Wealden Times | WT210 | August 2019 | Restoration & New Build supplement inside

Above: Simple opulence best describes this bedroom. The bed
looks straight onto the charming oak balcony and the garden with
the buttercup field beyond
bedroom with en suite, upstairs, while a library and snug
completed downstairs. “Again, the library was designed
with the help of our brilliant joiner Steve from Sabre,
who indulged Rafe’s childhood love of secret doors. The
library shelves completely disguise the door to the snug,
to the delight of our children’s visiting school friends.”
Upstairs Karen and Rafe’s bedroom overlooks the
buttercup field, which helped cement Karen’s decision
to buy the house. The pièce de résistance is the fabulous
oak balcony, designed and built by a local craftsman, “it’s
the perfect place for a leisurely breakfast,” she says.
The understated elegance in both bedroom and
bathroom was inspired by a beautiful hotel in the
Italian lakes. “We loved the natural tones they used
to create a calm but luxurious environment”.
Both the children’s bedrooms provide the perfect retreats.
Their nine-year-old son’s room includes a cleverly crafted
wooden staircase to a mezzanine level in the roof space,
possibly another secret hideaway inspired by Rafe’s childhood
memories. And the world map wallpaper, such an inspired
choice, could keep any child transfixed for hours.
It’s easy to see that Karen has a background in fashion and
design. Her creative touches, her paintings and her pottery,
grace the shelves and mantelpieces, and the house flows
naturally from room to room. ‘I like mixing things up though,”
she says with reference to the bright shocks of colour here
and there. “Tomorrow should never be another today.”
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