Surrey Homes | SH49 | November 2018 | Gift supplement inside

Above: The upstairs hallway is lined with prints, some of which were bought on holiday in Italy
the house: “I’m not so keen on curtains,” says Rachel,
“and although some of the rooms are big and bright,
others have smaller windows and can be a bit dark.”
They are not really overlooked, especially at the back of the
house where the large rectangular kitchen window is, and the
French doors in the dining area open out to a large garden
and paddock, so there’s no rush to replace the curtains.
“It might make it warmer in the winter,” she says, “but some
of the windows are quite hard to dress without blocking out
light and I like looking out from the kitchen, so won’t have
curtains in here. I have what I call a golden moment in the day
in here, looking out across the garden in the mornings. I have
to hang on to that moment when I can, before the boys come
downstairs and the chaos of getting ready for the day starts.”
The spaciously streamlined kitchen and dining area has a
modern country feel. The crisp, clear white of the kitchen
units and walls is offset by the deep earthy brown of leather
dining chairs and granite worktops. This rich brown colour
is reflected in the darker bricks of the end feature wall.
Natural materials and antique furniture mingle comfortably
with the sleeker modern elements. Except that all is not
quite what it seems. The wooden floor is made from
porcelain wood-effect tiles and the end wall is not brick.
“No,” laughs Rachel. “They’re brick slips that
are adhered to the wall. It comes in sheets.”
The wall features extensively in Rachel’s online life too, as
a backdrop for numerous photoshoots and Instagram posts.
Her blog grapesandcloth.com features slogan T-shirts from Bon
Vintage, a clothing company featuring wine-inspired slogan
sweatshirts and t-shirts, set up by her friend Rae Adam.
“The T-shirts and sweatshirts are printed with winebased
slogans, saying things like ‘Premier Cru’ and
‘Sparkling’, with ‘Grand Cuir’ for men and ‘Bon Vintage’
for kids. A new one saying ‘Bubbly’ is being released
for Christmas, which we think will sell well.”
Rachel models the T-shirts on the Bon Vintage
surrey-homes.co.uk
88