Indholdsfortegnelse for December 2017 i 25 Beautiful Homes

What colour is your Christmas scheme going to be this year? Red, gold, silver, white or multicoloured? Looking back on my childhood, I realise that ours was usually red with gold. My mother also used fresh foliage throughout the house, but the ribbons and candles that were added as embellishments were in those traditional hues. Now, my festive theme swings back and forth between white, silver and glass, and red, with the tree setting the look along with seasonal flowers. I must admit, I don’t decorate the entire house but I do hang wreaths where there is space, making a new one every year to ring the changes. I also use baubles to bring sparkle to hidden corners and scented candles to create a welcoming feel for friends and family.…

Looking back on the five years that Collette Vernon and her husband Cliff have lived in the wing of a manor house in Surrey, they can’t quite believe how much it’s changed. ‘Our first Christmas here was a rather chilly affair,’ recalls Collette. ‘It took a while to get used to the large fireplaces and cranky heating, but now it’s welcoming, warm and filled with decorative antiques and festive touches.’ The couple, who live here with their three children, Sonny, 11, and twins Seb and Beau, eight, fell for this property as soon as they turned into its gravelled drive and saw the imposing house surrounded by beautiful gardens. ‘I had a huge smile on my face,’ says Collette, and its history attracted them even more. The property has Georgian…

Frosted garlands, clusters of baubles, ivy-laden surfaces and softly flickering candles are the subtle hallmarks of the festive season at Peta and Ivo Darnley’s beautifully restored farmhouse. However, when they came across the Herefordshire property nearly two decades ago, it was quite a different story. Pregnant with the first of their three children – Harry, 18, Ed, 14 and Al, 12 – Peta was itching to move from their London townhouse in order to create a country idyll suitable for raising a family. Fortunately, she has a good eye for design and architecture and was unfazed at the prospect of transforming the property and its adjacent crumbling barn into one conjoined home. Peta and Ivo were smitten with the former hunting lodge and the pastoral views across the unspoilt English…

After years living and working in Mexico, Poland and Romania, Isabel and Steve Castens returned to the UK in 2000. When their eldest son Oscar turned two, and with plans to have more children, the couple decided to relocate out of London. ‘Our families are in the Midlands and Sheffield so we wanted to be nearer to them but with an easy commute back to London for work,’ explains Isabel. The hunt for a family home began and the couple were persuaded to visit an unusual property although it was out of the area and needed a lot of work. ‘We had looked at lots of houses, which seemed perfect on paper but hadn’t turned out to be quite right; this was the exact opposite,’ says Isabel. ‘We saw…

Lyn Black loves Christmas in London. ‘I adore the lights on the high streets and Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park,’ she smiles. ‘There’s a real feeling of excitement, and it starts so early. In America, it’s all about Thanksgiving until the end of November. Our grown children like to come over to London and enjoy the build up.’ This will be Lyn and Steve Black’s fifth festive season in Britain. The American couple moved into their London terraced house in 2013 when Steve’s job brought them to the capital. They now spend their time between London and their home in rural Connecticut. ‘In the States, we have four acres of land with gardens and pools to maintain,’ says Lyn. ‘Here, everything is easier and more relaxed.’ Finding the house was…

Wall lights The Reillys have opted for a pair of simple hand-forged wall lights in their sitting room. For something similar, try the Stonham wall light in matt black, £77, Jim Lawrence. Lincrusta frieze An ornate Lincrusta frieze adds period interest to the wall in the Paveys’ dining room. To recreate this look, try the Diana frieze, £185.50 per 10m, Lincrusta. Hallway bench A painted bench with rush seat and basket storage stands just inside the Keens’ front door, making it perfect for extra seating or hiding clutter. To emulate this look, try the oak-topped hallway bench in Manor Grey, £245, The Farthing. Blue bedding Bedding in shades of blue creates a serene scene in the Warriners’ bedroom. Try the Taj bedlinen collection in Indigo, from £50 for a cushion,…

1 LIGHT FANTASTIC Elegant gold chain chandelier, £895, Rockett St George 2 DINE IN STYLE Twelve-piece gold spot dinner set, £24.99, Studio 3 PRESENT AND CORRECT Faux-fur stocking, £50, Helen Moore 4 GOLDEN GLOW Parlband candelabra, £12, Ikea 5 TAKE IT AS RED Velvet cushion sham, £49, Lexington 6 TOP TABLES Content by Terence Conran Accents round side tables, £309 for set of three, John Lewis 7 FEATHERED FRIEND Icarus mirror, £225, Oka 8 GO FOR GOLD Talitha cabinet, £2,500, Jonathan Adler 9 TOP-NOTCH POT Pineapple storage pot, £36, Oliver Bonas…

