Wealden Times | WT177 | November 2016 | Christmas Gifts supplement inside

Above Left: The chairs are 1940s English, the table is 1950s Italian. The white china is from the Haphazard Harmony Series by
Maarten Baas Above Right: Looking up the narrow stairwell, which goes up five floors from the basement, to the skylight at the top
street, is the shop known as The Kula. The striking name
comes from a system of gift exchange between tribes in the
Trobriand Islands off Papua New Guinea, documented by
Polish anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski in 1922.
And if that seems like an unusual source of name
for an interiors business, it gives a hint of the flavour
of the house, which has a striking sense of cultural
depth coming from Christine’s wide-ranging travels
and interests - she has a BA in Anthropology and
has also studied Arabic and organic gardening...
In the shop, classic 1940s and 50s chairs mingle with
Spanish ‘Fase’ lamps on top of a gnarled, 200-yearold
board floor, with wood-knots and worn boards
creating an uneven surface where furniture refuses to
sit still. Christine sometimes has to reassure customers
that her chairs do not have different-length legs.
We pass through the shop, where the furniture has a
mind of its own, and into the heart of the building - a
towering yet narrow stairwell, which goes up five floors
from the basement. A roof light at the top accentuates
one’s sense of looking through a keyhole in a very, very
thick door, while the winding balustrade leads your gaze
upwards. It’s impossible to ignore the urge to explore.
Christine leads the way up to the kitchen on the
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