Innehållsförteckning för August 2017 från 25 Beautiful Homes

There is a reason that Emma and Will Deeley’s house might look out of place in the Oxfordshire village in which it is located. ‘Legend has it that, back in the 19th century, a wealthy landowner fell in love with a city lady, who said she would only marry him and move to the country if he built her a London-style townhouse,’ explains Emma. Although the couple have no connection to the original owners, the house has been in the Deeley family for several generations. They have farmed the land here for more than 500 years, and it continues to provide for the family. Will’s brother and parents manage the farm, while Will and Emma run a successful events venue business in the 14th-century Tythe Barn, which they renovated. ‘Transforming…

While Jemma created the self-contained flat in her house as a way to accommodate family members in the future, if you’ve got the space, dividing up your house can be a great way to create an income from your home now, or in years to come – whether you want to rent or sell the properties you create. Getting permission When it comes to a project like this, planning permission is the first consideration and your local planning office will want to look carefully at minimum room sizes, parking and their own policy regarding the conversion of houses into flats and multi-occupancies. Building Control at your local council can advise you on issues such as minimum standards for soundproofing, insulation and fire-safety measures, and you will need to provide detailed…

Cabin homeowners swear by the warmth, cosiness and feeling of being close to nature that you get with this type of dwelling. Factor in the ease of construction, sustainability and arguably modest costs involved, and this eco-friendly solution to Britain’s housing shortage is fast growing in popularity. However, gaining planning permission isn’t always easy, so undertake thorough research before committing. Seek permission Style-wise, cabins tend to suit rural locations. You’re less likely to get planning permission for one on a street of Victorian terraces, but they can be ideal for woodland settings or back garden boltholes like the Douglas’ – provided the council will give consent. A detailed overview of the current planning rules and regulations can be found at planningportal.co.uk. If you are buying a cabin from an overseas…

When Danish-born Gitte Trench’s beloved husband Bernard had to move to a nursing home a few years ago, necessitated by a long illness, it prompted a life-changing decision. ‘I sold our house in Dalkey, County Dublin, where we had raised our family and spent many happy years,’ says Gitte. ‘That way, I could use the funds to make sure Bernard was in the best possible facility for the rest of his life. I didn’t want to stay in our beautiful home if Bernard wasn’t able to share it with me, so I set aside money for his care and a small budget to buy another house.’ Gitte decided her new property should be single storey and near shops and public transport, but the one thing she wouldn’t give up was…

Having raised their family in the capital, Murielle and Peter Davies yearned to retire to the countryside, so they put their London home on the market to pursue their dream. ‘With seven bedrooms and an attached flat, our old home was too large, and, although we were keen to live in Kent, we weren’t sure whereabouts,’ says Murielle. ‘So we armed ourselves with masses of particulars and went property hunting.’ After an exhausting day of viewings, the couple took a wrong turn on their way home and began driving down a single-track lane. ‘We saw a house with a For Sale board outside and couldn’t believe our eyes – it was everything we’d hoped for,’ recalls Murielle. ‘The owners were in the garden and we introduced ourselves.’ The story did…

Creeping forward in heavy traffic, Suzanne Jarvis decided enough was enough. ‘I was driving from our home in Berkshire to my central London office every day and becoming increasingly fed up with the commute,’ she says. ‘It was time for change.’ So she and husband, Jamie, who together run an interior design practice, Jarvis Rayes, and moving concierge business, Move In Style, decided to explore the option of working from home. ‘With so much of our work done on site, on the phone and by email, we decided we could probably make a success of it,’ says Suzanne. ‘If only we had enough space.’ The couple had bought their house about 13 years ago, moving from south London to be closer to Jamie’s children. Although they had refurbished it from…

During these warm summer nights, when you are still sleeping above your covers, with the windows thrown open, layering up your bed for cooler autumn days may be the last thing on your mind – and justifably so. But this folksy floral scheme might be just the thing to change your mind, and find you seeking out some similarly bohemian bedlinen. Stripped down to just a white sheet and pillows for summer, this room would feel fresh and pretty, but by dressing the bed with mismatched cushions and a floral paisley print quilt, the room is transformed into a riot of colour that still feels calm and restrained thanks to the white floorboards and the clean, modern lines of the bedside table. The blowsy, painterly blooms on the wallpaper make…

