FRESH START FOR A FARMHOUSE

A derelict Georgian home has been given a new lease of life with a contemporary extension and modern rustic styling

A derelict Georgian home has been given a new lease of life with a contemporary extension and rustic styling

There is a seamless marriage of old and new at Anna and Jon Beauchamp’s stylishly eclectic home. With views over verdant Hampshire fields, this redbrick Georgian farmhouse – with its clever modern extension – is the epitome of pared-back rustic chic.

Just six years ago, however, Lees Farmhouse was a very different proposition. When Anna first discovered the five-bedroom house on the internet, the building was completely derelict: there was a tree growing through the drawing room, ivy climbing up internal walls and an ugly double garage had been tacked on the side.

But none of this deterred Anna. Even though the property was a wreck, she found that 22 people had viewed it on an open day and it was going to silent bids. The house was sold but she didn’t give up. “I became slightly obsessed with it, phoning every two weeks to ask how the sale was going,” Anna says. Happily, it all fell through two months later. Jon and Anna swooped in and bought it. They hadn’t even seen inside…

Many challenges lay ahead. One of their first decisions was to turn the old garage into a modern, open-plan kitchen and living area. “We knew it would need extensive renovation, but were shocked to discover the builders had knocked it down due to a misunderstanding on the plans!” Anna recalls. “Luckily, they had kept the roof tiles and lintels, so it wasn’t a complete disaster.”

Jon had clear ideas of what he envisioned for a characterful, light and spacious kitchen. He found what he wanted at Blakes London: weathered wood units, a combination of concrete and marble worksurfaces, a polished concrete floor as a nod to the old garage – and big glass doors to capitalise on the sweeping views of the surrounding countryside. Anna insisted on a boot room for all the coats and shoes: “Every member of the family has their own cubbyhole with hooks with their initials on them. I put Mr Fox wallpaper from Scion on the walls for fun.”

The old part of the house also needed a radical re-imagining. The inglenook fireplace was coming away from the building as there were no foundations, which is common in Georgian properties, so it had to be taken down and re-built brick by brick with new foundations underneath. At one point, the whole room was open to the fields. All of the brick walls and wooden beams were

The old part of the house also needed a radical reimagining

sandblasted to remove years of dirt and grime. Amazingly, the original windows were still intact, so Anna had them repaired, and re-instated a door where the original front one had been, referencing old pictures.

The ceiling had to come down and be replaced, too. There were no floors anywhere, so Anna and Jon decided on a wooden floor for the drawing room and flagstones for the rest of the ground floor, sourcing them on the internet and driving up to Devol at Cotes Mill in Leicestershire to choose the ones they wanted.

A playroom was created next to the sitting room, which was once the old dairy and still has the original metal hooks in the beams, with a log burner to keep it warm in winter. The staircase between the two parts of the house was built from scratch with a metal balustrade and treads made from old floorboards from one of the bedrooms. “Our builder fell through the floor as the boards were rotten, but I salvaged as many as I could for the staircase,” Anna says. “He thought I was mad!”

Upstairs, the main bedroom and a guest room are in the new part of the house, which they had extended to make the most of the views. Both rooms have en-suite bathrooms, although Anna insisted on a bath in her bedroom, positioned so that she can see a huge solitary oak tree in the field from the middle window pane. The children’s bedrooms and another guest room are in the old part of the house.

The entire renovation took a year to complete, and the family moved in the day after son Wilfie was born. “I wouldn’t recommend moving with a newborn!” Anna says, laughing. “But the house is perfect and everything we could wish for. I simply can’t imagine living anywhere else.”

Anna insisted on a bath in the bedroom, positioned so she can see a huge solitary oak tree in the field

OPPOSITE Owner Anna Beauchamp and son Wilfie THIS PAGE In the new building, a spacious, light kitchen has been created by Blakes London, using weathered wood units, marble worksurfaces and a polished concrete floor

THIS PAGE, FROM TOP Previously, a double garage had been on one side of the house but it has been replaced by a new boarded and tiled extension, which blends well with the old farm; the original date of the farm was found etched into a brick – a bespoke neon sign was made by Seletti to mark it; big glass doors in the kitchen now open up to give wonderful views of the garden and open countryside OPPOSITE Striking light fittings suit the polished marble surfaces and stainless-steel accessories; one side of the kitchen extension makes an ideal snug. The new iron staircase and old external wall of the original brick house work perfectly together

OPPOSITE Jon’s study has a clever wall mural of coloured books by Mr Perswall THIS PAGE The new staircase was designed by Jon with a metal balustrade and treads made from old floorboards

THIS PAGE The simply decorated main bedroom has linen from Loaf and a bed from Feather & Black. The large freestanding bath is painted in Farrow & Ball’s Lamp Room Gray OPPOSITE Wilfie’s bedroom features a map mural wallpaper by Mr Perswall and bunks by Great Little Trading Co