Wealden Times | WT213 | November 2019 | Gift supplement inside

Above: Kate pulled out a wrought iron spiral staircase in one corner of the kitchen to create enough room for a banquette, with a
round table and three Windsor chairs that she bought online
mastery of proportions – is to show with great effect
in her dressing room, built upstairs in the equivalent
corridor area as the utility room, and leading on to
her bedroom, which sits over the kitchen. This creates
a kind of ‘Kate Wing’ that she can disappear into,
closing the door, when she has weekend visitors.
The dressing room is a joy of girlie chic, with velvety
cream carpet, two slipper chairs and the sublime cupboards,
with their lower panels at exactly the right height. They
are finished with cast iron ‘twig’ handles by Ashley
Hicks, providing the perfect place for everything.
With a lovely double aspect, one window looking out onto
the garden, both are finished with curtains in a Christopher
Farr fabric, which are double lined with blackout and
thermal bump, which gives that rich blankety effect and
maximum warmth, as are all the curtains in the house.
“I went to town on the curtains,” says Kate, who has
all the details and samples of the decorative scheme
properly filed, room by room, like the professional she is.
“This is my forever house, so I wanted to do it once, in
timeless style, not trend driven, which isn’t me anyway.
My style is more eclectic. I’ve had all my furniture for
years, I didn’t buy anything new for the house.”
The calm collected style of the dressing room is the
perfect foil for the drama of the wallpaper in the master
bedroom, a wonderful huge scale jungle design by Lewis
63 wealdentimes.co.uk