{"id":140,"date":"2021-12-01T15:59:36","date_gmt":"2021-12-01T14:59:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homesandantiques.com\/?p=23787"},"modified":"2021-12-01T16:16:12","modified_gmt":"2021-12-01T15:16:12","slug":"celia-rufeys-christmas-cottage","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/rss_feed\/celia-rufeys-christmas-cottage\/","title":{"rendered":"Celia Rufey\u2019s Christmas cottage"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

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

Published: Wednesday, 01 December 2021 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

Moving house will always be a moment when decision making is unavoidable. Even more so if the move is from a large house to a much smaller one. When Celia Rufey downsized from a five-bedroom Victorian house in Devon, where she had lived for 30 years, to a small cottage in London, there was a need to be ruthless.<\/p>\n

At the heart of the problem was her years of visiting the local market with its vintage and house-clearance stands. \u2018This was in the 1980s and 90s,\u2019 she explains, \u2018and every week I\u2019d come back with an item, sometimes two. My daughters used to say: \u201cYou\u2019ve been buying again, Mum,\u201d and I\u2019d say, \u201cIt only cost \u00a31!\u201d\u2019<\/p>\n

\""Christmas\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Celia and her grandchildren, Eleanor, Sophie, Rebecca and Benjamin. The stairs run up the centre of the cottage.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

The imminent move in 2013 presented the difficulty of deciding what to let go. \u2018Before the move, I had a big sale at home. It hurt, but I came to London with the pieces that are useful, special in their design or in the memories they hold.\u2019<\/p>\n

The easy part was already knowing her future home very well as Celia part-owned the cottage with her elder daughter and son-in-law. By 2013, it was a tight fit for them and their two children and, when they found somewhere larger nearby, she knew it was the moment to come back to London.<\/p>\n

As a co-owner of the cottage, Celia knew everything that was wrong with it. Although not listed, permission had to be gained to knock down a rickety lean-to behind the kitchen and re-build an enlarged kitchen on the same footprint. Troublesome drains were renewed, a redundant chimney breast was taken down in the kitchen and bedroom above and the bathroom was refitted as a shower room.<\/p>\n

The bedroom<\/h2>\n

Celia\u2019s interpretation of cottage style responds to the essential simplicity of buildings like this and she has kept and loves the old boarded floors, and painted interior walls and woodwork in traditional unbleached white. Covering windows was a more emotional decision for someone with a passion for textiles and a large collection of vintage pieces under her bed. She felt the rooms were too small for curtains so asked her joiner to design folding shutters for the four cottage windows based on the design of the single authentic door upstairs.<\/p>\n

\""Christmas\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Celia rescued this Victorian bed just before its original paint finish was about to be stripped off. The late 19th-century crazy patchwork coverlet is worked in silks and ribbons. Celia found it in an antiques shop in Honiton.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Get the look:<\/h4>\n

Patchwork bedspread, \u00a3120, John Lewis Buy it now<\/a><\/p>\n

Embroidered rose cushion, \u00a312, Dunelm Buy it now<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p><\/div> <\/section>

The sitting room<\/h2>\n

Space for furniture in the cottage is limited but Celia was determined to bring the large Victorian overmantel mirror from her old sitting room.<\/p>\n

\""Christmas\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
The antique overmantel mirror reflects the room, amplifying the impression of space. The Edwardian sofa is upholstered in a black and green horsehair stripe beneath a cover in a woven stripe from Chelsea Textiles.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Get the look:<\/h4>\n

Large estee overmantle mirror, \u00a3294, La Maison Chic Buy it now<\/a><\/p>\n

The starry night tree, \u00a333, Bloom & Wild Buy it now<\/a><\/p>\n

Marcel stripe fabric, POA, Chelsea Textiles Buy it now<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p><\/div> <\/section>

\u2018It was a perfect fit for the Devon house and I remember the day a woman I often bought small items from rang the doorbell and said she had something I\u2019d like in her van. When she told me it was an overmantel mirror I said I wouldn\u2019t be able to afford it and she said I was the only person she knew with a room big enough to take it. There was a bit of damage so it was affordable. More of a question was whether we could get it into the cottage but, by taking out the sitting room window, we slid it in. I love over-scaled pieces in small rooms and the light it reflects is a bonus.\u2019<\/p>\n

