Surrey Homes | SH25 | November 2016 | Christmas Gifts supplement inside

Previous page, above: Bi-fold doors at the end of the dining room open on to the garden. The hanging chair is from Sunbury
Antiques Market Previous page, below: Stuart works from a studio in the garden. The walls are painted in Charcoal by Valspar.
Stuart found the technical drawings rummaging through a drawer at Sunbury Antiques Market Above: Stuart found the letters which
spell out ‘wolf’ at McCully & Crane
came originally from lighting designer Philip Oakley’s studio.”
A long scrubbed pine table is surrounded by assorted
wooden chairs with sheepskin coverings and a stuffed buffalo’s
head seems to emerge from the wall as if he has just smelled
something good to eat and wishes to join in.
In the corner of the room, where the doors fold back to give
access to the garden stands a 1950s cocktail bar, shaped like a
giant drum, complete with regimental braiding. Above it, an
old milk churn has been turned into a light with a red light
bulb which protrudes from it rather like a Dalek’s plunger.
On the opposite side of the room a 1960s rattan swing chair
suspended from a stand adds to the vintage feel. With so many
conversation pieces, there seems little possibility that guests
here would be stuck for something to discuss.
The walls of the generously proportioned kitchen are
painted gunmetal grey and at the far end is a fireplace of
enormous proportions – presumably it once accommodated a
range that would have served such a big house, but now hosts
a woodburning stove.
A freestanding set of hotel catering shelves accommodate
dishes and plates and again, was sourced from Sunbury
Antiques Market. Off-white painted wooden cupboards form
a long row along one wall and the counter top above them
is exceptionally deep, giving the impression of being a very
practical workspace, but Stuart is not satisfied.
“It doesn’t really work as we want it to, so we’re thinking of
extending the kitchen out into the outdoor space at the end of
the dining room. We could knock down the wall in between
and have folding doors all the way across, so that we could
completely open the house out to the garden.”
We go out to the studio in the garden, where the walls are
painted in what I now recognize as Stuart’s signature dark
colours – and in his own working environment he’s gone for
the darkest shade of charcoal that is really almost black.
Blueprints and technical drawings in smart wooden frames
are perfectly set off by the ink-coloured walls behind. The
51 wealdentimes.co.uk