Christmas was looming and Charlotte King, who was then pregnant with her second child, was trying to find a larger house in London for her growing family. Her last two attempted house purchases had fallen through and she was beginning to feel downhearted about the whole affair. Then Charlotte went to view a tall, semi-detached Dutch gable house in west London and things started to look up. ‘As soon as I walked through the door, it had me,’ she says. This was despite the fact that it had previously been rented out, and looked somewhat unloved. ‘There was a sea of bland magnolia, but I fell in love with what the house could become for our family,’ she recalls. Although she was generally happy with the property’s layout, the…

A quaint coastal town on California’s Monterey Peninsula, Carmel-by-the-Sea has always held an important place in Noelle Micek’s heart. ‘I came here as a child with my mum and dad, who in turn were brought here by their parents,’ she explains. Noelle, her husband John and their two young children, Charlotte, six, and Jack, four, live in Diablo, just an hour and a half north of Carmel, so when they began thinking about a weekend retreat, they knew exactly where to hone their search. And after viewing around a dozen properties, they finally visited this cottage, which was built in 1914. ‘I loved all the original features, such as the board and batten panelling, the beams and the fireplace made from local stone,’ says Noelle. The location was also exactly…

When living in London with two young children – Poppy and Finn, now 20, and 17 – started to feel claustrophobic, artist Annie Waring and her art director husband decided they wanted a more rural lifestyle. ‘Geoff works in the capital, and Charing Cross is his nearest commuter station,’ explains Annie, ‘so we looked at town options along that rail line, and chose Tunbridge Wells in Kent. Our house sold quickly, so we were in a hurry to find a new home, but there was nothing we liked about this Edwardian property, except that it was in the right area.’ Although in good structural order, the interior was dated, with avocado bathrooms and carpets with swirly patterns. But the couple remained undaunted. ‘The fact that it still had original features,…

Hues such as bubblegum pink, lemon yellow and mauve are often thought of as feminine, but they can be used almost anywhere in a family home. Serene and spring-like, pastels enliven a neutral palette and give a fresh feel to darker, moodier schemes. Versatile style Keep pastels on-trend by teaming with metallic accents. Geometric wallpapers with touches of gold or copper add warmth and offer a modern way to make a statement with these hues, while chrome fittings complement pale blues and blush pinks. Move away from vintage or country connotations by introducing an industrial edge with materials such as concrete and marble to give a pastel interior an urban feel. These soft colours are often chosen for their calming qualities, and therefore work well in living areas and bedrooms.…

On the day that Richard Awbery completed on his purchase of two empty cow barns in Gloucestershire, he celebrated by taking his new girlfriend, Annabel, out to dinner. Today they both look back on that romantic first date with fond amazement. ‘I was a born-and-bred London girl,’ says Annabel. ‘So I just couldn’t imagine what living in the depths of the countryside could be like, but at least I knew from the very beginning that it was Richard’s intention to live there permanently. Fast forward a few years, and now the couple live in the home that Richard renovated, along with their children Rollo, 5, Ottilia, 3, and Archie, 1. The challenge of converting the barns was something that he relished. ‘Richard cares about the finest details,’ says Annabel, ‘even…

With their house under offer and nothing coming on to the market, Serena and Henry Pitchers decided to take matters into their own hands. As they were already based in Leamington Spa, they knew exactly where they wanted to live – a secluded road of period houses near the river – so they decided to leaflet all the owners to see if anyone was interested in selling. The couple went door-to-door, posting their details through the letterboxes, but almost gave the detached property at the end a miss. ‘It looked really dark and was surrounded by huge trees that completely overshadowed the garden,’ says Serena. ‘But you could see it had lots of potential. A few days later, the owner, a gregarious Australian guy, invited us over to take a…

