Above left: The simply decorated shower room mixes monochrome tiling for pleasing detail and pattern Above right: The ground-floor bedroom’s walls are painted a mid-green (Farrow & Ball’s Green Smoke) two thirds of the way up, then cream, with the back wall finished with tongue and groove panelling trove beloved of home designers in the South East – what made this difference was that Francesca took Georgina and Gareth with her on the shopping expeditions for the house. “I like to take clients with me to antique fairs, to be involved with choices, because it’s more efficient – and it means we don’t come back with anything they might not like. That’s not to say that Georgina and Gareth weren’t sure about some of the things I chose at Ardingly, but when they saw them in the house, they got it. So that really helps to build trust.” One of the items even Francesca wasn’t sure about at first has turned out to be an anchor piece for the whole scheme – a large chest of drawers painted such a distinctive bright blue, I assumed she’d bought something bland and repainted it for effect. “It was that colour when we bought it,” she says. “I thought it might be a bit much, but it works so well.” With two striking vases on the top and a round mirror over it, as well as providing very useful storage for linens, the chest gives the landing instant impact and character. And is also the first sight of what then became another of Francesca’s themes for the scheme as a whole. There are three more blue-painted chests of drawers in the bedrooms. “I just happened to find three more blue chests of drawers! They were perfect and I didn’t paint any of them.” It makes a tour of the house very satisfying, as you keep seeing these lovely blue chests, with interesting gatherings of objects atop them – and usually a round mirror somewhere in the vicinity. Walking around Elmley Cottage, it almost became a game for me, to spot Francesca’s clever themes and notice how they popped up and changed between each room. Round mirrors, bamboo frames, valances, Roman blinds, ticking, linen, wall hooks, glug jugs, framed bird prints, mustard yellow velvet… With ticking blinds and linen headboard in one room, linen blinds and ticking valance in another. Another theme is a wonderful striking pink, as Farrow & Balls’s Setting Plaster in one bedroom, popping up elsewhere as cushions and chair covers. “Having a simple palate and some themes as a running thread, makes a house flow and makes it seem bigger,” says Francesca. Put like that, it sounds simple, but the total effect is much greater than the sum of the parts and creates a sense of stimulating harmony – the perfect complement to this unique setting. Address Book: To find out more about booking a stay at Elmley National Nature Reserve, visit elmleynaturereserve.co.uk. Ardingly Antiques Fair iacf.co.uk/ardingly McCully & Crane mccullyandcrane.com Merchant & Mills merchantandmills.com Rowan Plowden Design rowanplowden.com priceless-magazines.com 70
Get the LOOK 1 White scrapwood II wallpaper £175 Ionian <strong>Interiors</strong> ionianinteriors.com 2 Abstract framed print £35 Cult Furniture cultfurniture.com 3 Wicker deer head £65 Charlton Island charltonisland.com 4 Pink ceramic gluggle jug £27 Oliver Bonas oliverbonas.com 5 Helston side table £160 Hudson Home hudsonhome.co.uk 6 Fox lounge chair £910 Lime Lace limelace.co.uk 7 Rattan basket £48 live laugh love livelaughlove.co.uk 8 Brown rustic oumd vase £63 The Find Store thefindstore.co.uk 9 Baamuda Triangle sheepskin foot stool £199 Baa Stool baastool.co.uk 71 priceless-magazines.com
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T H E K I T C H E N M A K E R ingli
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Contents March 2021 14 58 HOUSE OF
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“ The Manager and all her team ha
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