25 Beautiful Homes – July 2019

W

henSadieandCasper

Whitefirstviewedtheir

housein2013,their

twins,OscarandIvy,

wereonlythree,andthecouplehadjust

finisheda renovationproject.‘Weweren’t

planningtomovebutwhenthisplacecame

up,it wastoomuchofanopportunityto

miss,’saysSadie.‘Itwasreasonablypriced,

detachedandhada good-sizegarden.I

thinkit wassouglythatnooneelsehad

takenmuchnoticeofit,butweknewwe

couldmakeit workforus,sowewentforit.’

Thepairbothhavea loveofgooddesign

• Sadieis a textiledesigner,whoalsoruns
  WhiteSpaceHomeonlinestorewhile
  Casperis a salesdirectorwithRalphLauren


• sothepotentialtomaximisethelightand
  improvethelayoutwasobvioustothem.
  Securingthesale,theyimmediatelymoved
  intothehouseandstartedsaving and
  planningfortheextension.
  Thehousewasa wreckandinneedof
  complete renovation. ‘The people who lived

herebeforehadpurchasedit whenit was

builtintheFifties,andverylittlehad

changedsincethen,’saysSadie.‘Themain

challengewasaddingtherearextensionand

theadditionalbedroomwithitsvaulted

ceiling,whichhasreallyopenedthehouse

upandmeantthatthereis nownatural

lightfloodingineverywhere.’

Theideafromthestartwastocontrast

thenewbuildwiththeoldhousesoyou

couldseewhatwasoriginallythereand

whatwasnew,aswellasmakingthemost

ofthesouth-facinggarden.‘Wewanted

tomakethespacefamilyfriendlyandfree

flowing,’saysSadie.Thefamilyoffourall

stayedinsituduringtherenovations,which

Sadiesayswas‘a bitofanendurancetest.

Yousortofblockit outatthetime,but

lookingback,thereweredefinitelysome

uncomfortablemoments,likewhenwe

hadtohabituallyencounterbuilders in

ourpyjamasat7am,’shesays.

Aswellasplanningtheredesignand

reconfiguring the space, Sadie has also

turnedherdesigneyetotheinterestingmix

ofcolour,furnitureandaccessories.‘Both

CasperandI havealwayslovedvintage

furniture,sowehavecombinedlotsofold

pieceswithmodernonestomakethemost

ofourstyle,’shesays.‘I alwaysthinkthat

antiquesalreadyhavea storyandthatby

addingthemtoyourhome,you’rebuilding

onthat,whichmakesmehappy.’

Thecouplearealsoverydrawntoart

andownlotsofworksthathavesentimental

value.‘Havingstudiedtextilesandpattern

designmyself,I findI’moftendrawnto

graphic,colourfulpieces,’saysSadie.

Andnowthatthehousehasbeen

transformed,willthefamilythinkof

movingagain?‘I loveit hereandwantto

stayputforatleasta fewyears,althoughI’m

originallyfromNorfolkandwouldalsolove

toheadbackuptheresomeday,’saysSadie.

‘Eventually,I’dliketobuya Georgian

propertyandhavea contrastingmodern

extension.I wouldalsolovea barninthe

countryside – well, that’s the dream.’

design inspiration ‘We love the combination of retro style and modern’

LIVINGAREA

‘OurvintageEameschairandottoman

spentyearsbeinghiddenfromthekids,’

saysSadie.‘Nowtheylovetospinaroundon

them– andwe’vegivenupbeingprecious!’

Fora similarsofa,trytheArlothree-seater,

£749,JohnLewis&Partners.Artwork,

price on request, Lucy McLauchlan

104 | 25bhJuLy 2019