inhabited by local mayors and doctors, and it is said that one of the former inhabitants would monitor his ships, sailing for business in England, from the balcony at the top of the building. It is these romantic elements that hooked Patrick and Inez. Transforming the house for modern family life was no quick fix, Patrick admits. โIt took almost four years to get to this point. When we bought it, floors were damaged and original elements had been lost. It was in bad shape.โ The renovation had to follow strict building regulations as the house is included in the register of Dutch protected buildings. Patrick didnโt let this hold him back though. โI carried out extensive research regarding which colours to use in the interior โ hunting for old photographs of the house and scraping off old layers of paint to reveal the original colours.โ Happily, these shades included a spectrum of greens, which now frame the entrance hall, complement a Morris & Co wallpaper in one of the living rooms, and reflect the rustic feel of the kitchen. Elsewhere, walls are simple and white or โ in the kitchen โ covered in original Delft tiles. Walking from room to room reveals a potted history of 20th-century design. Key pieces include a desk and coffee table by the Dutch designer Cees Braakman, a leather chair by Norwegian designer Ingmar Relling and one by the British designer Geoffrey Harcourt. The lighting is similarly impressive, with designs by the l i kes of Verner Pa nton, Ach i l le a nd Giacomo Castiglioni and Gino Sarfatti gracing the ceilings. These pieces were created for function as well as form, and so are perfectly placed for robust family life. Despite being a house of historical significance, itโs undoubtedly cool and modern. And that in itself is no small feat.
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by Erdem Gorgun on Nov 02, 2019
Janet and Paul Gleeson have filled their south Dorset village house with an eclectic assortment of antiques, modern art and trophies from their travels.
The first thing I remember about the house was walking into the drawing room and thinking, โThis is fabulousโ,โ says Janet Gleeson of the moment she and husband Paul first viewed the house that would become their familyโs Dorset home. โIt was a big step because we had always lived in London. We hardly knew anyone in Dorset and until then weโd worried we were doing the wrong thing. But the children had left home and we wanted a complete change and at that moment the realisation that this was the house was instantaneous โ like falling in love.โ The three-storeyed red brick house hides behind a high wall in the centre of a picturesque Dorset village, not far from the coast. It was built c1760, to a conventionally symmetrical Georgian plan. A central corridor once led to the staircase, with two rooms on either side on each floor, and a servantsโ attic. โThen, in the early 19th century, the owners must have wanted to aggrandise the house, so they added a new wing to the south, moving the front door, and installing a new columned porch made from local Purbeck stone. As a result, the layout became quite unusual. The stairs are now slightly oddly placed off centre, but we have a wonderfully spacious drawing room,โ explains Janet. The house was altered again in the early 20th century, when another wing was added to the north for a larger kitchen and more servantsโ bedrooms. โIt was probably around that time the panelling was installed in the drawing room. It gives the room its richness,โ says Janet. This is the backdrop for paintings that the couple have collected over the years.
Janet started her working life at Sothebyโs, later worked at Bonhams and as an editor for Millerโs Guides and now works on the Antiques Roadshow. The couple have always loved going to junk shops, auctions and galleries. โOur taste has shifted over the years, from 19th-century prints, watercolours and oils, to more modern works and anything with a local connection. One of our recent additions was a pair of oils of the local coastline by Elizabeth Muntz, an artist who lived in the neighbouring village and is buried in the churchyard.โ Janet is also fond of colonial furniture, having been born in Sri Lanka. โThe Ceylonese-Dutch cabinet in the hall was inherited from my grandmother, but I bought the 19th-century specimen table that was made in Ceylon (as it was then) in a local sale. The table was in pieces and had to be carefully restored,โ she recalls. The couple also like to contrast old and new, so the door to the drawing room is framed by abstract silk screens by John Hoyland and Albert Irvin that hang above a pair of Georgian-style demi-lune walnut tables. Janetโs career changed direction when she left the salesrooms to become a writer. The study is where much of her working day is spent. Her favourite auction purchase is the huge bookcase that fills one wall. โI broke all my own rules โ I bought it having not viewed the sale, on the telephone. I had measured the wall where it was to go, but I forgot to allow for the fact the skirtings protrude by several inches. I realised this only when the bookcase was delivered and we started to install it. Fortunately we were able to unscrew an electric socket and squeezed it in. It now looks as though it was made for the room!โ The couple are keen travellers and mementoes of various trips are dotted throughout the house. A model sailing ship in the dining room provides a dramatic focal point at one end of the room. โIt isnโt as old as it looks. We bought it 10 years ago, in Hรดi An in Vietnam. We went into a workshop โ I thought we were going to buy a small carving, but Paul saw this and had it shipped over, saying he would keep it in his office. It was so big it wouldnโt fit, so here it has been ever since,โ says Janet. Upstairs, the bedrooms are furnished in a traditional style, with heavy linen curtains, antique and vintage furniture, some bought at auction or from dealers and other pieces inherited. โOur friends and children, who are all based in London, are always coming to stay. Our daughter was married in the garden, and now there are grandchildren too. The house has been perfect for gatherings and is so much a part of our family life itโs hard to remember a time when we didnโt live here. But recently weโve had the urge for a new challenge, so we are moving to a derelict medieval barn, which in time weโll turn into a very different home.
