Wealden Times | WT180 | February 2017 | Wedding supplement inside

Top: A guest room, painted in F&B’s James White, features honeysuckle print curtains, limed wood furniture from The Vintage Home Co
in Westerham and delicate drawings and paintings of landscapes and woodland animals Above left & right: Peter and Murielle’s son’s room
Matchstick and the cupboards in Cat’s Paw, which, Murielle
says, “was my real mistake. It doesn’t work and is too yellow,
too muddy. I was going to have it repainted, but sometimes you
know,” she says with a little shrug and a conspiratorial smile,
“you have to know when to stop. There had already been so
much disruption with all the work in the house, I thought I’d
better not add to it any further, but, I will have to change that
colour I think. Really, it annoys me every time I look at it.”
Despite Murielle’s dissatisfaction with it, the colour
gives the bathroom a warm feel and yet it manages to be
glamorous too. Monogrammed, white pique towels are laid
out on the sparkly granite surface, and a chrome-shaded
lamp stands to one side of the bevelled wall mirror.
The last room at the end of the corridor belongs to Peter
and Murielle’s son, and here the palette changes to darker
hues. The chest of drawers and bedside table are painted teal
blue, and along one wall, a large wardrobe has glossy black
doors that seem to stretch to the ceiling. A photograph of
polo ponies in mid canter is framed above the bed and on
the opposite wall, a collection of school photographs.
It is a while since William lived at home however, and an
obviously proud Murielle tells me that he has recently married
his Greek bride as she shows me some photographs of the
wedding in Spain. It looks fabulously glamorous, and yet
intimate at the same time, and although the images could
easily belong on the pages of Tatler, the strong bonds between
family and friends are evident. “It was a wonderful day,” says
Murielle. “We’re very fortunate, because she’s a lovely girl and
super addition to the family. Later this year, Peter and I are
hoping to move into the wing of a house that our daughter
and her husband are buying, so we’ll see the grandchildren
even more often – we’re very lucky to have our family.”
Address Book:
Farrow & Ball 01202 876141 farrow-ball.com
Old School Joinery Hythe 01303 266066 oldschooljoinery.co.uk
Philip Bainbridge 07931 532709
The Vintage Home Company Westerham 01959 569393
thevintagehomecompany.co.uk
109 wealdentimes.co.uk