{"id":21010,"date":"2023-05-19T09:57:52","date_gmt":"2023-05-19T07:57:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homesandantiques.com\/?p=42976"},"modified":"2023-05-19T10:36:40","modified_gmt":"2023-05-19T08:36:40","slug":"an-ancient-farmhouse-near-hay-on-wye","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/rss_feed\/an-ancient-farmhouse-near-hay-on-wye\/","title":{"rendered":"An ancient farmhouse near Hay-on-Wye"},"content":{"rendered":"

This farmhouse on the Welsh border gave Juliette and Neal the opportunity to leave London in order to follow new creative pursuits. Photographs Mark Bolton <\/p>

By Charlotte Packer\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Friday, 19 May 2023 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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Juliette Fernandes spent her formative years in her parents\u2019 bustling, 45-bedroom hotel in Manchester, and has fond memories of the noise and hubbub. \u2018We had up to five weddings each weekend,\u2019 she recalls. \u2018I\u2019ve seen some wedding dresses over the years!\u2019 However, it wasn\u2019t always easy sharing her home with endless guests. \u2018We didn\u2019t really have a family sitting room,\u2019 she says. As a result, Juliette swore she\u2019d never work in a hotel.<\/p>\n

\u2018But somehow it snuck up on me,\u2019 she laughs, explaining how each week she welcomes grateful guests into the idyllic home, just outside Hay-on-Wye<\/a>, which she shares with her partner Neal. Situated at the end of a long track, with spectacular views towards the Black Mountains, their farmhouse, known as The Red Kite, could not be further removed from her childhood home in terms of location, scale and style. \u2018My dad is Portuguese and he loves colour and pattern,\u2019 she says and, like many of the wedding parties they hosted, the hotel\u2019s decor was pretty flamboyant. \u2018Dad always wanted to add more florals<\/a>. Florals on top of florals,\u2019 she recalls. \u2018Mum and I would tease him about it endlessly.\u2019<\/p>\n

While still running the hotel, her parents bought a plot of land and built their own home. \u2018Mum took over the reins with the decorating<\/a>, and interiors magazines started to flood into the house,\u2019 says Juliette. It was a seminal moment, and the start of an abiding interest in interiors. \u2018Doing up houses became my creative outlet, as well as my work,\u2019 she says. Six years ago, having completed a house in London, Juliette was ready for a new challenge.<\/p>\n

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\u2018Although I\u2019ve never really wanted to escape the city,\u2019 she says. \u2018Neal craved nature and more space, and I wanted to paint and write.\u2019 They experimented by renting a cottage for six months. This proved to be \u2018a magical experience\u2019, at the end of which they\u2019d decided to find a similar property, to run as an organic B&B.<\/p>\n

A chance visit to a friend\u2019s house in Hay-on-Wye resulted in a spontaneous viewing. \u2018We were just flirting with the idea,\u2019 she says, recalling their first, rather underwhelming viewing of The Red Kite. \u2018The deeds go back to 1665 but, when I looked at the house, I couldn\u2019t see its age at all.\u2019<\/p>\n

The building had been through many changes over the years, and in the 17th century had served as a safe meeting place for persecuted Quakers. Its recent past was less romantic, merely involving extensive and expensive modernisation of the kitchen<\/a> and several bathrooms<\/a>. \u2018Its character was hidden,\u2019 sighs Juliette. \u2018But it would have cost thousands of pounds to strip it back to reveal the original shell.\u2019<\/p>\n

Despite her misgivings, both she and Neal were struck by the building\u2019s extraordinary air of tranquillity. \u2018A house is as much about the landscape in which it sits as the rooms inside it,\u2019 she says. In the end, the beautiful location won out.<\/p>\n

Because it was all so pristine and the rooms lacked the usual period details such as cornices<\/a>, old fireplaces or wonky ceilings, Juliette was released from the need to remain faithful to existing features. But even so, she was determined to recycle what was there. \u2018It felt criminal to remove stuff that had only been put in two years earlier,\u2019 she says.<\/p>\n

In one of the bathrooms, she enlivened the walls with Georgian-style<\/a> panelling and, in the kitchen, which had been recently installed, Juliette asked a carpenter to take down and rearrange the wall units to create an island onto which she fitted an oak worktop.<\/p>\n

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When it came to furnishing the house, there was no need to stick to a particular style. Juliette\u2019s taste is very broad, she says. \u2018I\u2019m guided by what I like and I just trust that it will work.\u2019 Over the last 20 years and several properties, she has accumulated a magpie mix of furniture and is as excited by the clean lines of the mid-century<\/a> pieces she chose for the sitting room as she is by the more ornate 19th-century French chairs in the bedrooms.<\/p>\n

