BUILDING A STABLE FUTURE
A 17th-century stable on a West Sussex estate has been updated to house a family of seven and showcase a new interiors business
A 17th-century stable block in West Sussex has been updated to house a large family and showcase a new business
With its attractively proportioned sash windows, terracotta-tiled floors and high ceilings, it is easy to understand why anyone might want to move into this former stable block in West Sussex. But Maria Le Mesurier had more incentive than most – namely the pressing need for space for her five children aged two to 16.
“We had been living like sardines,” she says of the little converted farm building where they were staying in nearby Rogate. So when the opportunity arose to do a swap with her mother, who was keen to downsize from the stables on the Uppark Estate, it was the perfect solution for everyone.
The Le Mesuriers like to keep things in the family. Situated in picturesque open countryside, the 17th-century Uppark Estate had been passed to Maria’s great-grandfather, Admiral the Hon. Sir Herbert Meade, in the 1930s. To secure its future, the main house was passed to the National Trust in 1954, while the extended family continued living there and in properties on the estate. Then tragedy struck: in the late 1980s, Uppark was devastated by fire. Maria and her family lost all their personal possessions and moved into the former stables.
Returning five years ago to her childhood home marked a significant time of change for Maria. “Being born into privilege comes with many preconceptions from people around you,” she says. “Paul understood my desire for hard work and a more
pared-back, simple existence.” This was in part down to her growing brood of children: Alfred, 16, Pearl, 14, and Gio, 11, from her first marriage, and Dolly, six, and Rocky, two, from her second, eight years ago, to Paul. “With the arrival of each child, the less time or desire I had for any unnecessary complications: whether that be life, belongings or furniture.”
Maria worked for many years in design and interiors, and her signature style is a strictly no-frills look that is also elegant and ordered. “After moving in, we began a lengthy process of stripping back the house. Doing the work ourselves, it felt as if we were undressing the building, releasing it from its traditional chintzy trappings, and bringing out the raw beauty of the structure to allow it to breathe. My desire for all things natural and simple is definitely a reaction to having been brought up in a more formal, busy-looking interior. The sense of calm that now prevails here feels very restorative.”
The move to The Stables also provided the spur for a new business venture: Wood Edit was developed with furnishings
designed by Maria and made by Paul for their own family home – pieces they wanted to buy but could not find. Crafted from rough-sawn ash and walnut wood, a robust collection was developed: a kitchen island, dining table and benches, desk, peg rails, boot rails, side tables and coffee tables. “The designs are simple and clean-lined, with a contemporary, yet classic aesthetic, made to stand the test of time and weather beautifully with age. They’re lifetime purchases, but affordable, as we wanted to make them available to a wider audience,” Maria says.
Wood Edit furniture is road-tested around the home and accompanied by further pieces made by Paul: minimalist shelves, oversized cabinetry and cane-lined radiator covers. “With five children aged 16 and under, we wanted the house to feel lived in, not precious,” Maria says. In the sitting room, the huge family sofa – a budget Ikea buy – is covered in bespoke, machine-washable loose linen. Contemporary whitewashed walls are offset with raw natural textures: antique monogrammed sheet blinds, unlined linen curtains, hemp linen bed covers, and sisal and coir rugs. Even sections of damp walls are stylishly covered with old coffee sacks, until budgets allow necessary renovations.
Baskets adorn the walls throughout the house – handmade from natural wicker, seagrass or straw and collected on travels to Portugal, Italy, Spain and much-loved Madeira (home of Maria’s late father, John Cossart). “For me, each has a story to tell. I love the rawness of their form and their simple aesthetic, but, above all, they provide invaluable, practical storage,” Maria says, smiling. And scattered among them are the more purely decorative pieces: statement olive pots, Italian ceramics and large-scale antique bottles, along with a collection of Spanish esparto grass animal heads.
On colder days, the woodburner is lit in the open-plan kitchen, while in summer, doors are opened and the outdoors becomes an
“Our designs are simple and clean-lined”
extension of the house – with tables, chairs and sofas, dressed with linen cushions, positioned under trees in the garden. “The surrounding woods are a safe haven for the children and the perfect foraging ground for natural branches that I love to use around the house,” Maria says.
For Maria, it’s all about celebrating the natural and doing the unexpected. “Going against the grain and breaking free of expected norms has felt really liberating,” she says. “It’s been a huge leap of faith, but working together to create a future for our family feels very rewarding.”
“The sense of calm feels very restorative”