Our wee place scrubs up well, don’t you think?
in the living room, which has given the house the character we were looking for. After we moved in, we added a beautiful detailed solid oak porch and opened up the hall, creating walk-in cupboards for coats and boots. We went for French oak floorboards throughout the downstairs, with the exception of the sitting room, where we have laid natural sisal. We also continued the sisal upstairs.
The property has quite low ceilings, so we painted the walls white to give a sense of space. We painted mouldings and skirting boards in various shades of taupe, while pretty accents of When we first laid eyes on it, this house was a derelict farm cottage. But it had the advantage of being separate to the other pretty stone farm buildings that made up the development. We knew the developer and immediately saw its potential. We were living in a three-bedroom Edinburgh garden flat and looking for a family home. Getting in early and knowing the developer meant we could put our personal stamp on the property from the start. We were able to ask that the kitchen and dining area were open-plan, and we specified the solid wood internal doors and the simple stone fireplace
lavender, raspberry and indigo were used to add subtle drama. As an interior designer, I am very influenced by my natural surroundings. George and I love the French company Casamance, whose spring-summer 2020 collection of fabric and wallpapers reflect the bonds between man and nature. But we have also added Harlequin, Warwick and Sarah Hardaker to our favourites. We like to keep things deliberately simple. We love the kitchen, which was made by the developer who was originally a cabinetmaker. The lanterns in the dining area windows were a lucky find in the Edinburgh interiors shop Jeffreys, while the dining table is a contemporary Italian design and the chairs are by OKA.
The hare prints are by Catherine Rayner. We have a few, because we are surrounded by real-life hares. We love watching them run around the fields from our windows. The sitting room walls are painted in a soft pink emulsion by Fired Earth. The zebra footstall came from George’s uncle’s ranch in Kenya. The curtains are in a Sarah Hardaker linen print which, along with the cushions, we supply at Arcadia.
The olive sofa is by Lyndo and the cream linen sofa by Charlotte James. We chose Farrow & Ball’s Lamp Room Gray for the upstairs bathroom. It is beautiful against the limestone flooring. The chair in the bathroom is from Jonathan Avery and we love the fitted mirror. It maximises the sense of space in the room. My top tips for anyone wanting to try their own design is to use muted colours, which make a great backdrop for punchy accessories. However, you can’t go wrong with an interior designer, who can save you money by dealing direct with suppliers of quality furniture and fabrics and can help their clients avoid costly mistakes.