\""Christmas\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Celia loose-covered this old wing chair in crazy patchwork using wool pieces stitched section by section onto calico. The Christmas tree is rooted in a pot, ready to grow bigger for future years. Decorations are in clear glass, white and silver.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Apart from the mirror, all that could come from the Devon house was an Edwardian sofa, two old wing chairs, the bed, three vintage chests of drawers, various side tables and two large trestle tables made by her Devon joiners from flush doors edged with wood. One is now in the study and the other, beautifully weathered by several years in the garden, is the dining table.<\/p>\n

\""Christmas\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
A mantel to frame the fireplace was designed and made in bleached, cross-sawn oak by Alex Panter of AWP Design. The Christmas tree pays compliments of the season to the cut-out trees by Mo McDermott, a vintage 1970s piece.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

The landing<\/h2>\n
\""Christmas\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Black picks out door fittings, engravings and picture frames on the landing without dispelling the seasonal mood. The embroidered pictures are favourites brought from the Devon house.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

The kitchen<\/h2>\n

If the small tally of furniture indicates cottage simplicity, Celia is first to concede that is not the case with the collectables that furnish the kitchen-living room. \u2018I don\u2019t like wall cupboards in kitchens so only have base cupboards and drawers,\u2019 she explains.<\/p>\n

\""Christmas\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
The Royal Doulton fox on the shelves belonged to Celia\u2019s mother and, like the felted moose, gets a Christmas necklet of faux berries. The pudding basin belonged to her grandmother. Silver-plated candlesticks are loved best as they tarnish.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n
\""Christmas\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Shelves along the kitchen wall display everyday, vintage and old family china. At Christmas, homeowner Celia frosts a dish of fruits for the festive table on one of her glass cake stands. The chairs are Eames DSR from Vitra.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

\u2018Having utensils visible and within reach when cooking makes sense and, for me, graters, measuring jugs, colanders and pans have a simple propriety that\u2019s comforting. Every day I enjoy looking at the china and glass on the shelves, remembering where I found a piece or who in the family owned it.\u2019<\/p>\n

\""Christmas\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Celia bought the Edwardian rocking horse for her daughters and now it is much loved by her grandchildren. The overmantel mirror, found at a salvage yard, reflects the Christmas table.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

The Christmas decorations<\/h2>\n

This row of cottages was built when the surrounding area was wooded, and windows have a sideways view across gardens with a magnificent range of trees. \u2018The outlook keeps me in tune with the seasons,\u2019 Celia says, \u2018and, as the leaves begin to fall, I\u2019m already thinking about Christmas and starting to sew presents from the hoard of vintage fabrics. Our family decorating tradition is to pick berried ivy, sprays of bay and red rosehips from the garden to add festive detail to pictures. The zinc jug in the kitchen demands a scaled-up arrangement of greenery and I tie bunches of ivy on the handrails up the stairs. The grandchildren love to help decorate the tree with white, silver and clear glass decorations.\u2019<\/p>\n

\""Christmas\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
An antique German blown-glass decoration nestles among flowers.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n
\""Christmas\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
This Victorian stained-glass saint hanging in the kitchen window was discovered in an antiques shop by Celia\u2019s brother.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div><\/body><\/html>\n
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By Molly Malsom Published: Wednesday, 01 December 2021 at 12:00 am Moving house will always be a moment when decision making is unavoidable. Even more so if the move is from a large house to a much smaller one. When Celia Rufey downsized from a five-bedroom Victorian house in Devon, where she had lived for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":141,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"7"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2021\/12\/celia-rufeys-christmas-cottage.jpg",3024,2016,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2021\/12\/celia-rufeys-christmas-cottage.jpg",150,100,false],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2021\/12\/celia-rufeys-christmas-cottage.jpg",300,200,false],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2021\/12\/celia-rufeys-christmas-cottage.jpg",768,512,false],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2021\/12\/celia-rufeys-christmas-cottage.jpg",800,533,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2021\/12\/celia-rufeys-christmas-cottage.jpg",1536,1024,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2021\/12\/celia-rufeys-christmas-cottage.jpg",2048,1365,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Molly Malsom Published: Wednesday, 01 December 2021 at 12:00 am Moving house will always be a moment when decision making is unavoidable. Even more so if the move is from a large house to a much smaller one. When Celia Rufey downsized from a five-bedroom Victorian house in Devon, where she had lived for…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/140"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/141"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=140"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=140"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}