WELCOME inn

Since Alison and Peter Hutchinson redesigned and extended their home, they have been happily sharing it with extended family and friends

Alison and Peter Hutchinson scoured the whole of Rutland in search of a new home, and had seen more than 40 properties before an unloved stone cottage in the heart of a picturesque village caught their eye. ‘We had decided to downsize and find a new house close to our daughter Olivia’s (now 15) school,’ explains Alison, a former interior designer. ‘The property was in a sorry state when we bought it but we knew immediately that by extending at the rear, it would have real potential as a family home.’

After living with the dated decor for a year, the couple embarked on a complete renovation. Alison and Peter are both health and wellness consultants and often hold group training sessions and events at home, so a roomy kitchen with plenty of seating was high on their list of priorities. ‘As well as providing hospitality to our colleagues, we love to cook for family and friends,’ says Alison. ‘So the kitchen also had to be a sociable place to relax and eat.’

Working alongside an architect, the couple designed a two-storey extension, which doubled the size of the kitchen

and created space for a master en suite above it. The result is a bright, open-plan kitchen and dining area where the family now spend much of their time. Alison selected calm, neutral tones for the walls, with blinds and soft furnishings in her favourite shades of turquoise and teal adding accent colour.

She had some more radical changes up her sleeve for the sitting room. ‘The ceiling was very low and dark, so our joiner pulled it all down, revealing the original beams underneath,’ explains Alison. ‘Some of our friends were a little disparaging about my plan to paint over them, but I did anyway and now they all love the finished look.’

Getting the large shower screen into the new en suite presented the couple with their biggest challenge. ‘We had to find a way to get it up the very narrow staircase,’ recalls Alison. ‘The builders were sceptical when I suggested cutting out an exact template in cardboard so they could practise, but with no other option, they tried it and it worked.’

Combining her love for colour and textiles with a knack for upcycling, Alison describes her style as ‘contemporary country with a dash of Scandinavian chic’. Bold

wallpaper is used occasionally to add interest to pared-back settings, such as the floral design by Lewis & Wood in the sitting room and an Osborne & Little Penguin Library paper in the cloakroom. ‘I’ve mostly used neutral base colours so that I can change accessories seasonally,’ says Alison.

All the family love the festive season in particular and relish the many annual customs and traditions, from choosing and trimming the tree to dressing the house with treasured decorations and fresh foliage. Christmas Day itself is a fun-packed affair with relatives and friends. ‘The new spacious kitchen has made it possible for us to invite everyone over to our place for Christmas lunch,’ says Alison. ‘And a house full of happy guests is just how we like it.’