MAK ING NEW MEMORIES

A converted mill in Devon had been the perfect holiday home for Tanya Bird and her family, but with the children grown up it was time to update its look and open its doors for other families to enjoy

Filled with the echoes of holiday fun, the old mill house holds many happy memories for its owner Tanya Bird. She and her three sons had spent all their holidays there since 2002, leaving busy London life behind them for hazy, lazy Devon days outdoors

in the country and on the nearby beach.

As the boys reached their teenage years, however, escapes to the old mill house became less frequent and Tanya began to look at it with different eyes.

She decided it was time to share her little piece of Devon paradise and set it up as a holiday let, keeping some weeks of the year when she and the boys could continue to enjoy it. First though, it needed some renovation, landscaping and decorative work.

‘Fifteen years of family holidays had taken their toll on the house. Everywhere looked very tired,’ says Tanya. ‘But the house and its setting in a beautiful valley on the mill stream were still just as magical as the day I first saw it. I was won over as soon as I walked up the garden towards the mill.’

Tanya knew she would have to make some changes to the timeworn mill for holidaymakers, but admits to feeling a little nervous. ‘Although it was nearly 25 years since the previous owners had renovated the property, I repeatedly shied away from getting started, anxious not to do anything to spoil the feel and special charm of the house. I wanted it to be refreshed and comfortable, but I also wanted to retain the patina achieved from the passage of time, as that’s a big part of its story,’ she says. Tanya wanted the holiday let up and running by summer 2017, but it was a tight deadline and she knew she couldn’t do it on her own. ‘I needed someone who could help me by providing creative ideas and inspiration, and project manage it all.’

That someone turned out to be Siobhan Hayles, a Devon-based designer, and by March that year the builders were on site. Even though Siobhan was project managing the renovations, Tanya made a few visits to the mill while the work was taking place, ‘More out of curiosity than any real need,’ she says. ‘Siobhan had it all under control. She was great and would ring me up to tell me the solution to anything that had cropped up, rather than involving me in the problem.’

As with any renovation of an old building, there were some unexpected problems. One of the ceilings had to be taken down and replastered before any of the decorators would go near it as they were convinced that if they touched it, it would all fall down. And one ‘seriously wonky’ floor was corrected, as Tanya puts it, ‘to reduce the feeling of seasickness’. She didn’t want the house to become sterile, however, so the builders worked hard to keep the original boards in all but one of the rooms, just renovating them where necessary.

Aside from the crumbling ceiling and uneven floors, the renovation progressed smoothly. The main task was to solve a few minor damp issues by improving drainage and to update the pipe from the mill’s own water well.

Once that was completed, Tanya was able to focus her attention on updating the décor. ‘Siobhan brought her own ideas to the project but was brilliant at bringing to life what I had in mind in the best possible way so that it still feels completely like my home,’ says Tanya. ‘She would also often pick out an object that could inspire a whole room scheme. For instance, in the living room we’ve used a palette of Provençal ochre yellows, olives and greens, all inspired by an antique French confit pot.’

Tanya’s subtle updates have brought the old mill to life, and the whole house now glows with soft Devon light. Freshly painted windows frame the views of the garden that first won Tanya’s heart nearly 20 years ago. Indeed, it’s now even more inviting with a new decked area for outdoor dining next to the house. The old millstones have been set into the decking, like giant stepping stones, so that the origins of this charming property are fully honoured. What was once a cluttered outdoor store is now a characterful garden shelter from which to enjoy the garden in all weathers, a space that is affectionately known as the ‘inside-outside room’ with its squishy sofa and wood-burning stove, and some unusual finds from around the mill.

Interestingly, two areas of the house that give Tanya enormous pleasure now are the new things she introduced during the renovation. The insideoutside room, and the decked area. ‘As soon as I get here, I just walk in and light the outside woodburning stove and I am home,’ she says. ‘For me the challenge of this project has been restoring a period property without losing its heart and soul and I think we’ve succeeded.

‘I honestly don’t believe there is anything I’d change. One of the elements of good design is that it needs to have the aesthetic and feel you want, but it also needs to be very practical, because ultimately it’s to be lived in and enjoyed, and this very much is. It’s standing the test of time.’

Top: Previously the dining room doors opened onto a grassy slope, with nowhere for outdoor dining, but the new decking has created a usable space, with the millstones as huge stepping stones and plenty of space around the galvanised zinc-topped table from Petersham Nurseries, with chairs from Kempton Park Antiques Market

Far right: Known as the inside-outside room, this magical, cosy den, complete with wood-burner and comfy old

Heal’s sofa, is now one of Tanya’s favourite places to spend time, in all weathers