Pictured: stainless steel Lacanche oven in the kitchen.
Ladder-back dining chairs upholstered in horsehair fabric surround the vintage Vendange French dining table. Counterbalance chandelier by Max Ingrand for Fontana Arte.
Leaving its disjoined legacy in the past, this English property has emerged as an elegant, sepia-toned country house flush with vintage treasures.
Over the years, this country home in England’s Hampshire was subject to so many patchwork alterations that it ended up as a “jumble of parts,” London-based interior designer Hollie Bowden says. While the bones were good, it was full of unnecessary complications, an awkward layout and an assortment of design eras.
Dating back to the 1840s as part of a larger countryside estate within the grounds of a Victorian walled garden, it was a “slightly Frankenstein” mess of stitched scars and mismatched layers that needed to be unpicked. Bowden’s modus operandi was to streamline the interiors and introduce the “character, charm and inviting homeliness of an English country home; without it feeling like your grandmother’s house.”
Over the years, the home had become prey to unflattering changes: “the original flint structure blurred with the brick rear and side extensions; the subdued Edwardian woodwork and plasterwork jarred with the mock regency fireplaces and mouldings; the bitty, granular layout of the old kitchen, boot room and secondary stair was disproportionate to the grand reception rooms,” she says. The result was a “muddle of small, disjointed spaces” that lacked any connection to the garden.
A large antique farmhouse dining table is ringed by Klint chairs by Howe. Bettina pendant lights by Jamb hang from chains above. Antique mirrors flank the window.
A bespoke linen sofa and armchairs flank a slate and bronze coffee table by Pia Manu. Victorian pine floorboards in a waxed finish. In the corner is a Daphine Terra floor lamp. Vintage Fritz Hansen PK80 daybed by Poul Kjaerholm.
Bowden’s new interventions included elliptical arches in the entrance hall with crafted staff bead edging to match an old crumbly piece of plasterwork found elsewhere. In the master bedroom, the timber walls were re-panelled in a fashion that replicated the old cellar and when the ceilings were stripped back, they revealed impressive, dramatic beams firmly intact. “We made parts of the house built in different periods speak the same architectural language,” Bowden says.
To fit seamlessly with the home’s existing finishes, Bowden introduced reclaimed materials including rustic English flagstone floors that would also be compatible with underfloor heating. “We wanted something that would feel as if it had always been there; something worn and patinaed,” Bowden says. Waxed pine floorboards were installed to match the existing ones, most of which were missing or in poor condition. Aside from now being sturdier and less drafty, “you’d think they had always been there,” she says.
On the 1940s-era desk is an Amsterdam School desk lamp. Metal pendant by Franta Anyz. Vintage armchair by Guillerme et Chambron.
Stainless steel finishes and fixtures on the range cooker, island, leather-wrapped steel-topped bar and industrial-look freestanding bathtub were intended to create “unexpected moments,” Bowden says. “It’s a real departure from what you’d expect to see in a traditional country house.”
The interiors are filled with incongruous pairings and a mix of modern contemporary works, eclectic vintage furniture and art, and classic antiques. The juxtapositions and decorative idiosyncrasies work favourably, with 19th-century wonders sitting alongside mid-century gems and custom pieces. The sepia-toned palette pits faded chocolate, gauzy beiges, off white and tan against deep fern and olive green to create a house that evokes age-old country charm with contemporary elegance.
Next to the vintage reupholstered armchair is a bespoke sofa and ottoman. Mohair flatweave rug. Textured hemp curtains. The walls painted in Sabi Grey by Atelier Ellis. A Vitra Akari 33N pendant by Isamu Noguchi glows in the corner.
A Nickel Boat bath by BC Design puts an unexpected twist on the traditional space. Brown sheepskin rug. The shower is lined in Hanley Traditional tiles by Balineum.
