anda halfaway.‘I wasbroughtupina town,sothe
viewhereneverboresme,’saysLauren.Thehouse
is alsoclosetoa markettown,whichis important
forherasCharlieis awaya lotwithwork.‘I wanted
tohaveneighboursnearbysoI didn’tfeelisolated,’
saysLauren.‘I lovedthehistoryandcharacterofthe
farmhouse.It lookedlikea doll’shousewiththedoor
inthemiddleatthefront,plusalltheroomswerea
goodsize.It alsohada lovelynewkitchen.It wasa bit
ofa stretchforusbutwe’resogladwetooktherisk.’
Asa lotofworkhadalreadybeendonetothehouseduringtheprevioussale,LaurenandCharliewentin
witha relativelylighttouch.‘Werepointedthefront,
installeda bathroomonthetopfloorandaddeda
woodburnertothediningroom,’saysLauren.‘We
thenredecoratedthroughouttofreshenuptherooms
butdidn’tchangethecolourschemeat all as it was
exactlyhowI wouldhavedoneit.’
Butastimewenton,thecouplebegantofeelonethingwasmissing– a familyspacethatwouldtruly
bringthehousetolife.‘I lovedtheideaofanopen-
plankitchen/entertainingspaceoverlookingthe
garden,’saysLauren.‘Wethoughtit wouldfinishoffthe
house.’Sothedecisionwasmadetoaddanextension.
‘Merry Albright, the creative director of Border Oak,
KitchenThecouple
kepttheShaker-style
cabinets,updatingthem
witha lickofpaint.Units
paintedinVertdeTerre
by Farrow & BallLIVINGTHEDREAM
ForLaurenRichards,livinginthe
countrysidebutclosetoa market
townis thebestofbothworldsWhat’sthebestthing
aboutlivingcloseto
Ludlow?‘Idon’tfeelisolated
whenmyhusbandis workingaway.
Everyoneknowseveryonehere–
there’sa realsenseofcommunity.’What’sattheheartof
locallife?‘Thedailymarket,
whichis supportedextremelywell.
Andthelocaltheatreandcinema.’Anytipsformakinglocal
friends?‘Withsmallchildren,
makingfriendscameeasy.Butfor
thosewhodon’thavechildrenthere
aremanygroupsandclubsto
getinvolvedin.Joininginis the
bestwaytomeetpeople.’>KitchenAnopen-
planlayoutmeansthe
oldpartflowsseamlessly
intotheextension.Rug,
Graham and Green