Christmas at the Gibb family home is hard to beat. The traditional architecture wraps itself around guests like a warm hug, and the beautifully spacious rooms are interlinked in a way that makes for easy socialising when it comes to party time. Both sides of the family are invited to stay at Christmas, so space for entertaining was a top priority when Clare and her husband David went house-hunting. After years of living abroad, they rented a house in the Ascot area of Berkshire. ‘My parents, sister and two step-daughters live nearby,’ says Clare, ‘so this was a natural base. We also had to find a school for Kate, now 18.’ The area suited the couple perfectly and, when they eventually decided to buy there, they both fell for the…

The children may have flown the nest, but at Christmas time Sarah and Jeff Dales’ family all get together, lured home by the prospect of Sarah’s cooking. ‘We have the usual turkey and all the trimmings,’ says Sarah, ‘but for some reason it’s my creamed spinach that is always the biggest hit!’ The Christmas guest list includes their son, Jonathan, 24, daughter, Jess, 27, and her fiancé, Joe, and Sarah’s mother, Joy. The house, with its large rooms, various sitting areas and spacious kitchen-diner, makes circulating easy, so the cook can join in the conversation and not feel isolated. However, it wasn’t the prospect of spending Christmas here that attracted the Dales to the property, it was Halloween. ‘We had a friend who lived nearby and we all used to…

The warm, welcoming aroma of Christmas spice fills the hall of Dawn Oldham’s London home. This elegant entrance was one of the features that eventually persuaded Dawn to put in an offer on the property more than 30 years ago. ‘Having a large hall in London, as opposed to the usual narrow corridor, made this place feel more like a country home,’ she says. However, Dawn admits that at first she was reluctant to buy somewhere modern. ‘I really wanted a period property, so when my estate agent suggested viewing this house, I wasn’t keen,’ she explains. ‘I didn’t like the glass porch and plastic windows and found it difficult to imagine how I could improve it.’ After several weeks of further house-hunting, Dawn was forced to conclude that it…

Moving house on Christmas Eve isn’t everyone’s idea of fun, but for Camilla and James Foottit, the upheaval did not phase them; in fact, they relished it. ‘We love entertaining, and had 25 people due for lunch at New Year, which proved a pretty good incentive to get everything unpacked and set up,’ laughs Camilla. Although their previous home was perfect in many ways – a large Victorian townhouse near their pie business, Higgidy – the couple’s children, Kate, 10, and Jack, eight, needed to be closer to school and the family also wanted a bigger garden. ‘So we decided to rent this house from some friends, Rick and Kirsty Goring, who own the nearby Wiston Estate,’ says Camilla. ‘This house has a completely different style and is set directly…

The only access to Luke and Naomi Warriner’s tiny London cottage is along a footpath, which Luke was pleased to be the first to explore when the couple discovered this peaceful area. Captivated by the house’s pretty wisteria-laden façade, he knew that his wife Naomi would love it. ‘Naomi was brought up in the depths of Shropshire and this cottage has a rural feel that’s really unique for London,’ he explains. Measuring just over three metres wide by 14 metres long with a slim side return, the cottage was small. ‘Originally just a two-up, two-down, it was built for a Victorian railway worker’s family, with no foundations in the kitchen and one-brick-thin walls,’ says Luke. However, having lived in a one-bedroom flat, the two-bedroom cottage felt positively spacious to the…

Decorating designer and arts-and-crafts tutor Emma Kayne loves Christmas. Every year she hosts the festivities for her extended family, meticulously planning the decorating details. ‘My two girls, Clover, 18, and Willow, 15, tease me as the tree is always up like clockwork on the 1st December every year,’ she says. Emma and her husband Ivor, a creative director in advertising, originally lived in a Georgian house in the market town of Melksham, not far from their current home. ‘I’d finished decorating the old property and was looking to take on a new challenge when I found this place on the off-chance,’ recalls Emma. The Victorian semi was on a road she’d always liked and on one occasion when driving past, she noticed it was empty, so popped a note through…

