CORNISH DREAM
A resourceful approach, combining vintage simplicity with ingenious upcycling, has brought quirky appeal and thrifty chic to an old farmhouse
A resourceful combination of vintage simplicity and ingenious upcycling has brought quirky appeal to an old farmhouse
With its rugged whitewashed walls, pretty paned windows, traditional slate roof and front door framed by a fragrant mix of wisteria and pink climbing roses, Freathy Farmhouse looks the picture-perfect rustic retreat. Hidden away in a secluded spot in south-east Cornwall, just across the River Tamar on the beautiful Rame Peninsula – an area of tidal creeks, sandy beaches and lush farmland – the setting is idyllic, too. So it seems unthinkable now to Sarah Weeks that she almost missed out on the chance to make this special place her much-loved home.
Inspired by happy childhood holidays, she had always dreamed of moving to Cornwall and when the opportunity arose to move there ten years ago, she didn’t hesitate. However, finding somewhere to live in the South West turned out to be tricky. There was very little available but, despite being sent details for the farmhouse several times by estate agents, Sarah thought it looked bleak and unpromising, so she ruled it out. Eventually, she agreed to a viewing and was pleasantly surprised. “It had the most lovely, welcoming atmosphere,” she recalls. “As soon as I walked in, I felt a connection with the house – it seemed like fate.”
So Sarah moved in and lived there happily, but at Christmas 2012, disaster struck. The farmhouse was flooded three times in the space of three weeks, and lots of furniture and possessions were destroyed. Although incredibly traumatic, the experience proved life-changing and a turning point in Sarah’s life. Part of her Cornish dream had always been to run a bed and breakfast, so, with the help of her eldest son Ethan, a qualified fine furniture maker, and her friend and business partner Jeremy Lorens
– also an expert woodworker – she set about restoring the 18th-century farmhouse on a shoestring.
It was an impressive team effort. Jeremy transformed discarded wooden pallets into the rustic units that now flank the original deep blue Aga in the kitchen, Sarah covered the walls with cream metro tiles, and they laid wooden boards on top of the old cold concrete floor, painting them in Little Greene’s Clay Pale to warm and brighten the room. A dining table of broad oak planks by Jeremy and shelves stacked with his hand-hewn breadboards and platters add rich artisanal texture.
The sitting room has an informal feel, with plenty of places for family and guests to relax, including an elegant window seat, built by Ethan and piled invitingly with cushions by Sarah, who also made the shutters. She used sewing skills learnt from her mother to run up curtains and blinds from vintage fabrics and remnants, introducing subtle pattern and colour throughout the interior, where a muted palette of warm off-whites and soft greens by Little Greene and Farrow & Ball creates a calm, restful atmosphere.
But it is Sarah’s great passion for upcycling that has given the farmhouse its wonderfully distinctive style. Serendipitous skip finds, car-boot-sale curios and fly-tipped treasures – “random things I’ve picked up along the way as I go through life” – have been repurposed into furniture and accessories full of quirky charm. “I always keep a lookout for stuff I can salvage that might come in useful one day,” she explains.
Cleverly reinvented pieces furnish the three guest bedrooms, giving each its own appealing character. Low painted stepladders serve as bedside tables, old wooden shoe lasts act as towel hooks and a small antique loom makes an idiosyncratic clothes rack. One ensuite bathroom has a former brass jam kettle as a basin,
resting on a vintage Singer sewing-machine base, and another features a showerhead made from a redundant boiler tank and a stone sink set on a slab of driftwood washed up on the nearby beach.
A weathered wooden ladder, hung horizontally above the sofa in the sitting room, creates an original display area for eclectic finds (another one is used to hang lamps in a bedroom), while other reminders of the house’s farming heritage provide atmospheric lighting – candleholders fashioned from zinc chicken feeders and wooden grain sieves turned by Ethan into lampshades that cast intricate patterns on the hall ceiling.
In the pantry, old drawers of different sizes were lined by Sarah with maps and arranged in an irregular grid on the wall to create eye-catching open storage. Showcased on shelves alongside sits an array of pretty china and gleaming glassware. Mostly inherited from her mother, Sarah now uses it to bring a touch of nostalgic charm to the weddings and other celebrations she hosts for guests at Freathy.
The magical setting lends itself perfectly to such occasions and Sarah has converted a beautiful old timber cow shed and milking parlour across the courtyard to accommodate more business. It’s from here during the summer months that she runs a craft gallery and café that has proven to be a popular destination for walkers on the nearby South West Coast Path. Although it is hard work, Sarah doesn’t mind. She is profoundly grateful for the new way of life the farmhouse has provided: “I love it here – when I arrived at Freathy, it felt as though I had come home.”
For B&B stays, visit freathyfarmhouse.com. The café is open from Easter to September (check opening times online). For information on weddings at Freathy, see thecowshedweddings.co.uk.