Wealden Times | WT197 | July 2018 | Interiors supplement inside

up to Hastings Country Park, with spectacular views and
well-trodden hiking routes all the way to Winchelsea and Rye.
It’s this magical location that first drew Melanie from
London (via Canterbury) to the most easterly side of Hastings.
So close to the hustle and bustle of the Old Town, with its
mix of vintage shops, cool (and growing cooler by the day)
boutiques, cafes, bars and restaurants, yet so close to nature.
“I love the fact that when we are in the cottage,
it’s incredibly tranquil. We are surrounded by
birdsong,” says Melanie. “Yet in literally two minutes
flat, you can be in the centre of Old Town, sipping
a coffee or snapping up a vintage bargain.”
Melanie, I hope she won’t mind me saying, is a magpie. But
her collector’s eye and love of a good rummage, hasn’t in any
way resulted in clutter or chaos. Back to the William Morris
design sensibility. Her home is the epitome of curated calm
and order without feeling soulless or too bare. Everything has
its place, and in the main, has been selected specifically for
either its beauty or usefulness.
As a textile designer, she has a well-trained eye for colour,
pattern and proportion that comes across clearly in her
This page: The main bedroom. The ladder, above, is from Eras
of Style and displays some of Melanie’s fabric designs for Laslett
England
85 wealdentimes.co.uk