Become inspired

A family home that is entirely in the style of one of the 20th Century’s most influential design periods, Farringford in Dunblane stands out as an Arts and Crafts masterpiece. Helen Brown took a look round a combination of aesthetic distinction with real

NICK GARDINER’S late mother fell in love with Farringford when she and her husband were looking for a new family home in the early 1980s. Nick, now a lawyer based in Edinburgh, recalled: “My mother had trained as a nurse and my father was a doctor who, at that time, was about to leave Aberdeen to take on a consultancy in Airdrie. They looked in Glasgow but when they saw this place, my mother just fell in love with it. She liked the period but it was the feel of the place she loved. I think she could just see us all living in it and having fun in it.”

It was the Gardiner family home for 32 years — Nick and his brother and sister grew up there and, as his mother had foreseen, loved it. “It’s an impressive house, an intriguing house but one that’s also easy to live in. It’s so much of its time, yet it always seemed to accommodate us, our family and friends in a way that was welcoming.

“We loved the light and space and the big bedrooms, where you could do your own thing.”

Farringford dates from 1905, the heart of both the Edwardian era and the Arts and Crafts movement that championed the principles of the mediaeval period and the Victorian Gothic revival, alongside patterns inspired by British flora and fauna. Interestingly, the property originally had a different name — The Moss, commemorated in a plaque on the exterior wall — which previous owners then took with them to their new home. The next inhabitants then christened it Farringford after the home of the poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson, on the Isle of Wight, where they had spent their honeymoon.

The exterior facade of the house is beautifully balanced, creating an effect of both simplicity and style.

The immediate effect on entering is one of intricately detailed beauty, with stained glass and parquet flooring (laid throughout the house) allied to a sense of space — and an amazing amount of actual space — that balance perfectly. The house is basically set around the central focus of the large, light and very roomy reception halls on the ground and first floors — and between them runs a wide and gracious staircase, with a half-landing lit by stunning stained glass windows. These are instantly recognisable as Arts and Crafts classics, with their greens, golds and ambers, using the stylised tulip emblem so significant to the period.

Nick explained: “The light that comes into these areas is wonderful and there is so

“There was a great focus on using the house and enjoying it together as a family and with other people.”

much space to make the most of that light. When the sunshine comes through the stair windows, there are beautiful reflections and the colours create a real feeling of warmth.”

There are also many instances of archways and curves throughout the house — Nick says his mother counted at least 20 — and the plaster work is exemplary. “Dad explained it had been built by a local builder for himself and he did things properly. He was renowned for his plaster work and had the nickname Stookie Gray!”

The formal drawing room has just such features, plus a working inglenook fireplace. A smaller sitting room also has a decorative tiled fire surround and hearth with a timber mantel.

Mrs Gardiner was a great entertainer and the dining room is decorated in rich reds and dark wood, with a beamed ceiling, wooden panelling and traditional presses, as well as a bespoke wooden cabinet along one wall. Both it and the drawing room overlook the front garden. There is a butler’s pantry off — ideal for practical occasions — that leads through to the modern and very spacious dining kitchen. There is also a second small kitchen/study area. The original game larder has stone sinks and wooden shelves and there are a series of roomy utility areas.

Upstairs, there are five bedrooms, including the master with its wonderful vista, fireplace and en suite bathroom. “It was very much a house for living in. I think they thought of it as an ongoing project and were happy to live with what was here until they could do exactly what they wanted; like changing the kitchen or getting the precise colour schemes they liked in the lounge and bedroom. Really, there was a great focus on company here, on using the house and enjoying it together as a family and with other people.”

The grounds are also just about perfect for family life — large enough for play-space and a huge sense of freedom, contained enough to be manageable and enjoyable, with herbaceous beds and shrubs, large lawn (in its time used for both tennis and cricket) and beautiful mature trees. Upper Dunblane is a very peaceful, quiet area and there are lovely views to the hills beyond from many of the upstairs rooms.

A large attic in the main house, used for games and teenage parties, could be easily converted into further accommodation. In the grounds, the separate coach-house is a fascinating building in itself and ripe for development as a potential home in its own right — it is currently set up as one bedroom, sitting room, dining-kitchen and bathroom, plus an integrated garage.