Inspiration: Simplicity, and colour; the way the countryside comes down to the sea, and the light by the coast. Biggest Embarrassment: When the kitchen extension was finished, we bought extra Mexican tiles to extend the existing flooring, only to find that the sizing didn’t match the old tiles. Follow Apartment Therapy’s board House Tours Apartment Therapy on Pinterest. Open Slideshow
Apartment Therapy Survey:
My Style: Simple, mixing old with new. And for a week each summer, daughter-in-law Janine Drayson, an artist and illustrator, and ceramicist Eliza Jayne, fill the room with their creations and open the doors to the public for their open studio. • HOUSE TOUR ARCHIVE: Check out past house tours here. Then on one visit, they found the house for sale, and with its unique history (Tim is the third generation of shoemakers in his family), its location overlooking the village green, a great-sized garden and garage for storing all the sailing gear, it instantly felt like the perfect match. Best Advice: Make the most of your treasures; enjoy your home and use it as a way of expressing yourself and a place to welcome others. There’s a central dining table large enough to host get-togethers with family and friends, an Aga that’s used not only for cooking but also for heating the house (there’s no central heating) and drying laundry, shelves filled with vintage crockery, and in the corner, a couple of Lloyd Loom sofas. Biggest Indulgence: Stripping out two existing fire surrounds to eventually find the original fireplace and then add a wood-burning stove. • Are you a designer/architect/decorator interested in sharing a residential project with Apartment Therapy readers? This all makes it an individual home. Open Slideshow
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For such a pint-sized cottage, the kitchen-dining room is surprisingly spacious — Liz and Tim extended it to create a truly multi-functional area — and light from the garden pours in through the patio doors. (Image credits: Cathy Pyle) What Friends Say: They’re surprised how much bigger the cottage is inside, and how light it is. Proudest DIY: Tim has made so many items for our home, such as recycling an antique box to make an occasional table and shelves. For many years, Liz, with her love of gardens and the countryside, and Tim, with his love of the sailing and the sea, enjoyed family holidays here. I’ve also had lots of inspiration from my friend Sara Sinaguglia who VERY patiently taught me to crochet, and so much of my work has come from her book Simply Crochet. Favorite Element: The kitchen/dining area looking out to the garden
Biggest Challenge: Using limited space to cater to all your needs, such as storage of sailing gear! The staircase, made from wood from an old church in nearby Poole, leads up from the kitchen to two bedrooms. Open Slideshow
Resources of Note:
PAINT COLORS
Kitchen/living area — Farrow and Ball’s White Tie
Garden room painted in Farrow and Ball’s Cardroom Green
Shower room — Dulux «Jessica White»
GARDEN ROOM
Table — Habitat
Chairs — Smiths Vintage, Swanage
Shelves and wall sconces — Country Corner, High Street Swanage
Floor painted in Farrow and Ball’s Cardroom Green
Crochet cushions/throw handmade by Liz
KITCHEN-DINING ROOM
Dining chairs from a shop in Sevenoaks, originally from a convent in Ireland
Chair in the corner by the Aga from Liz’s parents
Curtains from Vanessa Arbuthnot, Feather Egg / Raspberry
Tablecloth and cushions — fabric from Daisy May, Wareham
Lloyd Loom sofas from Smiths Vintage, Swanage
Art above sofa by local artist Lynne Wilkes
LIVING ROOM
Sofas from Laura Ashley
Blinds from Laura Ashley in Austen/Duck Egg
Textile art above fireplace by Sarah Wootton
Sea harbour painting by Rebecca Lardner
Crochet cushions/throw handmade by Liz
SHOWER ROOM
Paint by Dulux (Jessica White)
Picture collages (only one pictured) by Janine Drayson
BATHROOM
Jug from Cilla and Camilla, originally in Dorchester, now in Beaminster, Dorset
Plates, Italian and from antique shops
GUEST BEDROOM
Cushions, The Swedish Shop, Sevenoaks
Wooden boats, Country Corner, Swanage
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Thanks, Liz and Tim! The master bedroom has views to the sea and a tiny en-suite bathroom, with views over the village green; while the guest bedroom, filled with childhood treasures, is where the grandchildren sleep when they come to stay. We then had to dig up the floor so that it could be completely retiled. Contact the editors through our House Tour Submission Form.
