![\""Colourful\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/19\/2021\/11\/GAISFORD_CHARLOTTE_TCN_50a_HOUSE_Outside_0012-KL-8dc0516.jpg?quality=90&resize=551%2C413"\" "\\"\"GAISFORD_CHARLOTTE_TCN_50a_HOUSE_Outside_0012\\"")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Following a period renting one of the houses on the estate, the couple decided to take on a longer-term project converting a barn and two adjoining cottages into a permanent home. \u2018It was all a bit higgledy-piggledy so we had to figure out the best way to organise the space,\u2019 she explains.<\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> <\/section> In the old cottage, characterful beams were left exposed, while in the barn the issue was how to break up the space without losing the sense of scale and the possibilities that offers. \u2018Like most barns, it was quite narrow and there was a tendency for it to become a bit of a walkway,\u2019 says Charlotte. \u2018So we worked on creating corridors so you didn\u2019t have to walk through the children\u2019s playroom and such; we also moved the entrance to create a more practical entry point.\u2019<\/p>\n The space now flows beautifully with the open-plan kitchen-diner and living area in what was once the barn, while the more formal rooms, such as the drawing room and bedrooms, are housed in the old cottage. The fireplace in the kitchen is new but is made from reclaimed stone including a gatepost repurposed for the lintel, the bolt holes still visible. \u2018Oh my, that was so heavy,\u2019 laughs Charlotte. \u2018We had to drive a tractor into the room through the arched window to lift it up, and about six men shunted it into place.\u2019<\/p>\n Charlotte not only designed and project managed the renovation, but she also rolled up her sleeves and did much of the painting and decorating too. \u2018I figured if I had to be here to manage the trades, I might as well do it with brush in hand,\u2019 she laughs.<\/p>\n Although the renovations took place before Charlotte launched her own fabric and wallpaper business in 2015, she has always had a good eye for design, as well as a nose for a bargain. \u2018In the early days I bought \u2018seconds\u2019 from a heritage textile printer,\u2019 she says, explaining that she put her money into getting curtains made up for every window in their home. \u2018To be fair, I\u2019ve slowly \u2018unmade\u2019 most of them and replaced them with my own fabric,\u2019 she admits. \u2018But it was still a good investment.\u2019<\/p>\n Furniture has been perhaps more straightforward, with both Charlotte and Tom inheriting key pieces from family. \u2018I do buy,\u2019 she adds, \u2018but I\u2019m definitely traditional. I like things with a lot of character, and I like an eclectic mix.\u2019<\/p>\n She looks for antiques and second-hand pieces, which she can reupholster with fabrics from her new collections. \u2018People like to see the fabrics in a lifestyle setting and I like to try them out for myself and see exactly how they are working,\u2019 she explains. \u2018I would never bother to reupholster a new piece.\u2019<\/p>\n Charlotte finds inspiration in quintessentially English designers, especially Vanessa Arbuthnott and Nina Campbell. \u2018I love the way Vanessa Arbuthnott organises her collections. Her patterns are really appealing and her colour choices are often really quite daring, but somehow she gets away with it, and it all looks lovely and comfortable,\u2019 she says.<\/p>\n The same could be said of Charlotte, who is quite daring in her approach to layering pattern and mixing things up. \u2018Oh gosh,\u2019 she laughs. \u2018I think I counted how many patterns there were in the living room at one point and it was something like 17 different designs. Anyone who\u2019s afraid of mixing pattern should come to my house!\u2019<\/p>\n As well as plenty of pattern, each room is dotted with antiques. The grand piano belonged to Tom\u2019s grandmother \u2013 it was her 21st birthday gift. While Charlotte inherited many pieces of sentimental value from her father. Her great-grandfather was the ambassador to Japan in Tokyo during the First World War, so there are some unusual Asian pieces in her collection. And a lovely royal link too: the display case in the kitchen is a touching homage to Charlotte\u2019s family and includes an OBE given to her great- aunt, as well as a brooch her aunt gave to her grandmother.