News
by Erdem Gorgun on Oct 30, 2019
A relaxed approach to contemporary coastal style brings a sense of ease to this Palm Beach estate.
Cocktail dresses and formally arranged table settings are one way to throw a party, but sometimes entertaining is about inviting your guests to kick their feet up on the ottoman, throwing open the French doors to welcome in the breeze, and sharing wine and conversation while you chop vegetables at the kitchen island.That laidbackโyet still elegantโapproach to entertaining is exactly what interior designer Jennifer Knowles envisioned when she outfitted the interiors of this waterfront Florida home built by Malasky Homes. โPalm Beach has very classic leanings, and the people here love to entertain,โ Knowles says. โWe wanted to be in keeping with that classic approach while bridging the gap between casual and formal.โ The inviting atmosphere begins at the front entrance, where guests are greeted by a โwelcoming armsโ staircase, a hallmark of the Bermudan architectural style that defines the homeโs exterior. Inside, lengthy rooms, such as the 32-foot-long formal living room, are divided into intimate groupings to facilitate conversation. Generous windows, French doors, and balconies offer remarkable views of the Intracoastal Waterway on three sides and welcome the Florida sunshine into every room. โThe entire house truly is awash in light,โ Knowles says. โIt doesnโt matter what time of day youโre there.โ Rich millwork details and intricate ceiling treatments draw the eye upward to visually expand relatively low ceilings, a height requirement set by Palm Beachโs architectural review board. In fact, the first-floor ceilings top off at just a little under 10 feet, but exquisite millworkโsuch as the Art Deco-inspired pattern on the living room ceilingโstretches the visual height of rooms. Though the details are elaborate, Knowles achieved a crisp, clean look by painting each ceiling white. Walnut herringbone floors and tailored furnishings reinforce the homeโs classic sensibility, while dashes of modern flair, supplied by abstract art and polished-nickel accents, prevent the home from feeling too traditional. โMixing contemporary touches with classic lines keeps it fresh and timeless,โ Knowles says. The result is a home that effortlessly toggles between black-tie events and impromptu gatherings with friends. โYouโre sitting on the sofa looking out to the pool, then beyond to the water and the beautiful boats,โ Knowles says. โYou put your feet up on the upholstered ottoman and you just donโt want to leave.
News
by Erdem Gorgun on Oct 30, 2019
A relaxed approach to contemporary coastal style brings a sense of ease to this Palm Beach estate.
Cocktail dresses and formally arranged table settings are one way to throw a party, but sometimes entertaining is about inviting your guests to kick their feet up on the ottoman, throwing open the French doors to welcome in the breeze, and sharing wine and conversation while you chop vegetables at the kitchen island.That laidbackโyet still elegantโapproach to entertaining is exactly what interior designer Jennifer Knowles envisioned when she outfitted the interiors of this waterfront Florida home built by Malasky Homes. โPalm Beach has very classic leanings, and the people here love to entertain,โ Knowles says. โWe wanted to be in keeping with that classic approach while bridging the gap between casual and formal.โ The inviting atmosphere begins at the front entrance, where guests are greeted by a โwelcoming armsโ staircase, a hallmark of the Bermudan architectural style that defines the homeโs exterior. Inside, lengthy rooms, such as the 32-foot-long formal living room, are divided into intimate groupings to facilitate conversation. Generous windows, French doors, and balconies offer remarkable views of the Intracoastal Waterway on three sides and welcome the Florida sunshine into every room. โThe entire house truly is awash in light,โ Knowles says. โIt doesnโt matter what time of day youโre there.โ Rich millwork details and intricate ceiling treatments draw the eye upward to visually expand relatively low ceilings, a height requirement set by Palm Beachโs architectural review board. In fact, the first-floor ceilings top off at just a little under 10 feet, but exquisite millworkโsuch as the Art Deco-inspired pattern on the living room ceilingโstretches the visual height of rooms. Though the details are elaborate, Knowles achieved a crisp, clean look by painting each ceiling white. Walnut herringbone floors and tailored furnishings reinforce the homeโs classic sensibility, while dashes of modern flair, supplied by abstract art and polished-nickel accents, prevent the home from feeling too traditional. โMixing contemporary touches with classic lines keeps it fresh and timeless,โ Knowles says. The result is a home that effortlessly toggles between black-tie events and impromptu gatherings with friends. โYouโre sitting on the sofa looking out to the pool, then beyond to the water and the beautiful boats,โ Knowles says. โYou put your feet up on the upholstered ottoman and you just donโt want to leave.