For sculptor Isabelle Healy, moving to Lyon from Saint-Etienne, some 30 miles away, with her husband Oliver, heralded a new creative chapter in her life. This creaky, 19th-century building in historic Croix-Rousse, once whirred and clanked to the sound of looms worked by Canuts – silk weavers – but now exudes a deep sense of calm. ‘I love the fact that, 200 years later, I live and work in the same place as those craftspeople, making objects that also use age-old skills,’ she says. The house, which has outbuildings that Isabelle has converted into her art studio, dates from 1842. ‘At that time, the city of Lyon was a prosperous centre of silk-making,’ explains Isabelle. ‘This felt like a good omen, as my husband comes from a family that has…

While she is the first to admit that the prospect of renovation never appealed to her, when Jemma Broadgate eventually remodelled her four-storey terrace in east London, it completely changed her home. ‘Before this, even having the house repainted felt like a chore,’ she says, ‘and I’d never so much as knocked down a wall.’ It is no surprise then, that it took more than 20 years for her to take the plunge, all thanks to a chance encounter at her local post office. ‘While standing in the queue, I got chatting to Johnathan Joseph, who happens to run a build and design company,’ recalls Jemma. ‘He knew the area and houses well and suggested coming to have a look at how we could enhance the space. ‘I was…

The old proverb ‘necessity is the mother of invention’, applies perfectly to the County Wicklow home of Charlotte and John Douglas who, wanting somewhere for their guests to stay, came up with the clever idea of converting their garden shed. ‘It seemed to make sense to do it up and use the space for our friends and family,’ explains Charlotte, a teacher. ‘But as it didn’t even have a bathroom, kitchen or any heating, there was quite a lot of work involved to turn it into a liveable space.’ Despite the obstacles, the couple decided to give themselves just 10 weeks to turn the outbuilding and its plot into a comfortable and practical home. ‘With a big family gathering coming up, we had a target to work to,’ says Charlotte.…

Nick Hayes had never liked pine cladding, so he had very mixed feelings when he first saw his future home, which was covered in tongue-and-groove panelling that had turned orange. ‘It was everywhere,’ he says. ‘On the walls, on the ceilings – all the main rooms were clad in pine. And there were huge football-sized spotlights in the ceiling, which burned your head if you stood under them. It was hard to imagine the house without all that wood.’ Luckily, his wife Lisa could see the house’s potential. At first, the property was extended to create a new kitchen, cloakroom and utility room, and fitted with new bathrooms. The cladding was removed and the interior was decorated in ‘a safe and slightly boring beige’ to freshen it up and make…

SWINTON PARK, YORKSHIRE From £142pp* for a one-night stay (a saving of £55pp); plus dinner and spa treatment Be king or queen of all you survey at Swinton Park, a castle-style luxury hotel in the Yorkshire Dales. Two of the hotel’s standout features – the superb seasonal food at Samuel’s Restaurant and its nine-hole golf course – will shortly be combined with a magnificent spa, which opens this summer, and will have indoor and outdoor swimming pools, steam room and saunas, as well as a Wellness Centre devoted to health and beauty. WE LOVE… the stunning location; the warm, friendly service, and the thought of being among the first guests to unwind at the new spa. WHAT’S INCLUDED Stay in a Knights room Dinner at Samuel’s Restaurant or The Terrace…

Behind the façade of Jasmine and Leo Thompson’s refined Hampshire home is a hubbub of family activity – the couple have five children aged between six and 18. ‘Leo and I have demanding jobs, and the children are in and out of the house, so life is a little hectic at times,’ says Jasmine. It was a bountiful garden and unequalled views of the surrounding countryside that persuaded the couple to buy the house as a fixer-upper 1o years ago. ‘We needed a space large enough to accommodate everyone,’ explains Jasmine. ‘When I stood on the terrace I thought, wow, and I said to Leo, “This is it”.’ The Cape Dutch-style house, built by Queen Victoria’s former physician, had been divided into wings and partially rented out by the previous…