BEYOND THE PALE
A blend of salvaged pieces and Scandinavian influences have shaped an artist’s Suffolk home and workspace
The big Suffolk skies and the amazing quality of light you get here are incredibly inspirational,” says artist Jo Guinness, who lives and works not far from the coast in a deeply rural part of the Waveney Valley known as The Saints – a remote area with quiet lanes and a cluster of villages and medieval churches. Here she finds that a walk through the surrounding fields, where deer and barn owls can often be seen, or along the beach at Southwold, is all it takes to spark ideas for a new painting or craft project. As such, her home and workshop are filled with atmospheric artwork, inspired by the environment, alongside pieces of vintage furniture that she has restored – often by painting and waxing to retain the patina of age – and a mix of salvaged objects, all brought together by a subtle signature scheme of weathered Scandinavian greys. Jo bought the house, originally part of a 300-year-old farmstead, three years ago from fellow creative Claire Halsey. They had already been neighbours for five years as Claire had purchased the house, and Jo its stables as a workspace, at the same time. When Claire decided to move to France in 2014, Jo leapt at the opportunity to join the property back together. She had previously been living in a barn conversion three miles away, and enjoys the fact that her ‘commute’ to work is now a mere two minutes on foot.
When the two friends first took on the farmstead, it was in a poor state of repair: last used as a horse sanctuary, it had then lain empty for years. Reconstructing the tumbledown stables was a long and arduous task, which Jo masterminded herself, with the help of local builders. “We pretty much had to start again from scratch,” she says of what is now her workshop. “We took the whole structure down but kept the front of it – the only part that was still usable – and rebuilt it exactly where it used to be.” Jo retained a feeling of authenticity by re-using some of the stable doors, and adding floor-to-ceiling windows where the original ones had been. “It still looks like a stable,” she says. Giant skylights in the roof flood the space with light, an effect enhanced by the pale grey paint colours and washes on the panelled walls and floorboards.
Off the workspace are a bedroom and a bathroom, added for convenience, and both decorated in Jo’s distinctive, roughluxe style. A deep stone bathtub, which Jo came across during its former life as a horse trough in Norfolk, makes a striking statement. It took six men to lift into its current position, and the
corrugated iron panel, used as a splashback, was resurrected by Jo from a ditch in the field behind the workshop. A salvaged metal bin over the bath conceals a modern showerhead, and two industrial taps, originally designed for a borehole, complete the look.
There are a further two workshops across the stableyard, one of which is used as a studio by her musician daughter Bethany when she visits from London. To the rear of her own workspace, Jo grows sorrel, parsley, spinach, peas and beans in a large vegetable and herb patch. “It’s beautiful to look at,” she says. “And I love the fact I can open the back door and pick something for supper.”
The double-fronted farmhouse itself, with its decorative Dutch gables (a relatively common sight in the area), is Grade Ii-listed and was made structurally sound again by Claire, who replaced the roof and floors while maintaining the lath-and-plaster fabric of the building. “Claire and I worked together for a long time and like a similar palette,” Jo explains. As such, she has found it easy to make a visual link between the workshops and her new home. “I’ve done little bits and pieces, playing with colours as I always do, but both have the same faded look and gritty furniture.”
Her favourite place to sit in the house is the kitchen, near the Aga, where her two dogs can lie on the warm, reclaimed-brick floor. Jo renovated the kitchen table and chairs herself and sells her distinctively revamped furniture and artworks locally through her friend Hein Bonger’s shop in Saxmundham, and Vanil in Woodbridge. She buys many pieces in need of repair from Diss Auction Rooms. “It doesn’t matter where it’s come from originally, as long as the shape is good. I’ll strip it right back to its workings, and start again from there.” Some of her most treasured antique items, such as a Mora clock and a curved wooden settle, both from Sweden, bring elegant detail to the room, while several of her paintings decorate the walls.
Although Jo trained as an artist in London, after moving to Suffolk in 2005 she started making fabric accessories and toys to fit around childcare when Bethany was little. She still produces these for retailers including Tobias and the Angel in south London, although the majority of her time is now spent painting. She often uses pieces of wood or fabric as a canvas for her work, which features simple motifs, such as cups, jugs and
flowers. “Everything I do is about putting pale colours together and trying to create something slightly magical,” she says.
The house came with a generous parcel of land – 3.5 acres of pasture in total – which is currently home to a small flock of chickens and, soon, possibly a few sheep to help keep the grass down. Jo is also considering letting out the main house at some point, as an additional source of income, while making use of the living space in the workshops.
But whatever happens, she feels rooted to this part of the world, both socially and creatively: “Since moving to Suffolk, I’ve become part of a community of people who were drawn here for similar reasons – there are quite a few artists, artisans and musicians.” The rustic setting is a constant muse for all those with artistic inclinations: “The first time I drove up here from London, it felt as though my head opened up along with my horizons,” Jo recalls. “And I just knew it was where I wanted to be.”
Jo Guinness’s work is available from Tobias and the Angel (020 8878 8902; tobiasandtheangel.com) in London, and in Suffolk from Vanil in Woodbridge (07702 877081) and Hein Bonger in Saxmundham (01728 604382). For more information, contact Jo direct on 07803 016916.
Enjoy more house features in CL’S free weekly newsletter. To sign up, text CL to 84499 followed by your email address.*