News
by Erdem Gorgun on Oct 25, 2019
Sam and Guy Dawson have lived a back and forth life together for the past 14 years. Guyโs work as a non-executive director means being based in London, and Sam had ties to Hove where she lived with her children, Holly and Charlie, now 22 and 20. When the couple bought this Victorian London townhouse four years ago, a Bob Dylan print in an art gallery sparked Samโs decorating ideas. โI instantly loved its blend of dusky pinks, deep purples and blues โ and these colours became the inspiration for our whole house,โ she says. โIโm amused that the print is called Train Tracks, as it aptly portrays my life travelling to and from London to see Guy.โ For a couple of years, the artwork sat in Samโs Hove home while she and Guy renovated the London property. Although the house had been extended, it was narrow and they wanted to maximise the space. The lower ground floor was a main focus, with no flow between the kitchen, dining room and family room. Sam got in touch with Woodmans Construction, who had worked on the coupleโs previous house projects. โThe team have always been faultless so there was no doubt weโd use them,โ says Sam. The owner suggested contacting Granit Architecture for expert space-planning, and they advised knocking through walls and rotating the staircase to enlarge the kitchen. โIt was a fantastic solution,โ says Sam. โNow we walk down into the family room and see straight into the garden, with a glass balustrade making the space feel open.โ Granitโs architects and interiors team also advised on the configuration and design of the kitchen, a bespoke build by River Woodwork, and enlarged the master en suite with joinery custom designed and built to fit the space. When it came to planning the decoration, Sam and Guy called on Ingrid Parnis of Equilibrio Interiors, a designer they knew from holidays in Portugal. โIโve always been drawn to colour and patterned fabrics, but with so much choice, Iโve played it safe,โ says Sam. โIโd seen Ingridโs approach in friendsโ holiday houses and love the way she uses bright tones to bring a space to life โ it makes rooms feel fresh and light.โ Straight away, Sam showed the Bob Dylan print to Ingrid, who suggested a selection of contemporary print upholstery fabrics drawing on the purples and pinks in the picture. โOne of Ingridโs choices was the same fabric I had used for curtains before, but in a different colourway,โ explains Sam. โI was delighted as it was clear that Ingrid was exactly on my wavelength.โ Design talks continued as the house was stripped back, and a friend suggested Sam contact Farrow & Ball colour consultant Joa Studholme to help choose paintshades. โJoa has a brilliant eye for the nuance of colours,โ says Sam. โShe looked at each room, the light and the fabrics and then put together a colour specification for the whole house.โ When Sam and Guy moved back into their home 18 months later, all the work was complete. โIngrid has a fantastic team who do everything, even hanging the curtains โ itโs all very seamless,โ says Sam. โThe colours and furniture make this house feel so much more contemporary and more โlike meโ than any other place Iโve lived in,โ she adds. โDownstairs seems significantly bigger โ some of our friends think we extended โ but weโre simply using every inch of space we already had.
News
by Erdem Gorgun on Aug 08, 2019
Try finding a dangerous read once your home is set in between Lincoln Greens Golf Course in the front and Lake Springfield in the back. In addition to the prime location, the house owner was drawn to the homeโs fashionable up to date feel and open plan. โIt jogged my memory a great deal of a Calif. home,โ he says. And he would recognize, having settled from the West Coast before going in the house in Springfield, Illinois. mercantilism the beach for a lake, his home showcases elevated fashionable style within the geographic area โ and 3 times more room. Recently restored, the house had a fresh base and was conjointly a blank slate. designer Celtic deity Glover was brought in to leverage the open layout that conjointly embraced the good outside views.
โMy conception was to make a classy lake house that had to reply to the geographic area,โ says Glover. At over four,000 sq. feet, the homeโs spacious floor arrange offered distinctive style opportunities. Glover wanted to โcreate meaty areasโ that had interest and temperament. She was aware of creating space perimeters that were distinctive however didnโt feel boxed in. Glover used strategic furnishings placement to produce a spoken language space in the living space, that options a lounge arrangement of a restful female internal reproductive organ chair, sectional and facet tables that square measure unified in their shared mid-century style. a space divider screen set behind a settee creates a boundary between the front room and room. manufactured from cerused teak wood, the divider will its job of being a barrier while not utterly breaking the flow. The infusion of color in the home reflects the perform of every area. The main bedroom options slate grey walls to bring home the bacon a masculine and urban feel. whereas the muted tone fosters the intimate area of a non-public sleeping room, Glover injects attractive tones into common areas such as the nice and cozy earthenware color the basement room.
The eating space is that the homeownerโs favorite area and most effectively options Gloverโs intent to strike a singular style balance. โMy goal was to produce a style that was fashionable however snug, luxurious however casual,โ she says. Grounded by a geometric wool space furnishings, the space is anchored by a slim, walnut table that elongates the space. The multi-armed, antique brass pendant captures the up to date spirit of the area. Glover knew it was vital to give some visual relief from the clean lines and squares that square measure customary in fashionable style. Her efforts to add geometric selection throughout the home square measure evident in the curvature of the spherical front room low tables, globes within the eating space pendant and even the undulating wave style of a counter.