Working on the fly, Christian and Lexi began to evolve an interior that would pay respect to the classic country-house aesthetic without falling into familiar clichés. Their fast-paced design process took on a semblance of tightrope walking. In those spaces that felt particularly traditional – the kitchen, for instance, where they opted to work with existing cabinetry – they amped up the modernity with strong lines in the furniture, or punchy artworks. But if their schemes began to feel a little too edgy, they’d let in a few country-house elements to compensate. In the dining room (once the entrance hall), an alarming life-size clown figure and sculptural Lindsey Adelman ceiling light have to play nicely with the elegant panelling and uber-trad, gilt-framed oil paintings.
The pantry has Fosbery Studio lights, with bespoke fabric shades in the same Tissus d’Hélène check as the blind, complementing cabinetry in ‘Bassoon’ by Little Greene and below-sink curtains in Morris & Co’s ‘Ruskin’ linen in mustard.
Michael Sinclair
‘One key decision was that we wouldn’t use printed linen, as it’s something you see in every traditional country house,’ says Christian. ‘So we restricted ourselves to woven or embroidered fabrics, or those with a pattern intrinsic to the nature of the material. It was hard – but ended up adding a new dimension to the interior.’ While there isn’t a whisper of chintz anywhere, it did feel important to bring a sense of the garden into the house, especially as the client was keen to replant the surrounding wildflower meadows. Florals have, therefore, been allowed, but in unexpected ways. The vast proportions of the garden room next to the kitchen, used as a playroom, are highlighted by a Cox London ‘Magnolia Grandiflora’ chandelier while, in the hall, artist Tess Newall has sketched onto the walls ethereal monochrome flowers that drift up the stairs on a pale pink background.
A bespoke Cox London ‘Magnolia Grandiflora’ chandelier hangs above shearling-covered 1940s-style club chairs from 1stDibs. A Rachel Donath travertine table is teamed with retro chairs in Rose Uniacke’s robust ‘Woven Bottle’ fabric. On the far wall is Faye Wei Wei’s painting Prince Heart Knuckles, 2019.
Michael Sinclair