If there was at any time a definition of a cozy seat, this house would be it. A patterned seat, a colourful seat… the inside is an alchemy of antique and contemporary pieces that are as much to do with comfort and practicality as they are to do with aesthetic charm.
When Simon Rayner and his partner, Jeremy Langmead, moved into their 17th-century farmhouse in late 2019, they both experienced thoughts about what they preferred. Simon was immediately after a property with a lengthy driveway that could not be seen from the street (it can, but scarcely). When the garden gates open, there is a sensation of stepping into a private entire world. Jeremy’s craving was to generate a cosy rural retreat. Previously they lived in a massive-roomed Georgian home in Suffolk and the couple preferred to embrace a additional kicked-again, country-cottage way of life – and this Grade II-stated whitewashed home strike all the right notes for them.
“Do we rework? Do we move the kitchen down to the much space?” suggests Simon of the considered approach when they first moved in. “Because of lockdown, we understood we have been never heading to be capable to do the making function, so we settled on using furnishings and home furnishings to make the property experience like dwelling rather.”
Simon, a PR-turned-hospitality entrepreneur, never believed he would transfer again to his household county in the Lake District (the place his family members founded the kitchenware company Lakeland), but a pub changed his intellect. Together with enterprise associate Andrew Black, a former publisher at Wallpaper* magazine, Simon renovated the Hare & Hounds Inn in the vicinity of Windermere, a 17th-century pub with rooms. Listed here, the type of decorating characteristics the similar assured use of pattern and paint that counterbalance the antique picket home furnishings. The result is an inviting, homely ambiance that is modern nonetheless unstuffy.
Similarly at household, home furnishings may perhaps be vintage, but it’s considerably from twee. There is not a hint of French shabby chic. In its place, there is a Swedish twist – cue the painted Gustavian cabinets that the few have gathered in excess of many years. Throw in a contact of Tangier with the Moorish ottoman in the dwelling place (discovered on eBay) by means of to the striped ticking materials that are used as doorway curtains or sofa throws all over the residence, and you have a decorating masterclass on studying to layer.
For occasion, consider the cosy sitting home in the oldest element of the home. In this room, hand-dyed yellow linen blinds are paired with silk ikat lampshades, and a chair is upholstered in red linen from Pierre Frey with blue piping. These are all by textile designer and interior decorator Susan Deliss, who had a hand in numerous of the textile goings-on. The ottoman is from Robert Kime and the striped jute log basket is from Maison Bengal.
Other than the very small eating home, which is painted in Farrow & Ball’s India Yellow, neutral partitions are the basis. “If you took absent the patterns, the rugs and the paintings, the decoration is basic beneath,” Simon explains. “I consider we’re relocating absent from daring-colored rooms wherever the furnishings is nearly a secondary considered.”
Objects are cleverly grouped. An expression of their stylish selves, a statement piece, these types of as the green dresser from Framlingham antique supplier Dix-Sept in the kitchen area was the beginning issue, with equipment in a multitude of prints and supporting colors, bringing the entire space alongside one another in a lively mix.
“We didn’t want the models to be all the identical colour,” Simon says of the introduction of red and blue to the palette, which took additional than 40 tester pots to get correct. “The crimson in the kitchen would make it truly feel warm in winter season, while the blue adds freshness all through the summer time.” The product-coloured walls maintain anything in area.
Stroll into the expansive, light-weight-filled drawing space at the reverse conclusion of the home and there is a change in mood – less snug farmhouse, more tasteful region property. Designs do the job in harmony, with jewel-toned pinks and blues a recurring color pairing and the walls painted a sandy brown – Chocolate by Edward Bulmer Pure Paint. The sofas have been upholstered in curtains repurposed from a previous residence.
“We liked the course of action of carrying out it up,” Simon recalls. Jeremy, who was head of written content at Mr Porter for the very best aspect of a 10 years and is thanks to start his possess skincare brand name, is renowned for his style and is an pro at object placement. Two creatives functioning together… this is a pretty trendy house-making staff.
