ORDER RESTORED
David Hurlstone and Nic Taylor’s sensitive update of their Georgian home is testament to their love of historic houses
The sensitive update of a Georgian house in Yorkshire is testament to the owners’ love of historic houses
Most people would pass David Hurlstone and Nic Taylor’s Georgian home without so much as a second glance because it faces backwards to the road. Head round the back of the property, however, and you are in for a treat. The original frontage, with its stone-stepped door in the centre and windows symmetrically positioned around it, is picture book – well proportioned, beautifully balanced and facing a colourful walled garden.
‘We first came in January and saw it in the snow,’ says David. ‘The fires were lit so the rooms were warm and cosy, and there was a dog asleep by the hearth.’ It marked the end of a protracted search for a period house with a garden. ‘We lived here for a while until we worked out how to improve the layout,’ says Nic. ‘The position of the old rooms wasn’t ideal – in fact, one bedroom was only accessible through the bathroom.’
One of the first changes was the creation of a guest suite sited in a separate part of the house. Their next, and perhaps most significant improvement, was transforming the kitchen area. Here, a large room next to the kitchen, which had once been run as an antiques shop, became a breakfast room, cloakroom, utility, boot
room and pantry. ‘The existing kitchen was tiny so our new kitchen-diner completely lifted the feel of the house,’ says David. ‘It’s become such a sociable space.’
Colour has played a key role in the transformation of the period property as the couple have taken the house back to its roots. ‘We both like the traditional look,’ says Nic. ‘My grandma’s Victorian house was my inspiration for this place.’ David, meanwhile, is inspired by the ‘faded vicarage’ look – not too grand but with Georgian style and proportions.
Their biggest challenge, however, was not the decorating but their choice of furniture. ‘We stacked up the furniture from two houses in just one room,’ says David. They turned to sale rooms for the largest items, supplementing furniture they bought from the previous owners and adding antique rugs, pictures, mirrors and side tables. ‘It’s an ongoing process,’ says
Nic. ‘We often spend weekends looking round country houses for inspiration.’
For David, the house is the culmination of a lifetime’s interest in historic properties. ‘When I was growing up I would rather visit a National Trust house than follow childhood pursuits,’ he says. ‘I’m fascinated by the lives of people who have lived in the past. We even traced the great, great, great grandson of the man who built this house. It gives our home a wonderful sense of place.’