News — postmodern

A 400-year-old mill house has been given a new lease of life, while retaining all of the charm that has made it a favourite family escape for two decades. A mill house tucked away in a rural valley just three miles west of Dartmouth and a quick walk to the picturesque beach of Blackpool Sands became a bolthole escape from London life for Tanya Bird. It proved to be an idyllic spot for her and her three sons to enjoy holidays away from the city, with all the freedom afforded by the country-meets-seaside location. ‘It was a magical place for...

With a hint of retro and a touch of rustic,this former farmhouse is now a stylish place to live and work for Christen Pears and Chris Blake. Moving to the UK from Australia, Christen Pears and Chris Blake had a pretty clear idea of what they wanted from their new home. ‘We were specifically looking for a property with holiday cottages,’ says Christen. ‘I travelled ahead of Chris with an agreed list of nine properties to view in Cornwall and Devon. But that search stopped short after the very first viewing. This house ticked so many boxes and felt so...

When Katharine and James Howard needed to upsize to accommodate their growing family, the architecture of this house blew them away. ‘It’s early Victorian, with sweeping steps up to the front door, which were a big draw.’ The house had been let to students, so the interior was another story. ‘It had brown, cigarette-burned carpets and scuffed magnolia walls, but my mind began racing with ideas to bring it to life,’ says Katharine. ‘The deep cornicing, the lovely tall windows, the marble fireplaces – it had it all,’ she says. ‘Although the house felt big compared to our flat, we...

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. It’s 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...

Once a chaotic student house, Kibi Wright’s elegant home is now the perfect setting for peaceful celebrations with family and friends. Best buy ‘The table in the hall, which I made from stone plinths and toughened glass’. Call me Mother Christmas – it’s what I’m known as around here,’ says Kibi Wright as she welcomes you into her house on one of Bristol’s 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...