Houzz Tour: English Country Home Refurbished for Modern Living
Sunlight, soothing colors and natural materials transform the property from a muddled and dated space into a light, welcoming home
Making any changes to the exterior of a property in a designated area of outstanding natural beauty is always a bit of a delicate operation, but when the owners of this house in Berkshire, England, first took possession of the place, it was clear it needed a significant amount of work — and not just to the interior.
The property consisted of a turn-of-the-last-century barn, to which a 1970s brick building had been added in a rather muddled way. “There was absolutely no flow inside, and it was very dated,” says interior designer Lucy Crockett, who was enlisted by the owners to take on the renovation. “The owners wanted to make it into much more of a family home, and something that would sit in its surroundings but also be contemporary,” she says. “The aim was to concentrate on the refurbishment of the building rather than the interior decoration, as the owners are both creative and wanted the interior to evolve over time.”
The property consisted of a turn-of-the-last-century barn, to which a 1970s brick building had been added in a rather muddled way. “There was absolutely no flow inside, and it was very dated,” says interior designer Lucy Crockett, who was enlisted by the owners to take on the renovation. “The owners wanted to make it into much more of a family home, and something that would sit in its surroundings but also be contemporary,” she says. “The aim was to concentrate on the refurbishment of the building rather than the interior decoration, as the owners are both creative and wanted the interior to evolve over time.”
The old barn is seen here on the left. An extension was built in the 1970s, and there was a garage addition too. Crockett replaced the garage with the far right-hand section, opened up the porch, replaced the windows and clad the building. Inside, she gutted and reconfigured the space to give it more flow.
To make the most of the view down to the river, Crockett created a large hallway with double-height windows to welcome the owners home each day. The floor tiles are imprinted with leaves and flowers to continue the connection with the outdoors.
Secto Octo pendant light and Mira sideboard: John Lewis
Secto Octo pendant light and Mira sideboard: John Lewis
To the right of the hallway is the kitchen-dining area. “Kitchens are very much the heart of the home, so I wanted to create a space that would be easy to hang out in and that wouldn’t feel too much like a kitchen,” Crockett says.
She went for mostly low-level cupboards in soft colors to make them read more like furniture than kitchen units. “I wanted the space to feel harmonious and gentle to work in, but at the same time create somewhere that fulfilled its purpose as a cooking and eating space,” she says.
She went for mostly low-level cupboards in soft colors to make them read more like furniture than kitchen units. “I wanted the space to feel harmonious and gentle to work in, but at the same time create somewhere that fulfilled its purpose as a cooking and eating space,” she says.
Large doors can slide open on sunny days to create a space that feels almost alfresco. One of the main goals for the kitchen was to have a full-size fridge and pantry cupboard side by side. “The flow of the kitchen was important,” Crockett says. “The owners didn’t want to have to walk miles for their ingredients.”
The dining bench was the owners’ own. It’s an original Habitat by Terence Conran design and is about 30 years old. Crockett used the owners’ existing furniture as much as possible, knowing it would be a source of enjoyment for them to continue to find pieces to complement the house.
Sofa: Ikea
The dining bench was the owners’ own. It’s an original Habitat by Terence Conran design and is about 30 years old. Crockett used the owners’ existing furniture as much as possible, knowing it would be a source of enjoyment for them to continue to find pieces to complement the house.
Sofa: Ikea
Crockett went for blues and greens on the cabinets. “Blue is a very harmonious color, and the owners live by the river and often have beautiful skies. We didn’t want anything too light and girlie, but nor did we want anything too dark and abrupt, so the marriage of the blue and green was very important tonally,” she says.
The other side of the island features open shelves and pullout shelves that act as drawers. “The owners wanted to be able to put things away immediately, without having to worry about pulling open cabinets and drawers the entire time,” Crockett says.
Turkish Blue base unit paint: Fired Earth; Aquamarine Deep island paint: Little Greene
The other side of the island features open shelves and pullout shelves that act as drawers. “The owners wanted to be able to put things away immediately, without having to worry about pulling open cabinets and drawers the entire time,” Crockett says.
Turkish Blue base unit paint: Fired Earth; Aquamarine Deep island paint: Little Greene
Crockett laid the same engineered oak flooring, which she had limed, in the living room as she had used in the kitchen-dining area to create continuity and flow throughout the house. She topped it with a looped wool rug. “Textures were very important in the design. We wanted to use materials inside that chimed with the outside. The rug looks like pebbles, and the oak flooring is a reflection of the oak cladding on the exterior,” she says.
A half-length wall (seen in the previous image) separates the entertaining space from the TV nook. Crockett found Ikea cabinet boxes that happened to fit the space, then had ply doors painted pale blue, which links with the kitchen palette. She kept the edges of the ply free of paint, so when you open the doors, you see the ply.
