Rachel Whiting

photographed our cover home

Rachel is an established interiors photographer working for both commercial and editorial clients. Her work is well known from many homes magazines, as well as several interiors and craft books.

‘The Victoria and Albert Museum opened the first phase of its new photography centre recently, so I’m really looking forward to checking that out.’

Ispend a lot of time visiting car boot sales, until it gets deep into winter, when you can no longer feel your ! ngers at 6:30am!’ says Gemma Lewis, as she reels o" her many sources for ! nding eclectic vintage pieces for her Surrey home. Other favourites include Sunbury Antiques Market, second-hand shops in Hastings and Bexhill, and French brocantes. ‘ It pays to cut out the middle man and travel abroad to ! nd items from the original source,’ she says. And when it comes to ! nding treasures, she thinks it’s certainly a case of the early bird catching the worm: ‘I’ve found some phenomenal bargains by being the ! rst to arrive.’

When Gemma and her husband, Gary, wanted more space for their family, they cast the net wide. ‘ We travelled all over the country to ! nd a place: Su "olk, Kent, Norfolk, East Sussex and then Surrey,’ says Gemma. So what was it about this house, tucked away down a leafy lane in a quiet Surrey village, that made it The One? ‘A house has to have period character for me to want to live there,’ explains Gemma, ‘and there was something

really interesting about this house and its location.’

Built in the early 1900s, the semidetached co!age retains much of its architectural style, which shows the in "uence of the Arts and Cra #s movement. The original tiny panes of glass in the upper sashes of the windows and the local cra #ed materials, such as the handmade clay peg tiles, beautifully weathered over time, add to the aesthetic that won Gemma over, along with the sweeping front garden. ‘It had some established rhododendrons, roses and wisteria. But we really wanted a wild garden, so this

THIS PAGE FROM TOP A broken piece of weathered metal from a reclamation yard makes a striking abstract piece of art above an antique carved wooden cabinet bought at Sunbury Antiques Market; the mid-century and Seventies pieces in the living room were snapped up at antiques markets. RIGHT Gemma has cleverly teamed a bold 70s-style saffron yellow velvet lounge sofa from eBay with vintage cinema seating.

THIS PAGE FROM ABOVE The wood panelling on the splashback and the island in the kitchen is from 3D Wall Panel Company. The wooden trestle table and chairs are vintage finds; a set of saucepans bought on eBay and a vintage household memo pad picked up at a car boot sale sit alongside contemporary handmade ceramics and textured vases that Gemma sells in her shop.