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Two identical cottages have been knocked through to create an open-plan home that’s full of modern design touches while staying true to its 19th-century origins

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‘We’ve learned that if you go for it with a mixture of old and new, it can work really well’

we needed to open the place up,’ says Tanya. ‘Originally there would have been just two rooms upstairs and one room downstairs so, as with everything we’ve done to this house, we chose to keep it as close to its origins as possible.’

Walls were knocked down, plasterboard smashed through and the downstairs internal doors were removed to increase the sense of light and space. New wooden windows were made to echo an existing early Victorian design and help maximise light. ‘We decided to expose the stone on both sides of the central wall that now divides the two downstairs rooms, the kitchen/diner

‘Our approach has changed over the years and now we have a happy marriage of pieces’

and living room, because we wanted people to recognise that this was originally two houses,’ says Sally.

Once new electrics and plumbing had been installed and the interior had been replastered, the next stage was to think about colour. The calming, creamy-toned walls in the living room were Tanya’s choice. ‘The colour was determined by the stone wall,’ she says. ‘I chose a cream that has a lot of green in it, and when the light bounces around the room that’s what it picks up. Matching the paint to the stone gives a calm first impression, and it also meant that I could put pieces such as the modern chair in what’s quite a traditional setting. It’s about doing things sensitively so there’s a blank canvas on which there’s scope to be quirky.’

Upstairs, Sally and Tanya resisted the temptation to create a corridor running alongside the bedrooms. This means that access to their bedroom is via one flight of stairs, and the other three bedrooms are approached by a staircase at the other end of the house. ‘When friends come to stay they have their own half of the upstairs,’ says Sally. ‘Then when they come downstairs they walk into a big, open, sociable space. We often have a houseful of friends staying and, although the house isn’t that big, even when it’s full of people it doesn’t feel any different. It expands and contracts according to what we need it to do.’

With furnishings, Sally and Tanya have gone for a mix of modern and period pieces. ‘We bought the house in 1998, and when we moved in we had mainly modern furniture,’ says Sally. ‘But our approach has changed. Now we have a happy marriage of pieces, such as our 19th-century elm dining table and modern oak chairs. And we have a high-gloss white coffee table in the living room surrounded by older things. If you go for it with this mixture of new and old, it can work really well.’

LET’S EAT RIGHT This space is full of personality, thanks to the exposed beams and quirky pieces such as the cuckoo clock. The table was bought at auction and the chairs are replicas of Hans J Wegner’s 1949 Wishbone chair.

FEATURE WALL FAR RIGHT The stag heads on the wall that divides the kitchen and living room are from Batemans auction house.

LIGHT AND AIRY Oak worktops add a rustic touch to the Magnet kitchen. The letters are from ebay.

STYLISH BATHING ABOVE & RIGHT Walls are painted different colours, while the panelling is in Farrow & Ball’s Green Ground.

COSY GUEST ROOM BELOW Muted bedlinen adds a soothing touch of colour to the neutral room.