Innehållsförteckning för July 2017 från 25 Beautiful Homes

Every month, 25 Beautiful Homes features houses that have been reconfigured and extended, offering inspiration for what we could attempt with our own homes over time. Then there are those that have undergone no structural changes, but from which we can take decorating cues that don’t involve months of work. What really fascinates me, however, are the new-builds. It isn’t that I covet the smooth walls, modern double-glazing and practical room layouts – I just never cease to admire how the owners have stamped their identity onto a blank canvas. Turn to page 112 and you’ll see what I mean. After buying off-plan, Kirsty Whitfield spent her time planning the look and feel of her home before she’d even moved in. Getting involved with your developer early often means you…

Sally Gillespie’s townhouse in London teems with wildlife. Not the real variety but the decorative. There are tapestries adorned with hummingbirds, dragonflies hover over wallpapers and birds flutter across cushions. Lights take their cue from nature, too, in the guise of antlers or branches with crystal drops that glitter like frost. On walls, tranquil landscapes paintings add to the feeling that you have stumbled out of a major city and into a secret garden. It’s a setting that mirrors Sally’s taste and her profession as a healer at the Healing Hands Network, an organisation that looks after war survivors. ‘I wanted everything to feel fresh and restful,’ she says, ‘with my love of nature threaded throughout. Sally discovered the property, which is set in a quiet cul-de-sac, three years…

Sitting on an acre of land, Claire Rendall’s home enjoys uninterrupted views across the Box Valley in Wiltshire, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The house, which is built of mellow Bath stone, was extensively altered 25 years ago. ‘You could tell the owner had done it with passion,’ says Claire, an interior designer. ‘I loved the scale of the rooms, as well as the stone mullion windows and flagstone floors.’ By the time Claire and her partner Peter Stewart moved in, the property was in need of updating. The house was decorated in rather oppressive shades of mustard, cold blue and dark pink, while the garden was a tangle of brambles and ground elder. For Claire, it was a case of adapting the rooms to suit her sensibility.…

DISTINCTIVE HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Detached 1940s house LOCATION Brisbane ROOM Sitting room, kitchen-diner, family room, craft room, verandah, five bedrooms (two en suite), bathroom PURCHASED 2010 PREVIOUS PROPERTY ‘Before, we had a 1980s detached outside Brisbane,’ says Kylie. Kylie Bock and her husband Nick had been looking for a new home in Brisbane that needed little or no work, but that idea was thrown out of the window with a phone call from Kylie’s mother. While driving along the bay, she had noticed a for-sale sign outside a cottage and thought it might be ideal. Viewing the property early paid off for the couple and they soon secured it. ‘It was on the small side,’ says Kylie, ‘but it had plenty of potential, with lots of room to extend…

On retiring from their full-time jobs in education, Avrille and Doug Close decided to challenge themselves. This involved the adventurous couple spending several months in France, finding new passions (horse racing and art) and even renting a Victorian Gothic pile. Then a move from Hertfordshire to a cottage owned by their son in Rutland in the East Midlands made the couple come up with a new house rule. ‘We liked the area, but we didn’t know a soul,’ recalls Avrille. ‘Doug and I agreed that we would never turn down an invitation to anything, so we would make new friends and become involved in the local community.’ Their time spent in Rutland was so successful, the couple decided to find a place of their own close to their new circle…

Towards the end of spring each year, New York-based Laura and Simon Bindloss send a spreadsheet to their friends and family showing the weekends they will be staying at their lakeside summerhouse in Maine. ‘It’s an open invitation for them to join us,’ explains Laura. ‘Our attitude is, the more the merrier.’ The property, a typical New England timber structure, was bought by Laura’s great-grandparents in the 1960s and has been in the family for four generations. It’s where she and her brothers stayed with their grandmother during school holidays. Two years ago, the house was passed down to Laura and husband Simon, who would make the six-hour journey to Maine every weekend to work on updating it. ‘My grandmother had taken amazing care of the property, but she had…

