Wealden Times | WT204 | February 2019 | Wedding supplement inside

Previous page: An arrangement of French objects in the hallway Above: The pair of Steiner chairs in the spare bedroom have been
upholstered with Icelandic sheepskin. The vintage bedcovers are from Boutique de Francine, in L’Isle Sur La Sorgue in Provençe
side of the apartment, the wonderful high ceilings of the
original building are exaggerated yet further by a triple bay
window which overlooks the building’s leafy front garden.
Flooded with light, Charlotte has used her crisp vintage
French linen collection in Roman blinds that she hand-made
for the window dressing – a technique she has repeated
throughout the house, wherever she required blinds.
The upholstered bed by Loaf is decorated with more of
Charlotte’s cushions, giving a sense of continuation but
also of delicacy. On the wall is a piece of contemporary
art that Streett gave Charlotte for her birthday by
artist Andrew Douglas-Forbes and on the floor are two
large panels, abstract portraits from the 1960s.
Above the bed is a French mortuaire – a beaded
funeral wreath. “I know it’s macabre but I love
it. Time moves on and for me, these pieces are
just beautiful sculptures,” says Charlotte.
The guest room is also a delight. The bed, an original
Louis XVI piece, has been reupholstered in antique linen
and is also available to buy. The couple made a choice not
to re-paint it, letting over two hundred years of use reveal
itself. Forget counting sheep, guests can simply count
the many lives that have lived between the wooden foot
and head panels of this remarkable piece of social history
and wonder what might have passed before them.
Streett and Charlotte have managed to create a home that is
stylish and airy, with their intelligent use of light and space but
also with their innate sense of detail and character. This feeling
of an oasis, right in the centre of town, is continued through
into their magical garden which, although surrounded by
neighbours on all sides, has managed to remain secluded and
private, surrounded by high walls of greenery on all sides.
“Streett wanted a secret garden,” explains Charlotte,
“which is why we try and keep the evergreens all year
round to keep that sense of being in a hideaway.”
As with the rest of the house, so too within the garden,
pieces of period furniture have been beautifully curated.
Side-by-side, sitting casually by the French doors, are a
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