Charlotte’s Folly
An extensive refurbishment of an old farm cottage dating back to 1880, restoring magic in this old Folly.
The dining room has been created with a tonal, ‘chocolate-box’ feel in mind, using a brown paper striped wallpaper adding a textural backdrop for antique furniture & artwork. We introduced a dried flower installation to the elevation under the window to provide a whimsical element of surprise.
“[Before the works,] the house felt like a series of disconnected rooms, so we wanted to create a sense of flow between them,” explains Emma. Now the dining room and sitting room flow off the kitchen, thanks to the addition of openings between the kitchen and each of these rooms.
House & Garden
(August 2022, words by Elizabeth Metcalfe)
The artwork above the sofa is a curation of pieces, mostly sourced at antiques fairs by Emma and reframed where necessary, providing an eclectic mix & a point of interest in the space.
The more pared back of the three bedrooms, this calming scheme includes a statement floral headboard, with subtle botanical references throughout. The walls are a very soft pink to add to the soft feminine feel of the space. Out of shot is a cosy log burner at the end of the bed.
In the ‘Blue’ bedroom, Emma maximised on this jewel tone of blue, born from the beautiful stiped floral wallpaper. The shape of the room was awkwardly long & narrow, so Emma designed a sculptural arched divide to house a bed nook, wrapped in a sumptuous cream linen tented ceiling, with a spacious dressing area outside of the nook.
The ‘Green’ bedroom, up in the eaves of the house, was inspired by the views out the window over the rambling countryside. This creeping vine wallpaper felt like the perfect backdrop for the angled walls & ceiling, creating that all-encompassing feel. Emma sourced a beautiful pair of antique timber framed beds, and added a new upholstered velvet headboard panel to soften the wood, layered up with sumptuous bed linen & soft furnishings.
The vintage kidney shaped dressing table is reminiscent of one which Emma had in her own childhood bedroom, which was re-dressed in a green stripe, with an antique triptych vanity mirror to give it a revived new lease of life whilst remaining nostalgic of its roots.
Upstairs is where colour and pattern really comes to the fore. “I didn’t want there to be an obvious main bedroom and wanted them to all offer a wonderful experience,” says Emma.
House & Garden
(August 2022, words by Elizabeth Metcalfe)
An awkward L-shape layout of the Family Bathroom allowed for a large walk-in shower through a new arched opening, with tonal stripes from the wallpaper following through to tiles within the shower.
A new fresh pink limewash exterior (removing old grey pebbledash!), decorative barge boards & latticework windows were added to the external facades for added character, giving the house that ‘fairy-tale’ feel inside & out.
“We wanted the house to be charming and exciting,” explains Emma. She has certainly succeeded.
House & Garden
(August 2022, words by Elizabeth Metcalfe)