The woodchip had to go
This Georgian house in Ripon has been sensitively updated to create a beautiful live-work home. Words: Sharon Dale. Pictures: Louise Bates of Lifestyle Locations.
It was love at first sight when Ali and James Mortimer first viewed their gorgeous Georgian home in Ripon. Although it was in need of updating, the location, the architecture and the property’s warm and friendly feel were huge selling points. The enormous grounds and a separate coach house with potential for conversion sealed the deal.
“The house belonged to the then Mayor of Ripon and his wife and they had lived here for 60 years. It was a much-loved home and the fact it needed modernisation wasn’t a problem to us as we had done renovations before,” says Ali.
The couple, who have two young sons, moved in three years ago and did no work for the first year.
“We wanted to get a feel for the house and how we used the rooms before doing anything,” says Ali.
They began by replacing all the electrics, plumbing and the bathrooms before tackling the 1980s decor.
The kitchen was one of the first rooms to get a makeover but the possibility of changing the kitchen units was scuppered when James’ mother noticed that they were by highend cabinet makers Clive Christian.
They had been rag-rolled with yellow paint,
James generally concur, though she says: “We bat ideas around and James is very good at visualising how something will look. He’s also a bit braver than I am, which is good.”
The family sitting room has also been redecorated in a pale grey, which works well with the colourful artwork on the walls.
Kit Kemp’s Mythical Creatures wallpaper is the main talking point in the dining room, which features antique furniture.
“The room was completely different before. It was used as a pre-school and the walls were painted black so the children could chalk on them,” says
Ali, who turned one of the biggest and brightest reception rooms into her office.
It is painted in blue, her favourite colour, with walls decorated in Farrow & Ball’s inky Stiffkey and the ceiling in Wevet white.
The pendant light is from Barker & Stonehouse and the bespoke sofas are from Sofa Workshop.
“James wasn’t sure about the colour so when he was away, the boys and I had some fun painting the old woodchip wallpaper blue as a test.
“James loved it and so we stripped off the woodchip and had the room painted properly,” says Ali, who is a well-known health and happiness coach and “fixer of hearts and minds”.
She developed her seven-step framework – the Heal Yourself Happy Method – after her own journey through trauma and its associated
impacts. “I help people rediscover their self-esteem, confidence, drive and energy and, ultimately, find their way out of crisis to a life that is far more enriched, balanced and happier than it ever was before,” she says.
Ali regularly helps those with clinical depression, PTSD, insomnia and eating disorders.
“Clients love this room. It is a calm and comforting space and I think some of that is down to the colour,” she says.
Upstairs, the boys’ rooms both feature a mural of skiers from www.photowall.co.uk and their bathroom, which has a suite from Ripon Interiors, has a Bond theme.
Ali and James’ room is relaxing and uncluttered after a radical makeover that revealed a couple of surprises.
“The room was full of built-in furniture and when we took the wardrobes and cupboards out we found two doors.
There was a sink behind one and a space connecting to a passageway behind the other,” says Ali.
“I use the old sink room as a vanity cupboard and the other is now used for storage.”
The couple also added a partial wall, which brings the bed forward to make the most of views. Behind the wall is a dressing area with storage.
The ensuite bathroom was also gutted and features a “looks for less” scheme. Rather than use marble, the Mortimers sourced a marble