touch of clas s

Caroline Hartley had long admired this converted village schoolhouse, and couldn’t believe her luck when it finally became her home

The chance of owning this North Yorkshire schoolhouse was one woman’s dream come true

When Caroline Hartley was a teenager, she regularly babysat for a family who, for 30 years, ran a hotel in her home village of Sandsend in North Yorkshire. ‘They lived in the schoolhouse next door to the hotel and I loved it,’ says Caroline. ‘It was such a beautiful building but I never imagined I’d live there myself.’

Fast forward 40 years and Caroline’s sister, who had taken over both the hotel and schoolhouse in 2006, decided to pass the house on to her. ‘I was 50 and realised that if I didn’t do it then, I’d simply never do it,’ she says. ‘I love the village and this building, so I couldn’t wait to put my own stamp on it.’

Making changes

Moving in with her husband, Chris, their two grown-up daughters, Sharisse and Emily, and their son, Alexander, now 10, Caroline set to work refurbishing the schoolhouse.

First the couple removed a partition wall between two ground floor bedrooms to create one large space. They also replaced spacesaver steps leading up into the attic with a proper staircase, making access to the third bedroom and loft bathroom easier. With the structural jobs completed, Caroline chose ‘outdoor proof ’ vinyl flooring for the open-plan living area and family bathroom.

‘ We live on the coast, so I wanted us to enjoy the outdoors without worrying about getting the carpets dirty,’ she says. ‘Although the house has lots of light furniture, it’s actually a very practical, hard-wearing home.’

s e n s e o f h i story

Decorating the vast living spaces proved to be a challenge. ‘ We needed scaffolding to reach the pitch of the ceiling, which is around eight metres high,’ says Caroline. ‘ We employed a decorator to do the main living area – I don’t do heights – but I painted everything else.’

Caroline has furnished each room with bargain finds and personal items which, in some cases, go back generations. ‘I wanted to work with the proportions of the building and its history,’ she says. ‘I love the wood panelling – it’s very New England – and the fact that all the original features remain. It even has the old school bell outside although I haven’t tested it yet to see if it still works.’

Thanks to Caroline’s careful renovations, the property has been brought up to date without losing any of its original character. ‘Everything about the schoolhouse is based on comfortable, sociable, modern living, inspired by its past,’ says Caroline. ‘I feel incredibly privileged to live here.’