Surrey Homes | SH61 | November 2019 | Gift supplement inside

This page: A chair upholstered in striped fabric adds a pop of colour to a monochrome bathroom
Back across the hall is the drawing room, which Ally
updated ready for last Easter’s family gathering – her brief:
“We want a sitting room we can flop in, with the dogs.”
The finished result is the masterful mix of pattern –
wallpaper, upholstery, rugs, cushions all different, yet perfect
together – which first strikes you, but interestingly that’s not
where Ally starts.
Reiterating what she said in the soon to be revamped
bedroom she explains: “I always start with the floor
plan.” This involves measuring all the furniture already in
residence – such as a grandfather’s wing back armchair –
and playing with it on a scale plan. “There are computer
programs, but I draw it all up by hand. I cut the
furniture out in paper and see how it works together.”
Once she’s done that with the pieces already owned,
she can see what scope there is for additions.
“I relocated an L-shaped sofa to the snug next door
and replaced it with a more classic one covered with
a striped fabric by Penny Morrison.” She opens the
door, so I can see into the snug, in use as a telly room,
saying, “I’ll get my hands on this one day…”
Her goal for the drawing room was for it not to
look as if it had been ‘designed’ but more as though
it had developed organically over time – reflecting
the atmosphere of the house. “I didn’t want it to look
as though it had all come from one shop.”
93 surrey-homes.co.uk