Surrey Homes | SH107 | December 2023 | Christmas Supplement inside

This page: The main bedroom is a pared back, serene room
which faces east, making the most of the morning light
This is a big room, so they have been able to carve out one wall
for full-width built in wardrobes. Back downstairs, right at the
far end of the house, there is a burst of sunshine – on a sunny
day you would glimpse this through the windows – but today
the strong yellow light emanates from the downstairs bathroom,
a splash of gold that contrasts beautifully with the cool warmth
everywhere else. “You have to let loose somewhere,” she laughs.
“The downstairs loo is where you get your fix of brilliantly
bright and slightly bonkers colour. You can take risks in smaller
rooms. I wondered if I’d tire of it, but it was fun to do.”
The kitchen and bathroom are in the extended part and reach
down the garden. “They cut the plot in half at the back of the
house, so its a galley kitchen,” she explains. “It was interesting
with three of us in here cooking Christmas dinner, but you
adapt to the space that you have – having rented in London, I’ve
operated in much more confined spaces. We use the breakfast
bar quite a lot – it’s a nice alternative to the dining room and it’s
a fun, characterful space.” The kitchen’s ceiling is tongue-andgroove
and the whole room is painted in Portland Stone Light.
Outside there is a small courtyard garden. “I got quite inspired
by our coastal location,” she says, “and used gravel and pots. It
was light and bright as the stones bounce light around. But then
suddenly I viewed it through different eyes,” she laughs, “It
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