2019-06-01 Homes and Gardens

W

henCharlotteandJames

Grangestartedsearching

fora newhomeinthe

countryside,theywanted

somethingspaciousenoughforthemselvesandtheir

threechildren,aswellasa generousgarden.When

theyeventuallycameacrossa turn-of-the-century

houseinHampshire,it tickedalltheboxesbutalso

offereda greatopportunitytoupdatetheir new

homefor21st-centuryfamilyliving.

‘Itwastheviewsthatsoldit tous,’saysCharlotte.

‘Wehavetheseuninterruptedvistasoftherolling

fieldsandvalleysandthevillagenearbyis very

friendly,witha localpub.Therewasa lotofpotential

withthehouseandthegardensandwecouldalso

seeourchildrengrowinguphappilyhere.’

Thehousedatesfromaround1910,butadoptsa

TudorstylewithsomethingofanArtsandCrafts

feel.Reclaimedlocalbrickswereusedtobuildthe

house,whichmakesit feelolderthanit is,andthere

is a wonderfulsenseofsymmetryandscale,alongwith

largewindowsthatframethosevistas.Theproperty

is unlisted,whichmadetheprocessofupdatingit

easierintermsofplanningandpermissions.

‘Wecouldseethatthehousewasfairlyrun-down

andneededa lotofattention,’saysCharlotte.‘The

insidehadtoberethoughtstructurallytomake

everythingflow.Wewantedtocreatecontemporary

spaces– butnottoocontemporary– anda warmand

cosyatmospherethatmakeseveryonefeelathome.’

Thecouplewereintroducedtointeriordesigner

OliviaBell,andtogethertheybeganbylookingat

howtheycouldimprovethelayoutofthehouse,

whileestablishinga balancebetweenoldandnew.

WiththehelpofarchitectIanAdam-Smith,they

introduceda newhallandstaircase,whilea wing

toonesidewasrebuiltasa guestannex.‘Previously

the house had two sets of stairs with one of them

leadingtothefirstfloorandtheotherwasa back

stairs,takingyouuptothetopfloor,’saysCharlotte.

‘Wenowhavethisonelovely,galleried staircase that

is centraltothewholehouse.’

Havingstrippedtheinteriorbacktothebones,

Oliviabeganworkingonwaystointroducecharacter,

suchastheoakfloorsthatunitethemainliving

spaces.Aswellasthenewstaircase,Oliviaadded

woodenpanellinginthediningroom,painteda

soothinggreywitha touchoflavender.Inthesitting

room,sheintroduceda newfireplaceandcoatedthe

wallsina softlinen.Thenewkitchen-dineris now

a familyhub,withanislandandmatchingunits.

‘Oneofthewowfactorswenowhaveis thisview

thatyougetallthewaydownfromthesittingroom

throughtothestairway,diningroomandthenthe

kitchen,’saysOlivia.‘Weputinglazeddoubledoors

betweentheroomsthatopenup,butevenwhenthey

areclosedtheygiveyouthissenseofopennessand

light.Thewoodenpanellingreallyhelpstohold

everythingtogetherarchitecturallyandaesthetically.’

Upstairs,Oliviacontinuedthebalancingact

betweenoldandnew.Themasterbedroomis a great

example,withitsvaultedceilingandpaletteofgreys

andwhites.Here,aselsewhere,thebigwindows

drawinthelightandhelpbringthespacetolife.

‘Everyone’slivesaresohecticnowthatyouneedto

beabletowalkintothesecalmerenvironmentsand

justrelax,’saysOlivia.‘Theycreatea quietbackdrop

andthenyoucanlayerinartandaddlittleinjections

ofcolour.Charlottetoldmethatshelovedpurple,

sowedohavesubtleaccentsthroughoutthehouse.

Itcreatesthisfeelingofcontinuitybutmeans that

nothingfeelstoosuddenorjumpy.’

Thefamilylovetheircountryhome.‘Wewanted

somethingcomfortableandnottooformal,’says

Charlotte,‘butalsoa homethatourchildrenwill

always want to come back to as they get older.’ &

inspiRation