Wealden Times | WT174 | August 2016 | Wedding supplement inside

Above: The basement apartment offers an independent space for guests, with the bed concealed behind a vintage decoupaged screen
from AG Hendy & Co in Hastings Old Town. There is a recessed television over the vintage slate fireplace. The grey metal standard
lamp is from Heals and the ceiling fitting is one of a pair by Habitat, black with a bright yellow interior the same as the feature wall
table, we move through to the living room which looks out
over the Old Town and the sea. I ask if the chaise longue by the
window gets a lot of use, perhaps imagining the louche lifestyle
of a writer who works from home. “I try and encourage people
to lie on it, but in the past, when it was in Brighton, the leg was
apt to break, though I think it’s pretty solid now.”
Ginny sits opposite me, on a sofa made by Loaf,
under a contemporary lightbox installation by Dalziel
+ Scullion. “The sofa is rocking the yellow vibe again,”
says Ginny with a smile. “The cushions are a mixture
of Kirsten Hecktermann, via Retrouvius, and Abigail
Ahern, whose dark interiors I love.”
It’s clear from the eclectic furniture and decor that
Ginny has many influences, although she credits
the books of Remodelista, Ilse Crawford and the
reclamation gurus, Adam Hills and Maria Speake, of
Retrouvius, as her ‘bibles’.
Before following the trail of yellow paint upstairs, in
search of the little Australian honeysucker birds, we nip
down to the basement. “It was lots of higgledy-piggledy
little rooms down here and very grim. We wanted a
kind of loft space, but in the basement,” says Ginny.
“So basically everything was knocked through and we
incorporated the courtyard, which was a nightmare. We
had slugs and all sorts...”
Now the room is stylishly dressed with a vintage painted
screen from Alastair Hendy’s Homestore in Hastings Old Town
concealing the sleeping area.
Just as we are about to leave, Ginny can’t resist showing me
a surprisingly modest corner: “This is my favourite room!” she
declares. It appears to be a short corridor and store cupboard. “It
used to be so dark and depressing. The tiles on the floor here are
dotted around and repeated in the front courtyard garden.
“They are by Emery & Cie, a Belgian firm and I’ve used
them in lots of different places in the house, because they’re
beautiful...and they happen to be made in Morocco.” Morocco
is a theme that crops up a lot, though not as an overriding or
clichéd ‘kasbah’ theme, and it ties in perfectly with Ginny’s love
of colour. But why Morocco specifically?
“MJ and I run vocal workshops there, as well as in Greece,
New Orleans and Miami. Our favourite place in Marrakech
is Riyad El Cadi, where we run the holidays.” So, can anyone
come on these workshops? “Yes, anyone who fancies a sing,
from complete novices to people doing voice training.” MJ also
runs choirs in London, Brighton and Hastings.
For her, having space to compose and arrange music, at
home, is essential. Ginny shows me along the upstairs landing
to MJ’s music room at the back of the house. It’s a simple,
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