{"id":17534,"date":"2022-12-16T09:30:05","date_gmt":"2022-12-16T08:30:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homesandantiques.com\/?p=37788"},"modified":"2022-12-16T10:13:56","modified_gmt":"2022-12-16T09:13:56","slug":"a-renovated-17th-century-home-in-suffolk","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/rss_feed\/a-renovated-17th-century-home-in-suffolk\/","title":{"rendered":"A renovated 17th-century home in Suffolk"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By kirstylyons\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Friday, 16 December 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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Suffolk towns and villages have a uniquely picturesque quality, and Bildeston, where Cathy and Peter Bullen have lived for nearly 30 years, is no exception. Their house is on the high street and dates from the 17th century, \u2018but at some time in the early 1800s it was given a classic Georgian fa\u00e7ade,\u2019 Cathy explains.<\/p>\n

Peter was in the army when the couple got married and, over the next four years, they moved seven times from base to base. \u2018I absolutely hated not having a home I could call my own, so we began the search for a house that was affordable on an army captain\u2019s modest pay, and large enough for our growing family,\u2019 says Cathy. At the time they had two children with a third on the way.<\/p>\n

When the Bullens first viewed the house, it hadn\u2019t been lived in for eight years. It had formerly been the home of the artist Elinor Bellingham-Smith, who had transformed the stable block into her makeshift studio. Elinor grew up in London, attended the Slade School of Fine Art and illustrated the latest fashions for Harper\u2019s Bazaar. After her marriage ended, she moved to Suffolk where she painted landscapes and still lifes, and Cathy and Peter have several of her original fashion drawings, which now hang in a bedroom.<\/p>\n

Nothing had been done to the property for years when the couple moved in, but that meant all the old fittings and fixtures were still in situ. The useful range of outbuildings and a spacious walled garden were added attractions, but six skip-loads of rubbish had to be cleared before they could think about living there. \u2018Conditions were primitive, but I was just thrilled to have my own home, one that I could decorate and furnish as I wanted,\u2019 says Cathy.<\/p>\n

The Bullens made few structural changes to the house, partly because of its Grade II-listing, but mainly because it suited them as it was. \u2018We did eventually move the kitchen back to its original location where the very useful larder<\/a> and pantry still were,\u2019 says Cathy. A local carpenter made the kitchen units to which they added old French brass handles. \u2018Over the years we\u2019ve been lucky enough to inherit family furniture and paintings, but we\u2019ve pepped up the wall colours and reupholstered the furniture in contemporary fabrics to update the look.\u2019<\/p>\n

Cathy has made quite a few of the cushions in the house, along with headboards, using fabric remnants and trimmings that she\u2019s acquired over the years. \u2018I like the way an ornate braid applied along the pelmet and down the leading edge of curtains adds a flourish to plain fabric,\u2019 she says. \u2018And now that the children no longer live at home, I\u2019ve had fun refurbishing their rooms for guests<\/a>, together with a nursery for when the grandchildren stay.\u2019<\/p>\n

Cathy, who had trained as a classical ballet dancer, initially combined bringing up her family with teaching and working on productions for DanceEast, based in Ipswich. \u2018Then Peter was offered the chance of participating in an Anglo-French officer exchange, which entailed being posted to Provence. So we rented out our house, swapping it for a similar property in a pretty Proven\u00e7al village.\u2019<\/p>\n

To practise her French, and to give herself something to do, Cathy began exploring the local brocantes<\/a> and vide-greniers. \u2018It became addictive and, by the time we returned to the UK four years later, our collection of French antiques was so extensive the house and the barn were overflowing.\u2019 So they stuck a price ticket on everything, invited their friends to bring their friends and, by the end of the weekend, they\u2019d sold it all and a new business, The Boule-in, was born.<\/p>\n

That was 11 years ago, and the couple continue their antiques-buying trips to France whenever time permits. \u2018We only buy what we like, and fortunately our customers share our appreciation of fine craftsmanship and good design. We hold four events each year and, while we buy everything in France, we\u2019re not purists, so if some gorgeous Murano glass or a length of Belgian linen catches our eye, we buy it.\u2019<\/p>\n

Once it\u2019s all back in the UK, Cathy and Peter decide how they\u2019re going to show it \u2013 the focus of the spring and summer f\u00eates is outside dining<\/a>, garden furniture, planters<\/a> and statuary. Then they concentrate on lighting, objets d\u2019art and French furniture for their autumn event, while in December the focus is on all things festive, with items that would make lovely presents<\/a> \u2013 \u2018gifts we\u2019d like to find at the foot of our own Christmas tree<\/a>,\u2019 says Cathy.<\/p>\n

Each f\u00eate also includes items from Faro Home, rugs from The Rug & Carpet Studio based in Long Melford, and beautiful china by Dorset-based ceramicist Miranda Berrow. \u2018It takes around a month to create what is really quite a theatrical event, attracting clients from London and all over East Anglia,\u2019 says Cathy. \u2018The hardest bit is parting with pieces I\u2019ve fallen in love with, but there is always the next trip to France to look forward to.\u2019<\/p>\n