To the right of the TV nook is a study, and a door to the left leads into the old barn section. It houses a boot room, utility room, cloakroom and double garage.
Brighton cupboard paint: Little Greene
To the right of the TV nook is a study, and a door to the left leads into the old barn section. It houses a boot room, utility room, cloakroom and double garage.
Brighton cupboard paint: Little Greene
On the second floor are four bedrooms, one of which is being used as a studio by the owners. The master bedroom is on the left as you come up the stairs, in the newly constructed part of the property. Crockett went for a vaulted ceiling to reflect the roof of the old barn at the other end of the house. “We wanted to create a feeling of space and also that maybe the house was old at this end as well,” she says.
The idea was to take advantage of the views in every room of the house. There are French windows and a Juliet balcony with views down to the river. Simple built-in wardrobes provide plenty of storage.
Slaked Lime wall and ceiling paint and Slaked Lime Deep accent wall paint: Little Greene
The idea was to take advantage of the views in every room of the house. There are French windows and a Juliet balcony with views down to the river. Simple built-in wardrobes provide plenty of storage.
Slaked Lime wall and ceiling paint and Slaked Lime Deep accent wall paint: Little Greene
The master bathroom can be accessed through two doors, which are either side of the wardrobes in the bedroom. Crockett went for wood-effect porcelain tiles to reflect the trees outside and mirror the flooring downstairs. Behind the wood-effect wall is a shower on one side and a toilet on the other.
“I took the tiles around into the shower area, so it would feel as though you’re showering in a log cabin,” the designer says. Even the faucets were chosen for their organic shape. “They look as if they could be branches.”
Bath: Philippe Starck for Duravit; faucets: Axor Organic by Philippe Starck; wood-effect tile: Fired Earth
“I took the tiles around into the shower area, so it would feel as though you’re showering in a log cabin,” the designer says. Even the faucets were chosen for their organic shape. “They look as if they could be branches.”
Bath: Philippe Starck for Duravit; faucets: Axor Organic by Philippe Starck; wood-effect tile: Fired Earth
Turning right at the top of the stairs takes you through a hallway, with a bedroom, bathroom and second bedroom on your right. At the end of the hallway on the left is the fourth bedroom, or studio space, in the old barn section.
“I always believe sleep spaces should be very gentle and harmonious places,” Crockett says, and the colors in this second bedroom reflect that. “A lot of the furniture and accessories were the owners’ own, such as the curtains for example, so the scheme was just about picking up on those colors,” she says.
There is a Juliet balcony in here, as in all the bedrooms, to enable any guests to sit in bed and look down to the river.
“I always believe sleep spaces should be very gentle and harmonious places,” Crockett says, and the colors in this second bedroom reflect that. “A lot of the furniture and accessories were the owners’ own, such as the curtains for example, so the scheme was just about picking up on those colors,” she says.
There is a Juliet balcony in here, as in all the bedrooms, to enable any guests to sit in bed and look down to the river.
The family bathroom is much simpler than the master en suite. “The owners didn’t feel it needed to be quite as luxurious,” Crockett says, “so we went with something more practical. It’s more of a family bathroom.”
Subway and floor tile: Fired Earth; sink: Duravit; Slaked Lime wall paint: Little Greene
Check out timeless bathroom trends
Subway and floor tile: Fired Earth; sink: Duravit; Slaked Lime wall paint: Little Greene
Check out timeless bathroom trends
At the end of the hallway on the left is the fourth bedroom with en suite bathroom. It’s used by the owners as a studio space for their art and design. The beams had been painted dark brown, so Crockett had them stripped back to their original color. The floor is hardboard, as it’s practical and it doesn’t matter if it gets messy. Crockett also installed another Juliet balcony where there was previously just a dormer window. The furniture was the owners’ own.
The en suite to the fourth bedroom is compact, but the space works particularly well. “Luckily, the distance between the eaves was enough to fit a full-length bath,” Crockett says, “and it also separates the loo nicely.” The designer used the same tiles as on the floor in the family bathroom and the wall in the master bathroom to create synergy among them all.
Subway and floor tile: Fired Earth; toilet: Duravit
Subway and floor tile: Fired Earth; toilet: Duravit
At the back of the house is a large garden. “The space had already been planted up and didn’t need any work,” Crockett says. “Because of the river at the bottom, the owners just wanted to keep it simple, so the water would be the main feature. From the garden, the full-height windows are visible in the bedrooms and communal areas.
BEFORE: The original interiors were dated and lacked coherent flow.
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Who lives here: A creative couple
Location: Berkshire, England
Size: Four bedrooms, three bathrooms
Designer Lucy Crockett of Lucy Crockett Design
A large part of the design for this property was making the home sit in harmony with its surroundings in an area of outstanding natural beauty. A river also runs through the back garden, and designer Lucy Crockett wanted to bring that mood into the home as much as possible. The landscape influenced the choice of many materials and colors throughout the property.