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THE OWNERS

Janet Parrella Van Den Berg and Dino Parrella, who own interiors brand White & Faded.

THE PROPERTY

A Georgian home with Victorian add-ons in Kent. The ground floor has an entrance hall, living room, kitchen/ breakfast room, dining room and study. On the first floor is the main bedroom with en suite and dressing room. The second floor comprises three bedrooms, a bathroom, en suites and a studio space.

janet Parrella Van Den Berg knows what she likes and what she likes is white – lots of it. Co-founder of pale-andinteresting brand White & Faded, along with her husband Dino, Janet has turned a love of the chicest version of upcycling into a full-blown phenomenon. The duo specialise in restoring antique furniture and homeware from across Europe – the company began as an online shop in 2011 before branching out into interiors and product design. Next in the pipeline is a paint range – five shades of (you guessed it) white, which launches next year.

For Janet, it’s in the blood, kind of. Growing up in Holland, the family home was full of historic furniture, her dad opening an antiques shop in his retirement. ‘When I bought my first antique cupboard and painted it white, my dad was horrified,’ she says. ‘In its original dark wood it would have lived in the garage, but once painted, it moved into the living room. That was the start of everything.’

The couple’s home in Kent, a 1767-built Georgian rectory extended by the Victorians, acts as a hub for both family gatherings and the business and their five children are frequent visitors. Other visitors include the pieces of furniture they discover. ‘I tend to buy something to sell and fall in love with it, so it’ll find a home with us for a couple of years before making it into the shop,’ says Janet.

The house has undergone a dramatic transformation – when the family came here, four years ago, it was an ode to shadows. ‘It was a typical country house – gloomy and old-fashioned,’ says Janet. ‘Dark green, red and pink walls, dark wood... The day after we moved in, we had it painted white. All of a sudden there was light and a blank canvas.’

While the lack of colour may seem shocking, it soon highlights details in each room – textures stand out and light takes on its own personality. ‘To me, white is every single colour,’ says Janet. ‘Depending on how the sun falls, it can look blue, yellow, red… It changes throughout the day. White makes me feel uplifted and there’s a calmness to it. Sometimes colour does make it into the house, but it tends to go quickly. It disturbs my eye and draws attention away from the rest of the room.’

While her children may now be adults, Janet has some tricks up her sleeve for navigating sticky fingers within a bleached backdrop. ‘Slip covers!’ she exclaims. ‘They are a machine-washable life saver, plus I love the look of them. And bathroom paint on the lower halves of walls and staircases – it’s wipeable and has a really pretty sheen.’

Janet and Dino are hands-on renovators, documenting their decorating high jinks on their Instagram accounts @white_and_faded and @ouroldcountryhouse. ‘What we love is the transformation – now that the house is done, we’re getting restless and wondering what’s next,’ says Janet. ‘I don’t know if we’ll ever find a forever home, we just love creating something beautiful to pass on to the next owner.’