All change overnight
HERE TO STAY: A love of modern art has transformed this traditional Wensleydale guest house into a boutique B&B that defies convention. Sharon Dale reports. Pictures by James Hardisty.
OR more than 20 years visitors to Stow House knew what to expect when they stepped inside. Like many other rural B&Bs, the interior was country style with floral fabrics and traditional furniture. Now, guests booking a return visit are warned to expect the unexpected. A papier mâché sculpture of a badger wearing a gas mask hangs on the wall in one of the bedrooms, while another features poster-size photographs from a fashion shoot inspired by the film Kes. It includes the famous two-fingered salute.
It may not be everyone’s cup of tea but fans of modern art and those interested in interior design will love the new look. Even if you don’t care for contemporary style, the decor is exciting and it will be a talking point. When your room is entitled “Like Wow Man” or “Shotgun Clare”, you’re bound to ask why.
“All the bedrooms are named after pieces of art. We’ve collected quite a lot over the years,” says Phil Bucknall, who bought the property with his wife Sarah last May.
Both worked in the advertising industry in London. Phil was an art director and Sarah a copywriter until they decided to escape to the country. Selling their home in Islington provided enough cash to buy a live-work property with potential.
“We loved our house in London but the advertising world can be quite ageist and we were ready to try something else. Property prices had risen a lot and at one point the house was earning more than we were,” says Sarah.
A B&B was an obvious choice for keen cook Phil and for Sarah, who is a great people person. They eventually chose Wensleydale after a search that stretched from Scotland to Dartmoor.
They spotted Stow House, a Victorian vicarage in Aysgarth, on a property website and were captivated by its handsome period architecture and beautiful views. Phil knew the area as he grew up in the North East but Londoner Sarah had never been to the Yorkshire Dales before.
“We came to view the house and we knew immediately that it was the one,” she says. “The couple who ran it had been there for 23 years and, although it wasn’t really our taste and it needed updating, we could see it had potential.”
The Bucknalls honoured the summer bookings and liaised with John Mason from White Hart Architecture and Arcadia Builders. Plans in place, they closed for the winter to revamp the property, starting
All the bedrooms are named after pieces of art. We’ve collected quite a lot.