Wealden Times | WT165 | November 2015 | Gift supplement inside

Above left: The stairs have been painted with non-slip paint, to give the
effect of a carpet runner. Above right: A dormer was added on to make room
for a new bathroom – with a space-saving sliding door. Left: Francine used
floor tiles from Fired Earth on the walls of her shower room
sell them in the pop-up shop. I’m certainly not a hoarder!”
Her local shops in Whitstable, such as Valentine’s,
also offer a rich seam of tasteful, interesting finds.
In the dining area, across from the kitchen, is a large
model sailing boat bought by Francine in Peckham, as
a present to her husband when they got married. She
also collects children’s wooden chairs – there are three
on display – and an out-sized sculptor’s plinth makes a
handy display stand in the corner. The entire space is
painted in the warm, yet muted ‘Sandstone’ by Dulux.
Despite a magic ability to style a room -- “I’m an
interior designer manquée” – this is a house full of
life, and nothing feels static. Under the bench topped
by the model boat is a crate full of the grandchildren’s
toys with a large plastic dinosaur nearby. Upstairs, one
of the two spare rooms is a child’s paradise, known
as ‘the Lego room’, complete with a tree made from
driftwood, by the woodworker Martin Pammant.
So, I ask, how does her ‘new’ home compare to her
home in Suffolk? “I like this house now. It’s much
more comfortable and warmer than my old house. I
do miss the Suffolk countryside – there’s something
about Suffolk – although I love Kent too.” It sounds
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