25bh | georgian listed
diningarea
Thetableextendstoseat 12
andisidealforthesupper
clubthatthecouplerun.
Chichesterdiningtable,from
£865,Neptune.Thechairs
weresalvagedfroma Welsh
chapel and bought at auctionSometimesit is theunexpectedthings
thatleadyouontothemostsurprising
paths.Sowhenallisonandr ichard
ilsleywereapproachedoutoftheblue
andaskedif theywantedtoselltheTudor
hometheywerecurrentlylivingin,located
intheheartofessex’s‘Constablecountry’,
theyreallystartedthinkingaboutit.
‘welovedourhouse,butweweren’t
happywiththesmallroomsandhowlow
the ceilings were,’ says allison. ‘havinganofferonthetablemeantwebeganto
lookatpropertiesforsale,andwhenwe
sawthisplaceontheedgeofthevillage,
withitshighceilingsandextraspace,
westartedtogetquiteexcited.’
Oncetheyhadacceptedtheoffer,the
couplemadethemove.Thatwasmorethan
10 yearsagonowandthefamily,which
includestheirtwoteenageboys,alexand
rowan,havenotlookedback.‘whenwe
bought this house it needed a lot of work,whichweknewwecouldn’tdoallinone
go,’saysallison,whois originallyfrom
detroit,USa.‘Thebathroomwasfirstto
bedone,andsincethendecorationprojects
havehappenedeachyearwe’vebeenhere.’
allisonandrichard’sbiggestjobsofar
hasbeenthekitchen,whichwascompleted
in2017.Forthisroom,allisonwaskeento
recreatethelight,spaceandopennessshe
wasusedtoinamericankitchens,andalso
wanted to make enough room so that theFAVOURITEfeature‘I lovetheantiquetableinthehallway– ithas such
character and it beautifully complements the parquet flooring’diningarea
‘Asa child,I loved
sailingonmy
grandparents’boat
onLakeStClair,and
thismodelreminds
meofthosehappy
times,’saysAllison.
Themodelboatwas
boughtata brocante
festival,forsimilar,try
Wayfair.co.uk,£85.
Cole&SonNuvolette
wallpaper,£300a roll,
John Lewis & PartnerskiTChen
There’sa placefor
everythinginthe
newfloor-to-ceiling
units,whichcreate
a sleekand
unclutteredfinish.
Miltonkitchenrange,
from£1,678,Wickes.
IslandworktopinRiver
Whitenaturalgranite,
£315sqm,TheMarble
Warehouse.Fora
similarcakestand,try
Nisbets, £28114 | 25bhJ u Ly 20 19