{"id":13437,"date":"2022-08-14T11:00:13","date_gmt":"2022-08-14T09:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homesandantiques.com\/?p=33704"},"modified":"2022-08-14T11:26:11","modified_gmt":"2022-08-14T09:26:11","slug":"an-artists-arts-and-crafts-home-in-yorkshire","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/rss_feed\/an-artists-arts-and-crafts-home-in-yorkshire\/","title":{"rendered":"An artist\u2019s Arts and Crafts home in Yorkshire"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Molly Malsom\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Sunday, 14 August 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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When artist Laura Wallace left Yorkshire for London after university, she never expected to return two decades later to live in her dream house, right next door to the one in which she\u2019d grown up \u2013 and where her parents still live. \u2018I\u2019ve admired this house all my life,\u2019 Laura explains, \u2018but I never imagined I\u2019d actually get to live here. I always loved its simple but solid Arts and Crafts design, the proportions and the old Yorkshire stone; and when I viewed the house on the inside, I knew it would make a wonderful family home, and the single-storey gym the previous owners had added could become the perfect art studio.\u2019<\/p>\n

Laura didn\u2019t just return for the house, however, she was also ready to exchange the buzz of the city for the glorious views she\u2019d enjoyed as a child, and to share them with her husband Mark, a fellow Northerner, and their three children, who were eager to live closer to their grandparents. \u2018I always think you know where you fit in, but you also know where you belong,\u2019 says Laura. \u2018I loved London, but my heart was always here.\u2019<\/p>\n

Although the house had been lovingly restored by its previous owners, Laura had clear ideas about how to transform it into a more relaxed family home. \u2018It was carved into many incredibly elegant but separate rooms. We wanted to open it up so that we could keep an eye on everyone and no one would feel shut off from the rest of the family.\u2019 The kitchen was a good solid design with a practical layout, so Laura just freshened it up with a few tins of Farrow & Ball paint.<\/p>\n

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\u2018I\u2019ve seen how styles have come in and out of fashion,\u2019 she says. \u2018If you go too pristine and modern in your home you\u2019ll be forever trying to keep up with all the latest trends \u2013 and you\u2019ll never feel you can kick off your wellies and relax on the sofa.\u2019 A more eclectic approach, she says, makes you less precious. \u2018Plus, you can easily move pieces from room to room when you fancy a change.\u2019<\/p>\n

This carefree approach to rearranging is something she\u2019s done from one house to the next. She is a firm believer that if things are chosen with love, no matter how random they might seem, they can be made to work, especially if you complete the room with the right artwork. \u2018A colourful piece can really pull it all together.\u2019<\/p>\n

Before becoming an artist, Laura was an interior designer for Harrods, where she formed a love of exquisitely beautiful designs by Cole & Son, Robert Kime, Colefax & Fowler and the like. \u2018I worked on dozens of projects in my early career,\u2019 says Laura, adding that many were very contemporary schemes, even though her personal taste is more timeless.<\/p>\n

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\u2018I\u2019ve always been drawn to patterns and colours that are forgiving of wear and that will age well.\u2019 The curtains in the kitchen, drawing room and guest room prove her point: they came from their London townhouse and, with a few minor alterations, they fit the windows perfectly. \u2018They also work with the antiques that Mark and I have inherited from our families, and the treasures we\u2019ve found for ourselves at auctions, fairs and abroad.\u2019<\/p>\n

Laura began painting after the couple\u2019s first child was born. \u2018I love having fresh flowers on every table and in many of my paintings. I cut blooms from the garden and arrange them in one of my favourite vases to create a still life to capture on canvas. I\u2019m also inspired by our travels up to Scotland.\u2019 Mark\u2019s family have a holiday home in Orkney, and Laura loves sketching the ever-changing sea and sky while the rest of the clan go fishing, walking and swimming.<\/p>\n

Laura\u2019s house is something of a \u2018live-in gallery\u2019, which allows clients to see how her works look in a real domestic setting. \u2018If you\u2019re going to invest in art, you need to know how it will work surrounded by furniture and other collections,\u2019 she says. \u2018Scale is so important, and this is hard to appreciate in a gallery with double-height ceilings and all-white walls.\u2019<\/p>\n

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Laura understands buying art can feel like an expensive investment. She knows all too well that after paying for builders, materials and other essentials, there isn\u2019t often much left to spend on original works of art, so she\u2019s developed some affordable options, including limited-edition prints.<\/p>\n

\u2018I think everyone deserves to be surrounded by things that bring them joy,\u2019 she says. \u2018Objects that make them smile when they walk into a room. These pieces we choose can really lift our spirits if we select them with care and love, and I believe that is what making a home is all about.\u2019<\/p>\n