HAPPY ENDING
Chris Malcolm loves design, but calling in the professionals helped make his renovation everything he dreamed of
A team of professionals were called on to update the schemes in a Somerset cottage and to add the distinctive style and glamour the owners wanted
FAVOURITE ROOM ‘The snug – even on a dark day it feels bright, especially with the vibrant feature wall’
Falling in love with the Somerset countryside was a life-changer for Chris Malcolm and his partner James. ‘Though our main home is in Richmond upon Thames, we were spending so much time exploring this area that it just made sense to buy a bolthole here,’ he says.
Calling in John Law of Woodhouse & Law to help with the interior design proved a good move in many ways. ‘I love design but I just didn’t have time to be here to do all that stuff,’ says Chris. ‘When I looked at Woodhouse & Law’s portfolio, the style was a perfect fit for us – classic with a modern perspective. And when the project designer Sandra Groso showed me the ideas they had for the place, I could see we were on the same wavelength.’
In his mind, Chris had an idea of the feel he was after, so the brief was quite a clear one. ‘A favourite eating and drinking haunt of ours down here is Babington House and we love its clean, crisp yet warm feel,’ he says. ‘We wanted a taste of that here, creating not so much shabby chic as cottage chic.’
Being fully aware that his tendency is to go safe and neutral, Chris asked Sandra to push him into introducing pops of colour. ‘In the sitting room the gold wall sconces decorate this room perfectly – they’re like jewellery,’ he says. And he admits that the inspiration for the daring blue and rich yellow of the master bedroom came from an unlikely source. ‘Aware that I was making all the decisions, I asked James what colour scheme he’d like for this space and he told me he’d always wanted a blue bedroom,’ says Chris. ‘Then, when John and Sandra showed me how a big headboard could create a wow factor, I said, “Sure, why not!”’
Retaining the character of the 1730s building was important, too, and the choice of flooring played its part. ‘We replaced the tiled flooring in the hallway with stone flagstones to match the old stone flooring in the sitting room,’ says Chris. Elsewhere, rich oak flooring has been laid, providing the feeling of warmth that was so important to the couple – especially in the kitchen. ‘And with our four lively dachshunds regularly running in from the courtyard, using carpet was out of the question,’ says Chris.
With the house now complete, Chris says he and James – plus dogs – spend more time than ever in Somerset. ‘Thanks to John and his team, this place feels so relaxing and comfortable,’ he says. ‘But I guess that’s what interior designers do – they make a house a home for you.’