(^118) Hampshire Life: February 2019
Before Siriol had her own art
studio (above the triple garage),
she painted in the study on
the mezzanine floor over the
kitchen where Steve now often
designs. “It is a fabulous space
with fantastic sunsets and the
changing colours of the seasons
were an inspiration.”
Everywhere you look are works
of art. A swarm of metal gauze
butterflies by Michelle Mckinney
take flight across a canvas, there
are evocative semi-abstract
seascapes by New Forest painter
Claire Wiltsher, and work by
Siriol herself – including a
striking watercolour study of a
bird of paradise flower (“I don’t
usually get to keep my pictures”)
and a vertical triptych of a seed
head painted to hang on the
living area’s double-height wall.
The interior scheme, a muted
palette of grey-greens, moss and
stone, was also influenced by
the views as well as materials
used in Woodside’s construction.
Handmade Italian sofas in the
living area are a tone of pale
cloud while deeper shades of
warm peat grey have been used
in the bedrooms on the ground
floor. The impressive boutique
hotel-style master bedroom
features big doors onto the
terrace running along the back
of the house, walk-in wardrobe
and en suite bathroom that is
an exercise in luxury with big
rainfall shower, two basins and
statement ellipse-shaped tub.
Four further bedrooms include
a guest suite - also with doors
onto the gardens. This is a house
that is very connected to its
gardens and they’ve successfully
worked the site’s slight slope to
allow doors from the first floor
family area and dining room to
open onto a west-facing terrace;
achieving the best of both worlds.
Siriol designed the garden
and planned the planting -
there was nothing here except
mature trees. Now terraces of
overlapping circles, edged by a
curve of hornbeam hedge, catch
the evening sun – Steve refers to
it as “our G&T terrace”. There’s
a woodland valley full of wild
flowers – primroses, bluebells
and lily of the valley. Beyond
that a lawn slopes down to acers,
magnolias and rhododendrons...
Woodside is what happens when
art and nature come together.
This is a home where interior
space is used creatively, views are
treated as art and gardens are
sculpted.
In short: Woodside captures
the imagination.
ABOVE:
Cossetting master
bedroom styled in
shades of grey
LEFT: Siriol’s
separate artist
studio is a great
space to work
with north light
and west-facing
glazed gable end,
plus cloakroom
and mini-kitchen
RIGHT: The
vaulted kitchen-
dining-family
area, overlooked
by spacious
study area on the
mezzanine floor,
is a very sociable
space
REAL HOME
The luxurious master bathroom is like one to be found in the smartest boutique hotel -
with big walk-in drench shower and designer ellipse freestanding tub
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