Surrey Homes | SH79 | August 2021 | Adding value to your property supplement inside

This page: Dormestone’s
beautiful grounds are home
to both a tennis court and
a swimming pool, with
plenty of opportunities and
space to relax and unwind
in the middle of the house, overlooking the walled garden.”
This is a cosier room with a warmer look and feel, painted
in an earthy green and featuring a large mirrored armoire.
Throughout the house, both modern and antique furniture
have been carefully mixed with eclectic finds and artworks
that Kim comes across. “I pick up things on my travels
and find a lot of furniture on trips, but some things have
been around for a while.” She is adept at repurposing and
finding just the right piece for a space. “The washstand
in the panelled bathroom was once a garden table.” Kim
laughs. “It’s been in the family for years.” Furniture is more
often relegated from house to garden and so this piece must
have been relieved to be back inside. It works perfectly as an
elegant washstand, becoming the focal point in that corner
of the room. Kim has employed a neat little trick in this low
ceilinged room, by placing pictures on a slim shelf that runs
around the top of the panelling and avoiding hanging them
on the walls focuses the eye on the pictures, not the wall.
There’s no doubt that these days Dormestone has leisure
on its mind rather than farming. The Billiard room, painted
in the smoky blue of Farrow and Ball’s Prague Blue is at
the centre of the house and outside in the grounds there
is both a tennis court and a swimming pool. Already a
winner in the dog friendly category of holiday stays, this
fabulously well appointed farmhouse has also been voted
into the top ten places to stay with a pool. The house
and attached Figgy are available to rent via Bloom Stays,
a small independent boutique agency based in Kent.
The journey that Dormestone House has been on is less
a renovation and more a reimagining of how to use a family
home, and how to bring a unique and characterful period
building into the contemporary era without eradicating its
original charm. Dormestone Farm may once have been a
healing place for animals, but under the considerable talent
and care of Kim, it is now a sanctuary for humans too.
Address Book:
To find out more about a break at Dormestone, and to check
availability, visit the Bloom Stays website bloomstays.com
See more of Kim Partridge’s interiors projects at kimpartridge.com
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