<\/p>\n \u2018My great- grandfather was based in Switzerland for a while and there is a sweet story of King George and Queen Mary coming for lunch and giving my great-aunt that little brooch. It really is very special.\u2019 The couple are delighted to have a space that allows them to display such precious family treasures. And it\u2019s clear that the scale and solidity of the house provide the perfect canvas for Charlotte\u2019s creativity all year round.<\/p>\n But it really comes into its own at Christmas, when, true to form, she layers up the decorations, as well as the fabrics and trims, adding scent and texture into the mix with seasonal flowers and foliage. \u2018We have made this house really work for us,\u2019 she says. \u2018I like the fact that the barn is a kitchen in one big room,\u2019 says Charlotte. \u2018It mirrors what I like most about living here in general \u2013 it is familiar and there is just this great sense of openness and freedom.\u2019<\/p>\nYou might also enjoy:<\/h4>\n
![\""Colourful\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/19\/2021\/11\/GAISFORD_CHARLOTTE_TCN_50a_HOUSE_Hall_0166_V2-KL-64593cb.jpg?quality=90&resize=551%2C413"\" "\\"\"GAISFORD_CHARLOTTE_TCN_50a_HOUSE_Hall_0166_V2\\"")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>![\""Colourful\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/19\/2021\/11\/GAISFORD_CHARLOTTE_TCN_50a_HOUSE_Dining-Room_0227-KL-1e0c4bd.jpg?quality=90&resize=551%2C413"\" "\\"\"GAISFORD_CHARLOTTE_TCN_50a_HOUSE_Dining\\"")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>![\""Colourful\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/19\/2021\/11\/GAISFORD_CHARLOTTE_TCN_50a_HOUSE_Bedroom-3_0132-KL-7958484.jpg?quality=90&resize=551%2C413"\" "\\"\"GAISFORD_CHARLOTTE_TCN_50a_HOUSE_Bedroom\\"")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>![\""Colourful\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/19\/2021\/11\/GAISFORD_CHARLOTTE_TCN_50a_HOUSE_Bedroom-1_0091-KL-12ce18e.jpg?quality=90&resize=551%2C413"\" "\\"\"GAISFORD_CHARLOTTE_TCN_50a_HOUSE_Bedroom\\"")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>![\""Colourful\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/19\/2021\/11\/GAISFORD_CHARLOTTE_TCN_50a_HOUSE_Sitting-Room_0306-KL-7529184.jpg?quality=90&resize=550%2C413"\" "\\"\"GAISFORD_CHARLOTTE_TCN_50a_HOUSE_Sitting\\"")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>![\""GAISFORD_CHARLOTTE_TCN_50a_HOUSE_Dining\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/19\/2021\/11\/GAISFORD_CHARLOTTE_TCN_50a_HOUSE_Dining-Room_0213-KL-5cc37c5.jpg?quality=90&resize=556%2C723"\" "\\"\"GAISFORD_CHARLOTTE_TCN_50a_HOUSE_Dining\\"")
<\/picture><\/div>
![\""GAISFORD_CHARLOTTE_TCN_50a_HOUSE_Dining\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/19\/2021\/11\/GAISFORD_CHARLOTTE_TCN_50a_HOUSE_Dining-Room_0228-KL-9fef4ac.jpg?quality=90&resize=556%2C723"\" "\\"\"GAISFORD_CHARLOTTE_TCN_50a_HOUSE_Dining\\"")
<\/picture><\/div> ![\""GAISFORD_CHARLOTTE_TCN_50a_HOUSE_Dining\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/19\/2021\/11\/GAISFORD_CHARLOTTE_TCN_50a_HOUSE_Dining-Room_0251-KL-838324d.jpg?quality=90&resize=556%2C723"\" "\\"\"GAISFORD_CHARLOTTE_TCN_50a_HOUSE_Dining\\"")
<\/picture><\/div> ![\""GAISFORD_CHARLOTTE_TCN_50a_HOUSE_Kitchen_0278\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/19\/2021\/11\/GAISFORD_CHARLOTTE_TCN_50a_HOUSE_Kitchen_0278-KL-214d553.jpg?quality=90&resize=556%2C723"\" "\\"\"GAISFORD_CHARLOTTE_TCN_50a_HOUSE_Kitchen_0278\\"")
<\/picture><\/div> ![\""GAISFORD_CHARLOTTE_TCN_50a_HOUSE_Dining\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/19\/2021\/11\/GAISFORD_CHARLOTTE_TCN_50a_HOUSE_Dining-Room_0249-KL-927b562.jpg?quality=90&resize=556%2C723"\" "\\"\"GAISFORD_CHARLOTTE_TCN_50a_HOUSE_Dining\\"")
<\/picture><\/div> ![\""GAISFORD_CHARLOTTE_TCN_50a_HOUSE_Sitting\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/19\/2021\/11\/GAISFORD_CHARLOTTE_TCN_50a_HOUSE_Sitting-Room_0310-KL-e21c74c.jpg?quality=90&resize=556%2C723"\" "\\"\"GAISFORD_CHARLOTTE_TCN_50a_HOUSE_Sitting\\"")
<\/picture><\/div> ![\""GAISFORD_CHARLOTTE_TCN_50a_HOUSE_Kitchen_0286\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/19\/2021\/11\/GAISFORD_CHARLOTTE_TCN_50a_HOUSE_Kitchen_0286-KL-7d6aa11.jpg?quality=90&resize=556%2C723"\" "\\"\"GAISFORD_CHARLOTTE_TCN_50a_HOUSE_Kitchen_0286\\"")
<\/picture><\/div>