A wonderful set of deco garden furniture<\/a> has been split up and placed in various rooms around the house. They work so well inside that more than one guest has offered to buy them. \u2018When it came to the colours for the interior, I took inspiration from the landscape,\u2019 she says. \u2018The rooms are all designed to frame rather than compete with the view beyond the windows.\u2019<\/p>\n

Although determined not to follow her parents into the hotel trade, Juliette found she\u2019d learned the business by osmosis. Soon enough they were fully booked, and Juliette was surprised to find how much she enjoyed sharing her life with a constant stream of guests. \u2018My parents had such a passion for giving people a wonderful experience,\u2019 she says, \u2018and I realised, through them, it came naturally to me too.\u2019 However, there was a downside to their success. \u2018I had no time for painting or writing \u2013 the very things I\u2019d left London to pursue,\u2019 she says.<\/p>\n

The solution is a small cabin, built on their land, some distance from The Red Kite. This new addition is where the couple retreat to when guests book into their house, which Juliette lets in its entirety. \u2018I love the way the best hotels feel like a home from home,\u2019 she says, and this is what she strives to achieve. \u2018Each week, I arrange the flowers and greet my new guests and see that they\u2019re settled and happy. Then I leave them to it. There is a better balance to life now, and I\u2019ve finally started to write.\u2019<\/p>\n

\""Hay-on-Wye\"<\/picture><\/div>
Juliette outside The Red Kite with their dog, Schmoo, a short-haired German Pointer. The house was painted white when Neal and Juliette moved in \u2013 they have since painted it a traditional yellow by Ty-Mawr.<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""Hay-on-Wye\"<\/picture><\/div>
It took several attempts to get the colour right in the tranquil living room, which was a Quaker meeting place in the 17th century. Juliette finally settled on \u2018Drop Cloth\u2019 by Farrow & Ball \u2013 a subtle and warm neutral that doesn\u2019t detract from the view. The bookshelf is painted in Farrow & Ball\u2019s \u2018French Gray\u2019, which makes a subtle contrast. <\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""Hay-on-Wye\"<\/picture><\/div>
In the living room, the bench is by Bryan Townsend and the portrait hanging above it is by Anthea Stilwell, as are the owls above the woodburner. The cushions and upholstery are all from Foy & Co Interiors. The coffee table is a very old design that Juliette bought in Habitat. The sheepskin rugs are all from Hide Rugs.<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""Hay-on-Wye\"<\/picture><\/div>
Although the kitchen and dining room flow into each other, Juliette subtly \u2018zoned\u2019 the spaces by painting them different colours \u2013 Farrow & Ball\u2019s \u2018Pavilion Gray\u2019 for the kitchen walls with \u2018London Clay\u2019 on the island unit and \u2018Shaded White\u2019 for the dining room.<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""Hay-on-Wye\"<\/picture><\/div>
The kitchen window looks out across the old farmyard to one of the old barns. Juliette has adapted the fitted kitchen by painting the doors Farrow & Ball\u2019s \u2018Manor House Gray\u2019 and removing the wall units to create a central island.<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""Hay-on-Wye\"<\/picture><\/div>
French windows in the dining room frame the spectacular view of the Black Mountains. The curtains are from Foy & Co Interiors and made from Russian linen, \u2018Wolf 3 Herringbone\u2019. The glass pendant lights are from Holloways of Ludlow. The Wishbone-style chairs came from Swivel UK and the glasses are from Villeroy & Boch. The hare and rabbit salt and pepper shakers are by Quail Ceramics.<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""Hay-on-Wye\"<\/picture><\/div>
The bedroom walls are painted an archive colour, \u2018Fawn\u2019 by Farrow & Ball. Juliette found the framed portrait at Old Mill Antiques, Failsworth in Manchester, one of her favourite haunts for antiques and vintage pieces. She inherited the chair from her parents and had it reupholstered by Foy & Co Interiors. The bed came from Heal\u2019s.<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""Hay-on-Wye\"<\/picture><\/div>
The twin beds are from The French Depot. The side table is part of an art deco set that Juliette has divided between the rooms. The walls are painted \u2018Bone\u2019 by Farrow & Ball.<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""Hay-on-Wye\"<\/picture><\/div>
Juliette tiled the bathroom with limestone from Mandarin Stone, leaving an original wall exposed to create visual interest. The little milking stool is by Bryan Townsend.<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""Hay-on-Wye\"<\/picture><\/div>
Cushions covered in a jolly, outsize red check from Coach House Interiors add a dash of country cottage style to the downstairs bedroom. The deco armchair is one of the set of four that Juliette has dotted around the house. The sheepskin throw is from Hide Rugs and the chest of drawers came from Old Mill Antiques.<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>

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