COASTAL CHARM

Take a tour of a former sailmaker’s co age

Antique textiles specialist Janie Tennant has been immersed in antiques and vintage since she was a child. She grew up in a Georgian house surrounded by her parents’ collections, and her ! rst job was in the textile department at Bonhams. Today, she is one half of antique sourcing business Covelli Tennant, and divides her time between period properties in the Yorkshire Dales, London, and a pre"y 17th- century Devonshire co"age that she bought with her husband, Jeremy Woolfenden.

Rather poignantly, Buckley Co"age in Batson, a former !shing hamlet, was owned by a sailmaker in the 1900s. ‘ It’s a lovely coincidence that there’s a link to textiles embedded in the history of the co" age,’ says Janie. ‘ We also have a link to Jeremy’s childhood holidays – next door is where he used to stay with his family.’

When the couple began looking for a coastal retreat some !ve years ago, they thought, on paper, the co"age might not be big enough for visiting family and friends – Janie has a 10-year- old daughter, Tallulah, and sometimes Jeremy’s three

adult sons, Jake, Buster and Douglas come to stay. ‘ When we walked into the big living room with its inglenook ! replace and had a look upstairs, we realised the co"age was actually a bit of a Tardis and would make a perfect holiday home,’ says Janie. ‘Our bedroom here is bigger than our bedroom in London.’

The co"age needed a li"le love and a"ention. Janie upgraded the heating and !"ed a new log burner into the ! replace, and painted all the orange pine white to make the rooms feel lighter and larger. ‘ The biggest expense was replacing the kitchen,’ she says. ‘Although the thick stone walls were very lovely, they weren’t straight, so we had all the cupboards custom-made.’

It wasn’t long before the co"age was ready to be furnished – naturally, with antique and vintage textiles and furniture. ‘ Very li"le is new in the co" age,’ says Janie. ‘ My passion for antique textiles was inspired by working at Bonhams all those years ago. Traditional fabrics and cloth are so diverse in colour and pa"ern, and I love that they form an important part of women’s cultural history across the whole world.’

One of the ! rst pieces of furniture Janie bought for the co"age was a second-hand Chester !eld she had upholstered with a 1920s French linen

grain sack. ‘Antique furniture was made to last,’ she says. ‘ The bones of this Victorian sofa are much sturdier than most new sofas you’d buy today, and it’s a green and sustainable way to shop.’ A thread of red and blue in the grain sack inspired a subtle nautical colour scheme, though Janie was careful not to fall into a seaside cliché.

‘ I love vibrant colours and so the red, white and blue repeats in all the rooms,’ she says. ‘ Vintage British motifs appear here and there, like the cushions made out of coronation bunting and the red RNLI le!ers from a vintage "ag.’

Upstairs, "oors are carpeted with seagrass, and seaside paintings

‘Traditional fabrics are so diverse in colour and pa ern, and I love that they form an important part of women’s cultural history across the whole world’

‘The beauty of antique textiles is that they are an accessible entry point for collecting,’ Janie says

by local artist and Jeremy’s brother, Jon Woolfenden, appear in bedrooms. Janie sourced 1930s Clarice Cli ! shell wall sconces for the bathroom, and a model wooden galleon sits proudly on the 19th- century apothecary drawers in the living room.

It’s di "cult to separate the Covelli Tennant ethos of creating one- of- akind pieces made from carefully sourced antique textiles, and Janie’s own style. Inevitably the two are intrinsically linked. The Chester #eld is one example, and the Edwardian # reside chair another. They demonstrate the bespoke designs Janie and her business partner, Sara Covelli, create, made special by the rarity of the antique fabrics. ‘ I’m drawn to the detail and work that’s gone into international fabrics, whether it is 18th- century Turkish embroidery or a vintage kilim rug,’ she says. ‘On this particular chair, we’ve used a blue Howe linen with a back panel of Mexican Otomi

Buckley Cottage in Devon, which is available to rent through sunrisecottages. co.uk/buckley, sits on a lane in the pretty village of Batson. It’s just 10 minutes from the centre of Salcombe. All the external woodwork is painted in Farrow & Ball’s Hague Blue. BELOW The antique apothecary drawers are from an antiques shop in London.

TOP Buckley Cottage was owned by a sailmaker in the 1900s. ABOVE The burnt coral and blue kilim rug – from Bayfield Hall Antiques & Interiors in Norfolk – gives the room a vibrancy and colour that Janie loves. The dining table is made from reclaimed wood planks and some of the chairs came from Janie’s grandmother. On the wall, the mirror is made from an old window frame.

ABOVE A warm welcome greets those who come through the front door into the living room, helped by the log burner in the ancient fireplace. A holiday in Laos inspired Janie to buy antique blue fabric, which she used to upholster the ottoman. The French wicker basket is from Ardingly antiques fair and would originally have been used for drying grapes. RIGHT Janie loves to host friends and family.

Steps up from the living room separate the kitchen, with its traditional butler’s sink and shaker cupboards. The reclaimed wooden shelves are supported by iron brackets from Baileys Home.

Corner seating gives the family a casual place to eat breakfast. The Coral cushion fabric is by Molly Mahon and nods to the coastal setting, as does the decorative yacht from eBay. The teak cockpit table is intended for a boat. LEFT Little areas of the cottage aren’t forgotten, with the space under the stairs filled with an 18th-century cricket table from local shop Mo Logan Antiques, and a table lamp with a shade by Matilda Goad.

In the guest bedroom, the seabird prints were taken from a 19th-century book and framed. The pretty blue lampshade from Fenella Interior Design is made from Indian sari fabric. The lamp base was made by Covelli Tennant from a wooden pineapple balustrade. Janie made the cushions from a striped French ticking. BELOW Janie rejuvenated the bathroom with a nautical bulkhead wall light from Trinity Marine.