When Flora Mountford took the decision to paint every wall white in her Victorian home, she had a simple plan, which was to create a backdrop for the property’s period features. Plus, it would allow her to add pops of bright colour almost anywhere. The house in Cheltenham, which Flora shares with her husband, Giles, and children, Ruby, 18, and Stan, 15, hadn’t been decorated for at least 30 years prior to them buying it. ‘That made it easier for us to pretty much change everything without any qualms,’ says Flora. And that is exactly what they did. The couple demolished the wall between the two reception rooms to create one big space, turned a derelict two-bedroom flat in the basement into an open-plan kitchen-diner and converted the loft into…

The thought of a big project didn’t faze garden designers Nick Hendy and Adrienne Curzon, which was lucky as the house they took on in Oxfordshire hadn’t been updated in more than 60 years. ‘We were looking for a challenge, something on which we could use our collective design skills,’ says Nick. In 2011, the couple began their search for a period property. ‘I grew up around here and have family living close by,’ says Nick. ‘Our garden design business is in the area, too, and this house is only five minutes from our depot.’ The house was in a poor state of repair, but Nick and Adrienne set about making their mark. ‘We took it back almost to just a shell, leaving the original floorboards, skirting and doors,’ says…

REPLANNED HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Terraced house, built in 1800s LOCATION Hampshire ROOMS Hall, sitting room, kitchen, dining room, study, cloakroom, four bedrooms, two bathrooms PURCHASED 2010 PREVIOUS PROPERTY ‘Before moving here, we lived in a nearby Victorian terraced house,’ says Jonathan. A peripatetic childhood, combined with his job as a travel photographer, led Jonathan Simpson to realise that, for him, a comfortable base is a necessity. Although he and wife Katie were happy living and working in London, they felt they needed somewhere to retreat to. ‘After so long in the city, I wanted to create a happy, romantic home in more peaceful environs,’ says Jonathan. So the couple made the move from Wimbledon to Winchester, which seemed to offer a perfect balance of town life and rural beauty.…

1 PRETTY IN PINK Rustic Rose ceramic vases, £26.50 for set of three, Broste Copenhagen at Trouva 2 TIME FOR TEA Winsford teapot, £30, Neptune 3 CREATURE COMFORTS Leona laced birdhouse, £32 for small; £42 for large, Anthropologie 4 FALL IN LINE Karuma ceramic jugs, from £19.95, Nkuku 5 MOSAIC MAGIC Topim coffee table with ceramic top, £85, La Redoute 6 A TASTE FOR TEAL Jade Flower tealight holder, £12, Shabby Store 7 BOTANICAL BEAUTY Aragonez melamine plate, £78 for set of four, Oka 8 SHAPE UP Monochrome Decor tiles, £37.80sq m (supplied randomly), Mandarin Stone 9 BRIGHT IDEA Benedita table lamp, £90, Dar Lighting…

Despite having a small outdoor footprint to work with, Sally Gillespie has successfully created an urban oasis, with a bright, eye-catching bistro set and living walls planted with abundant ferns. The key to getting your space summer-ready is to maximise what you’ve already got, to turn your garden, patio or terrace into the perfect summertime destination. Starting point Just as when planning an interior space, it’s best to pick a starting point to build your scheme around. This could be a design feature, such as a pond, or a dining area or zone dedicated to relaxation. Once you’ve selected a focal point, look for ways to tweak the layout to draw the eye. Planters in various shapes and sizes dotted around the edges are a good way to add height…

INSPIRING HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Cotswold lodge LOCATION Gloucestershire ROOMS Kitchen-diner/sitting room, utility room, cloakroom, study, three bedrooms, dressing room, bathroom PURCHASED 2012 PREVIOUS PROPERTY ‘We moved from a 1980s semi in Broadway, a nearby village,’ says Tracey. At the time that Tracey and Neil Butler found their now much-loved home, a two-hundred-year-old Cotswold stone lodge house, it had been on the market for a year. ‘It was close to the village where Neil was raised and we needed a “doer upper” to be able to buy here,’ explains interior designer Tracey. ‘It wasn’t until we stripped the property back that we realised how bad it was,’ she continues. ‘We had to take down ceilings and walls, put a concrete floor in the kitchen and install plumbing and electrics,…

