town & country
Lawrie and Nicola Watts upped sticks and moved their extended family from the fast-paced city to an idyllic farm, and have never looked back
The ‘ impossible’ became a reality when this family moved from the capital to the countryside
Moving to a 550-acre farm with outbuildings in a beautiful part of the Southeast would be a fantasy for most people but, for Nicola Watts and her family, the dream came true. ‘We were living in a London semi with three young children ( Tom, now 22, Hannah, 20, and Kitty, 17) but my husband Lawrie and I started to look for somewhere bigger,’ recalls Nicola. ‘We wanted a place within half an hour of a mainline station to London, with a friendly village community – and horse-riding opportunities.’
They thought that was an impossibility but, remarkably, there was a way to achieve it. ‘This plot was being sold with the main farmhouse and multiple other properties so it was much too big just for us. But, as it turned out, my parents were able to invest in the farmland, my sister and her family bought one of the farm properties, while friends from London also purchased a house as a weekend retreat.’
There was another stroke of luck. ‘The lady who was selling the farm wanted to remain in her family home as she had grown up here. We liked the idea of her still being part of the farm, plus she also ran the Pony Club on her land – something that was on our wish list for the children, all of whom joined and thoroughly enjoyed it,’ says Nicola.
The house itself, despite having tenants for a short time, was pretty unchanged since the Fifties. ‘We were drawn to its layout and flow; it is a perfect family home,’ says Nicola, ‘so we didn’t change the original footprint much, but updated the plumbing and wiring, moved bedrooms and bathrooms, and rebuilt a new utility and study out of the coal shed.’
Family also played a part when it came to decorating. ‘My mother ran a successful interior design practice until she recently retired and my father runs a property development business,’ says Nicola. In addition to this, Nicola now runs Peake Design with her sister Alison. ‘ We established it here at the farm and converted the adjacent brick and flint outbuilding into a studio from which we work.’
Nicola knew what she wanted when decorating her own home. ‘The interior needed to be practical – especially with two dogs and a cat – and sympathetic to the property’s age, but with a contemporary feel. To achieve this, we used muted colours for walls and floors, then added bright pops of colour with accessories, which help lift the overall feel.
‘As time went on, we veered towards darker paint shades. I’ve found that the bolder you are, the more enjoyable the end result, as these shades add warmth and depth, especially at night and in winter,’ says Nicola. ‘I like to think how the room will look from outside when the lights are on. I love walking back from the stables and seeing the kitchen lit up.’
So are there any further changes afoot? ‘ We’re planning to knock down a wall between the kitchen and dining room to make the latter a more usable space,’ says Nicola. ‘But ultimately, we just feel very lucky to be able to live here.’
decorating tip ‘Never be put off by the state of an old sofa or armchair – as long as the item has a solid frame a good upholsterer can work wonders’