An uplifting shade of yellow – ‘Lute’ from Edward Bulmer Natural Paint – brings a warm glow to the sitting room in one of the oldest parts of the house, where wooden beams stretch across the low ceiling. The main bedroom is a case study for embracing character: its centuries-old floorboards are so bowed at the centre that the bed sits propped up on wooden blocks to keep it level.
Walls in Edward Bulmer Natural Paint’s ‘Lute’ add warmth to the sitting room; the vintage Knole sofa is upholstered in a Designers Guild velvet, and the Chesterfield sofa is in Ben Pentreath’s autumn ‘Honeysuckle’ cotton/ linen for Morris & Co.
Dean Hearne
Daily life settles into an easy rhythm at Capel Ifan. Ruth divides her time between editing in her office near the kitchen and tending the garden she has made her own, while Tom’s creative process unfolds in one of the seven nearby outbuildings. ‘Having got used to painting in one end of a 1960s garage, I was spoiled for choice when we moved here,’ he says, grateful for the space and quiet. ‘Painting requires isolation, and the former dairy that is now my studio provides this.’
Although Capel Ifan doesn’t appear directly in Tom’s art, its influence runs deep. ‘I want my paintings to feel genuine, spontaneous and loose. In many ways, we want our home to feel the same,’ he explains. His pared-back work, with geometric shapes and gestural brushwork, explores the balance of intention and accident. It echoes a house that in itself is a living canvas, shaped thoughtfully by those who live there.
Between a paper-cut artwork by Antony Inglis Jall and a Stanley Simmonds painting is one of Tom’s works on a wall in Edward Bulmer’s ‘Cuisse de Nymphe Emue’. The antique loveseat has been reupholstered in Morris & Co’s ‘Little Chintz’ from Tinsmiths.
Dean Hearne
Tom’s solo show ‘Undiscovered Ground’ is at General Assembly, St George Street, W1, on June 18-20: generalassemblylondon.com