Horses and sheep graze in the meadows surrounding Judith and Chris Streatfeild’s 17-acre farm in Cumbria, where Chris manages a stock of 6,000 free-range hens and 2,500 pigs. The couple were both brought up on farms, so they were delighted when Chris had the opportunity to buy this property from his parents. ‘The farmhouse needed updating and the barn was crumbling,’ recalls Judith, ‘but the potential was obvious and the location idyllic with unspoilt views over Cumbrian hills towards the Solway Firth.’ The pair began by modernising the farmhouse, untouched since the 1970s, upgrading bathrooms, plumbing, electrics, windows, doors, building a porch and installing wooden floors. They also removed a wall that divided what was a front parlour and old kitchen. At that point, they turned their attention to the…

Design ideas WINDOW SEAT This stylish bespoke built-in window seat in Emma Emmerson’s light and bright kitchen is the perfect spot to relax with a good book or to enjoy the lovely views of the garden. The sleek slatted base is painted white to blend into the scheme, while the slimline seat pad is upholstered in natural linen and simple cushions add warmth and comfort to the space. A window seat is also the perfect way to accommodate guests while you are cooking, particularly in an open-plan kitchen-diner. This versatile seat lifts up to provide access to a generous storage area underneath, which is ideal for keeping the space clutter-free. Use it for tidying toys away after the children have gone to bed or as a neat place to keep…

A slower pace of life was a priority for Jackie and John Forsbrey when they decided to retire to the Cotswolds three years ago. ‘We were living in Berkshire and our daily round commute to our jobs in London was four hours,’ says Jackie, ‘so we were ready for a change.’ It was during one of their frequent visits to the Cotswolds that they saw a Georgian cottage for sale. SOLID FOUNDATION ‘Our plan was to downsize to a property we could comfortably fix up ourselves,’ explains Jackie. ‘Although this cottage was dark and dreary, we could see it had potential.’ Built in the mid-1800s, the stone building was part of a former Georgian rectory that had been renovated in 1990. The roof and walls were in excellent condition so,…

INSPIRING HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Grade II listed 17th-century farmhouse LOCATION Warwickshire ROOMS Sitting room, drawing room, dining room, kitchen, breakfast room, orangery, library, study, cloakroom, utility room, boot room, playroom, seven bedrooms (three en suite), bathroom, shower room PURCHASED 2007 PREVIOUS PROPERTY ‘Before moving here, we lived in another listed period house in Worcestershire,’ says Leigh. Historic buildings consultant Leigh Shardlow and his wife Becky are both passionate about restoring old properties, so they were keen to find a home that needed major work. They found it in a 17th-century farmhouse with barns in Warwickshire. Initially, even though it was just the sort of renovation project they were looking for, the couple had thought it an unsuitable prospect because of its proximity to a motorway. ‘I went to see…

1 JUNGLE JOY Palm leaf cushion, £48, Bloomingville at Out There Interiors 2 ALL HUNG UP Rattan hanging chair, £250, Raj Tent Club 3 HARDY SHRUB Faux spiky yucca leaf plant, £30, Orchid 4 ON REFLECTION Paon natural rattan mirror, £105, Graham and Green 5 EASY LIVING Murcott jute round floor cushion, £125, Soho Home 6 SITTING IN STYLE Koba rattan chair with green legs, £295, Habitat 7 NATURAL TOUCH Luminance fringed rug, from £780, Woven 8 FRESH IDEA &Klevering Leaves porcelain basket, £43, Made in Design…

