English Home

THE ENGLISH HOME 33itself. In 2000, Christina began fabric and homewarecompany Cabbages & Roses, offering a selection offaded floral prints and nostalgic buys plus two clothingranges a year. The company, which has now grown intoa global success story, began as a mail-order businessbased in her Somerset cottage.Christmas is wonderfully suited to the cottage’s cosycharm, and natural decorations are abundant on thedoorstep. “I love decorating the house for Christmas,but I do it rather simply. I’m over baubles and tinsel- I love a million white fairy lights, a natural tree andnatural decorations, and I bring in ivy and Christmastree branches from outside,” explains Christina. The warmth in Christina’s voice tells of a greatfondness for her home, enjoyed over many years. “I metmy husband and the cottage at the same time, 35 yearsago. I loved the cottage the minute I met it – almostmore than my husband!” she chuckles. The propertywas part of an estate bought by Strutt’s in-laws’ family inthe 1800s, and when his parents died, Christina’shusband, Mark, retained the cottage. Built around1500, the main house served as a monastery for sometime, “This house was the mill cottage, so I presume themonks milled their flour down here,” she muses.When the couple first moved into the cottage thedecor was not to Christina’s taste. The cottage waslisted, so the exterior could not be altered, but luckilyChristina had fallen for its charm and did not wish tochange it, however, inside was a different matter. “Thefamily had inherited a lot of enormous furniture,which somehow fitted into this house, but slowly wegot rid of the great big heavy lumps of mahogany andgrand pianos and I feminised the decor.”Gradually, Christina began to fill each room withtreasured possessions but, after 20 years of living in thehouse, she felt that the cottage was missing fabrics andaccessories that eased into place and fitted amongstinteriors that bore the charm of age, with characterfulcurves, winding little corridors and quaint archwaydoors. Upon searching, Christina was disappointed,“There was never anything that was ready faded, thatwas gentle and beautiful, so we invented it ourselves.”Christina was influenced by the mellow manner ofthe house and garden, “It’s such a pretty and gentle``````CLOCKWISE FROMTOP LEFT Christmasmorning breakfast isserved in an eclecticrange of mismatchedtableware. Tableclothin Bees fabric,Cabbages & Roses.The cheerful checkedsofa is the perfectplace to sip a glassof port on ChristmasEve after the childrenare tucked up in bed.A spicy clementine-and-clove scentedpillar candle fromHighgrove impartsa festive glow.The boot room offersample space for thefamily’s outerwear.Thick cottage wallsprovide a number ofcosy window seats.A sturdy apple boxdoubles as a cleverChristmas-tree stand.Nestled in the embrace of a secluded hillside, this old stonecottage is a quintessentially English visionTEH UK DEC15 HOUSE - Strutt.indd 33 14/10/2015 10:05