History History LESSON LESSON
Lucy and Ed Russell’s careful renovation of a Victorian schoolhouse has not only preserved the building’s past but also ensured its future
When Ed and Lucy Russell first viewed the Victorian schoolhouse that would become their future home, they discovered that the property consisted of the main school building plus an additional house in which the head teacher used to live. It looked like two di erent houses, each with its own front door, reached by a separate path. To further complicate matters, the ceilings in the building were of varying levels and the windows set at unusual heights.
Excited by the challenge and determined to use both the high, schoolhouse windows and the more compact living spaces of the head teacher’s accommodation, Ed took
to his laptop. ‘I got on my Mac and started planning; rubbing out and dividing walls,’ he says. Working this way enabled him to unite the two seemingly incompatible structures. Ed saw that by moving the staircase, creating a lofty hallway and – in what had previously been a dead space between the two buildings – making a courtyard garden, he could give the old building a new lease of life, whilst making the most of its unique features. The courtyard in particular has been a great success. ‘It’s a bit of a suntrap,’ continues Lucy, ‘and it now functions as an extra room for us, whenever the weather is warm.’
Despite making these major spatial changes, the couple remained sensitive to the building’s past, retaining the original archways and doors wherever possible. The heavy oak door in the corner of the kitchen was originally the main school entrance and it’s not hard to imagine the eager pupils queuing outside at the start of each day.
‘I often think about it creaking shut behind all the school children,’ says Lucy, adding that another family might have felt that it was surplus to requirements, but they decided it was an important part of the building. ‘ We wanted to retain the history of this house,’ she says, ‘while also updating it with our own style.’
This has been the guiding principle for the decoration and furnishing of their home. ‘I love using old with new,’ says Lucy, explaining that they brought all their old furniture with them and added to it. ‘Throughout the house, we’ve mixed family antiques with larger, more industrial pieces and things we had made bespoke.’
A charming children’s furniture set from the 18th century, which has been in her family for many years, sits beside an elegant 19th- century chest that belonged to Lucy’s grandmother; both are tucked under the new staircase at one end of the living room.
Auctions are brilliant for chairs and decorative pieces – once you’ve discovered them it’s hard to go back
The couple felt it was important to find furniture that would not only sit comfortably with the building’s rich history, but also work with its outsize scale. Big antiques markets such as Sunbury and Newark were Lucy’s first port of call for the larger pieces of furniture, and she quickly became a regular at JS Fine Art auction rooms in Oxford. ‘I went there every other week,’ she says. ‘Auctions are brilliant for chairs and decorative pieces – once you’ve discovered them it’s hard to go back. It’s amazing how good reupholstery can totally transform a cheap chair.’
For the largest items, such as tables and cupboards, the couple turned to local dealer, Mark Groethe, whose online emporium Looking For Antiques proved to be a useful source of both antiques and contemporary handmade furniture. Mark was quick to see that moving from a domestic interior to a school hall required designing on a completely di erent scale. Ed and Lucy’s dining table and kitchen worktops are a case in point. ‘The table needed to be big – far larger than the one in our previous home,’ remembers Lucy, so Mark made one from old sca olding boards, complete with nicks, dents and bashes. ‘I love it; they really add ABOVE LEFT A row of brass pendants from Industville hangs over a dining table made using old scaffolding planks by Looking For Antiques. The chairs are Ikea, re- covered in Romo fabric to add pattern. The vintage storage chest is from Societique and the vintage glass pots add a shot of emerald colour LEFT The storage under the kitchen island is bespoke, constructed to mimic the style of old haberdashery units. Dark brass handpulls add to the effect, while other kitchen handles are from Anthropologie RIGHT The library is painted in ‘Downpipe’ with some woodwork in ‘Railings’, both Farrow & Ball. The girls ‘love to take out all of the old books and children’s books, then inevitably forget to put them back on the shelves again,’ says Lucy. The bench is a vintage nd
to its character,’ she says. For the worktops, Mark suggested repurposing any floorboards that were not good enough to be relaid. This way, much of the fabric of the original building has remained on site, but cleverly reused. Other items came from further afield, such as the beautifully weathered French shutters in the bedroom.
Everywhere you look it’s clear that great attention has been given to the surfaces, colours and texture. The snug, which was previously the head teacher’s living room, is decorated in teal and amber, which complement Lucy’s collection of vintage green glassware, most of which she inherited from her grandmother. ‘I like to build on collections,’ she says. ‘I love being surrounded by an eclectic mix of art and antiques.’ From vintage finds to heirlooms and carefully sourced antiques, the pieces dotted throughout Lucy and Ed’s home are as varied and rich as this building’s history. ABOVE LEFT The steep pitched roof creates a lofty, escapist feel in the master bedroom, with French shutters from Looking For Antiques. The bed is from And So To Bed, with Zara side tables and vintagestyle lights ABOVE RIGHT Lucy cut this mural, from Anthropologie, and mounted it onto sections of MDF to make a triptych
I like to build on collections… I love being surrounded by an eclectic mix of art and antiques