FLOWERING CREATIVITY
A Georgian cottage and its outbuildings provide the perfect rural escape for artist Christina Wilson
this whole project has turned into an artistic catalyst for me,” says Christina Wilson of Lime Blossom Cottage, the Georgian terraced house in the Suffolk countryside that she has recently renovated along with its outbuildings. Much of the property’s initial appeal lay in this series of large tumbledown sheds, which Christina saw as potential studio space. Now restored to working use, they have become a base for her various creative ventures, such as painting, photography and pop-up craft markets. And the garden, with its summer profusion of wild flowers and herbs, provides inspiration for the delicate botanical watercolours she produces. “It was interesting that there was this warren of spaces,” she says. “They were like little hideaways.”
The property itself – a Grade Ii-listed, early 19th-century terraced house in the village of Wrentham – needed renovating throughout when Christina and her husband, the writer and broadcaster Robert Elms, first viewed it back in 2015. “I’d never been to Suffolk before,” says Christina, who at the time was looking for a retreat within easy reach of their home in the capital, and had heard about the cottage becoming available through a friend.
Although the two brick buildings had been knocked into one, they had remained otherwise undeveloped over the years, retaining much of their original character. Christina also liked the rural setting, with the garden and outhouses overlooking fields to the rear, and the intriguing beach of Covehithe – distinguished by its crumbling cliffs and bleached, fallen trees – within walking distance. “I saw two more properties in the area just to gauge what I was getting and then decided to go for it,” she recalls.
As Christina had studied architecture before going on to work in fashion, art and later as an interiors stylist, she had the appropriate skill-set to project-manage the refurbishment. Collaborating with a local builder, she opened up the layout to unite the two cottages. “I just made the space flow better,” she says. By removing a bathroom that was in between the two original kitchens, for example, she created one generous kitchen/diner, with a utility and shower room tucked into a former alcove. She also converted one bedroom upstairs into a timber-clad bathroom with a roll-top tub. “I could have had four bedrooms, but I like to have comfort when I’m here,” she says.
The structural work, including re-wiring and re-plumbing, was done quickly in the spring and summer of 2016. “I did it in three and a half months,” Christina says, “then decorated the house in a month using found objects – I would go to antiques fairs and pick things up for £3 or £4.” She and Robert wanted to avoid any overt seaside references in the design scheme, opting for a muted palette that complements the low ceilings and cosy period feel of the building. The living spaces are painted in Farrow & Ball’s Pigeon, a moody blue-grey, while the wooden floors have been sanded
back and given a dark stain mixed with black floor paint. Displayed alongside the mid-century-style furnishings and vintage ceramics are decorative pieces and images by Christina, who studied photography at the London College of Printing. Above the double-sided fireplace in the library, for example, is a photograph from her recent book, Stolen Glimpses, which captures the surprising beauty in everyday things. Her handmade rustic ceramics are on show, too, here and in the long shed, which is the largest of the four outhouses.
After finishing work on the house, Christina revived the long shed by replacing windows and doors to make it weather-tight. At one time it had been used by a picture framer, so it already had skylights amplifying the natural light. She chose to fit an improvised kitchenette at one end, including a utilitarianstyle enamel bucket sink. The exposed brick walls, with their distressed paintwork, have been left to form a textural backdrop for displaying art.
All of the outbuildings, including the romantic-looking summerhouse that is now furnished with Lloyd Loom chairs and pretty bunting, overlook a wild planting scheme devised by Christina’s friend, the garden designer Laura Arison. “It’s full of English flowers and herbs such as echinacea, achillea and wild poppies,” Christina enthuses. These now appear in the botanical paintings she produces and has begun to sell locally through
the shop Vanil in the nearby town of Woodbridge. “It has become a new thing for me,” she explains. “The sheds give me the studio space that I don’t have in London.”
She is also planning to bring the pop-up art and craft markets she runs in the capital – which are a gathering of makers selling everything from handmade jewellery to vintage clothes – to Suffolk. “I’ve held these sales in London for the past three years, and I’m hoping to do them in the sheds here, too,” says Christina, who adds her own-design cards to the mix. “I’ve started to meet a lot of interesting artists locally.”
Besides becoming a creative outlet, the cottage offers welcome respite for Christina and her family from their busy lives in the city, where Robert works six days a week on his radio show. “I love the quiet – my mobile doesn’t work here,” Christina laughs. “And although my husband says he doesn’t like the country, even he enjoys coming here.” Their three children – Alice, 27, Alfie, 21, and Maude, 18 – make use of the cottage, too, either as a quiet place to study or for breaks with friends.
When they’re not staying at the property, the family let it out to help fund the ongoing improvement of the outbuildings and garden. “I plan to spend more time here in future and to do more painting – I’ve started doing oils now,” Christina says. “I just love being able to get to the coast from the cottage within five minutes and to explore interesting places inland. It’s given me somewhere I can escape the city and the noise.”
Lime Blossom Cottage is available to let (limeblossom cottagesuffolk.com). Christina’s book Stolen Glimpses can be bought from christinawilson.co.uk/portfolio/stolen-glimpses.