SURREY ARTS & CRAFTS HOUSE
Bonnie Morris turned this schoolmaster’s house into a family home and learned to love Arts & Crafts style in the process
Top marks for this former schoolmaster’s house that stays true to its design heritage
Bonnie Morris and her husband David began their search for an English country home from Singapore where they were both working. But when they missed out on several properties to on-thescene buyers, the couple decided they needed to move back to the UK while they continued their hunt.
‘We rented for a while,’ says Bonnie. ‘It was great to be back in London with all the restaurants and shops on tap, but we were craving laid-back countryside living and decided that Surrey would be a brilliant county to narrow down our search.’
It was Bonnie who initially viewed the Arts & Crafts property they now live in. She told David she thought it was the one but that he needed to come and take a look. With its lovely garden, a location surrounded by greenery and an easy commute to London, he really didn’t need much persuading to make the move.
The house was once the home of a schoolmaster from the boarding school across the road, so it has a grand feel, especially in the entrance hall with its original wooden panelling and terracotta floor tiles. Bonnie admits she wasn’t a fan of Arts & Crafts style but she wanted to celebrate the property’s history, while adding her own ideas and modern colours.
‘I’ve embraced my creative flair for the interior by sourcing patterned fabrics for soft furnishings, adding
❝I COMMISSIONED BESPOKE FIXTURES TO GIVE OUR PERIOD HOME A FRESH TAKE ON ITS TRADITIONAL PAST❞
pops of colour, getting creative with personalised artwork and commissioning bespoke fixtures and fittings to give our period property a fresh take on its traditional past,’ says Bonnie.
In the living room, she has made a feature of the original windows in true period style with curtains in richly ornate fabric. ‘I’m learning more about the Arts & Crafts movement and slowly adding back in some heritage pieces, starting with classic William Morris and Liberty botanical prints and patterns,’ she says.
As well as employing a seamstress to make the soft furnishings, Bonnie also commissioned a carpenter to build and install a large shelving unit for the living room. Painted to match the dark walls, it has become a real focal point and houses the family’s collection of items brought home from their travels, trinkets from local charity shops and heirloom pieces.
The kitchen has been the biggest project. ‘It was quite dark when we arrived, so we knocked down a wall to make the space open plan. I liked the contrast with the living room and craved a light and bright space,’ Bonnie explains. Kitchen company DEVOL designed a bespoke kitchen and it was their idea to turn an alcove into a cupboard by adding the yellow double doors, now a backdrop to a relaxed seating area with mid-century furniture found by Bonnie at a warehouse sale in Singapore. Metal framed doors in>