We’re looking forward to Christmas in our house this year,’ says Ashley Nuttall. ‘When we spent it here three years ago, stormy weather caused power cuts, so we had to sit in darkness. And because the Aga went off, we had to barbecue the turkey. We’re hoping for a more relaxing celebration this time round!’ The beautiful country house that Ashley, her husband James and their two children Oli, 15, and Immy, 12, now live in has undergone a substantial renovation since they moved in 13 years ago. It has become the perfect place for a family Christmas. Ashley and James moved from London to the Surrey countryside so that their children would enjoy a rural upbringing. Finding a home in a competitive market was difficult, but finally they…

Location was the deciding factor for Linda and Roger Biggs when they first saw this flint-clad farmhouse overlooking the beautiful Sussex Downs. ‘We weren’t actually that keen on the house itself because it needed so much work,’ says Linda. ‘The building was long and thin with small, dark rooms. A 1980s red brick extension had been added to two Grade-II listed cottages and there was a gap left between the extension and an old garage set at right angles, but we decided to dive in and take on the challenge as we knew it had potential to be a charming family home for our children Abbie, 13, and Charlie, 11.’ The kitchen and dining room were dated with tiny windows. ‘Removing the dividing wall to create a large, open-plan living…

The solid timber beams, stone walls and wide wooden floorboards of Joan and Jim Walker’s 1800s cottage offer an ideal backdrop for a quintessentially English decor of enchanting floral and bird wallpapers and subtle paint shades. ‘We love the roughness of the original features,’ says Joan, ‘and have tried to celebrate their history rather than overly restore them. We didn’t want anything to look too pristine. I’m also drawn to pretty country style as it’s so cosy and welcoming.’ At Christmas, the place comes alive with festive garlands, fairy lights and the flicker of candles. ‘We even dress up our cat, Coco, with a jolly red bow for the season,’ smiles Joan. This house has the feel of a long-loved home, but in fact Joan and Jim bought it just…

Our first Christmas here was chaotic,’ recall Rebecca Pavey and her husband Kieran. ‘Just two days before, we had 15 vans on the driveway and 24 men working flat out to finish converting the coach house annexe for my mother.’ The imminent arrival of Rebecca’s father and stepmother, too, made the deadline all the more pressing. Finding a property that would work for three generations – including their children Anna, now 11, and Francesca, 8, and Rebecca’s mother Catherine – had been a priority for the family, so when she came across this elegant Victorian townhouse for sale in County Durham, they were ready to act fast. It had high spacious rooms, a host of original features and a pretty garden, plus it already came with planning permission for…

Design ideas TREE IDEAS The Keens have taken an understated approach to festive decorations in their sitting room. Sticking to a neutral colour palette and natural materials, the look is very pared-back. Every year, we put a lot of effort into decorating our tree and wrapping our gifts. But what should be done with the space at the bottom of the tree? The Keens have created an artful display with a wooden sleigh and presents spilling out of hessian sacks to disguise its base. Or, try an internet search for Christmas tree stands. Some of the more attractive are called tree skirts, which often come in wicker or willow. Baskets, crates or a galvanised bucket may work just as well. Otherwise, wrap the base of the tree in hessian and…

Our home is full of things that tell a story,’ says Jane Molloy of the converted barn she owns with her partner, Jonny West. The Charles Aznavour print in the kitchen was taken off a tree in France by her father in 1973, the Chesterfield sofa was found abandoned in King’s Road and the bathroom basin once belonged to rock star Nick Cave. At this time of year, Jane and Jonny love to bring their loved ones together in their three converted buildings – two former haylofts and a lambing shed. The couple live in the largest, with the other two used for guests, and Christmases are spent gathered around a log fire, with a huge tree decorated with retro baubles and spruce branches mixed with eucalyptus on the…

Elaine Bradley’s house, situated at the end of Bray’s seafront, is certainly a wonderful summer home, but it really comes into its own at Christmas time. The generous dining and sitting room provide plenty of space for a festive lunch with friends and family, and the open fire plays a key role in evoking a warm and inviting atmosphere. When Elaine viewed this house over 20 years ago, it was the spectacular sea views that appealed to her. Although the location was perfect and the house had retained its elegant façade, inside it was in a poor state of repair. Divided into two flats, it had sadly suffered years of neglect, with ceilings collapsing, wet rot, dry rot and rising damp. ‘I could see it had potential,’ says Elaine. ‘However,…

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