We moved from Melbourne on a bit of a whim,’ says jewellery designer and gallery owner Emma Goodsir. ‘We’d had our first child and I’d started thinking about moving to the country, but my husband, Bernard, is a born and bred townie and I thought he’d go crazy living somewhere more remote.’ However, Emma decided to start looking for a suitable home anyway. ‘I drove out to the countryside and viewed this house; it was tired, draughty and pretty ordinary, but it was surrounded by four acres of land and I liked the views of Mount Macedon,’ says Emma. ‘So I called Bernard with the news that I’d potentially found our home.’ Luckily, Bernard, a music manager, was game, and the couple bought the house in Woodend, a rural…

DISTINCTIVE HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Victorian terrace LOCATION North London ROOMS Hall, sitting room, kitchen-diner, utility room/ cloakroom, three bedrooms, family bathroom PURCHASED 2013 PREVIOUS PROPERTY ‘We used to live in a two-bed flat nearby,’ says Emilie. Emilie Fournet and her husband Ben Pester’s new home in North London had been converted for disabled living so they had to contend with ramps and an unsightly extension when they moved in. ‘We actually knocked the additional space down and brought the property’s boundary back in by several feet,’ says Emilie. ‘This made the garden a better size for our children, Orson, 7, and Cosima, 3, and let more light flow into our kitchen-diner. It brought back a sense of proportion to the house.’ Their lush and light dining area feels…

DISTINCTIVE HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY 13th-century watchtower LOCATION Amalfi Coast ROOMS Hall, two sitting rooms, dining room, kitchen, utility room, five bedrooms (all en suite) INHERITED From parents PREVIOUS PROPERTY ‘This place is my weekend escape,’ says Silvia. ‘I also have an apartment in Rome.’ Every morning, a pink light drenches the stone walls of the old Italian watchtower, which Silvia Lefebvre inherited from her parents several years ago. It’s a magical sight which is repeated at sunset – but then everything about this place is special. Built in the 13th century as part of a number of square fortress towers dotted along the Italian coastline, its main purpose was to ward off the marauding Moors. Today, these huge stone sentries act as a reminder of the country’s colourful history.…

INSPIRING HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY A townhouse, built in 1945 LOCATION Denmark ROOMS Sitting room/ kitchen-diner, utility room, three bedrooms, two bathrooms PURCHASED 1997 PREVIOUS PROPERTY ‘Before moving here, we rented an apartment in Greenland for three years,’ says Birgitte. Birgitte and Mugge Scharling were undaunted by the diminutive size of the Danish property that was to become their first family home. Its allure, located just 30km from Copenhagen and within easy walking distance of the historic town of Hillerød and the surrounding countryside, proved irresistible. ‘We knew that it was far too small for four people, but we simply fell in love with it,’ says Birgitte nostalgically. Twenty years ago, the house was a very different prospect to the one it is now, but the couple planned to extend…

Having sold his advertising agency and spent time travelling around Asia, Sammy Harari got married and settled down with his wife Nim on the island of Ko Samui in Thailand where he became involved in property development. The birth of Sasha, now 7, and Skye, 4, a few years later prompted the family to move back to the UK. ‘Our children were just getting to the age where we were thinking about schools, and it seemed a good idea to have them educated here,’ says Sammy. The couple knew precisely where they wanted to live, which was in a Georgian terrace on a particular road in west London. So when a property came onto the market here, they put an offer in straight away. ‘We pretty much bought it sight…

DISTINCTIVE HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Apartment in a 1930s block LOCATION Netherlands ROOMS Two sitting rooms, kitchen, conservatory, six bedrooms (one en suite), family bathroom PURCHASED 2013 PREVIOUS PROPERTY ‘We lived on the ground floor and bought the flat above us to make one large property,’ says Annemarie. Annemarie and Rembrandt Poorter were on the verge of selling their ground-floor flat in the Dutch city of Groningen when the property above them came up for sale. ‘We were in urgent need of more space, because we didn’t have enough bedrooms for our four children,’ says Annemarie. ‘We love where we live, so buying the upstairs flat meant we didn’t have to move.’ To join the two apartments together, the couple added a staircase and made two new doorways. Fortunately, Rembrandt…

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