25 Beautiful Homes November 2022

EDITOR’S LETTER | 25BH After such a long, hot summer, the idea of going into hibernation mode is quite a relief for us cool-weather people. And this month, we are featuring houses that many of us would be happy to curl up in for the rest of the season. James and Sophie Edmondson’s oak-framed Cotswold new build on page 8 has every comfort you could want to see out chilly days – a book-lined snug, a wood-burning stove and floor-to-ceiling views of the countryside. For a different treatment of a new-build property, take a look at Lara Clarke’s abode on page 22. Full of warmth and personality, this once ‘grey box’ has been transformed with wallpaper, panelling and cocooning colours. And if you’re struggling to achieve the right look for…

LESSON LEARNT ‘If you want a build to stay true to your vision, visit the site as much as possible so you can deal with queries swiftly’ This oak and Cotswold stone home sits on a long, skinny spit of land, meaning the owners can drink in waterside views from every window. ‘One of our favourite things to do is sit in the sitting room as the sun sets, with the water casting dappled reflections onto the walls,’ says James Edmondson, who lives here with his wife Sophie and their daughter Aubrey, one. Their house’s location is particularly special, a private nature reserve run by James and his father, and the idea to build a home here had been bubbling away for a long time. ‘Even when I was at…

Whether it’s helping her children with homework and art projects at the kitchen table, cooking on her Lacanche range, or entertaining friends and family, Suzy Steer-Fowler is certainly making the most of her recently refurbished home. ‘We’ve lived in temporary properties for a number of years, and five years ago, our decision to move back from Devon to London was my big opportunity to find a suitable house and create our forever home,’ explains Suzy. She employed the services of interior architect and designer Rebecca Connolly, to lead the refurbishment project of the three-storey Victorian terraced house in family-friendly Clapham, a desirable find for Suzy who loves characterful old properties. ‘We lived in the house for two years before the renovation started, but moving back in was delayed by Covid,’…

WHAT WAS THE MAIN ATTRACTION OF THIS HOUSE FOR YOU? My husband and I were looking for a bigger place out of London – I was pregnant with our second child at the time. We’d moved in with my parents and were getting to the point where we were a bit desperate to find something. I was looking for an old Victorian project to renovate but in the end, we came to this ‘wild card’, a new-build house. I never expected to like it but it had all the rooms we needed and we fell in love with the space. WHAT WERE YOUR BIGGEST PRIORITIES? The house didn’t need any structural work doing but we were keen to put our own stamp on it. It was a grey box so…

When Theresa and Allan Widlake’s daughters Mia and Tiffany grew up and left home, the couple decided it was time for a fresh start. ‘It was our first opportunity to reinvent ourselves after leaving behind the homes in which we’d raised our girls,’ says Theresa. ‘We got married young and had always lived in modest rented or company-owned housing and I’d always had to just make the best of what we had. We both agreed we wanted to create a relaxing and stylish space that would work for just the two of us.’ The couple sold their ranch-style home in rural north Zambia and then found a three-storey new build house in one of Johannesburg’s leafy northern suburbs. ‘The house wasn’t large, compared to other properties in the area –…

no. 5 Living in south London, young professionals Kate and Tom Pickford had fully renovated their two-bedroom flat in Streatham and loved their city lifestyle. However, a number of factors influenced their decision to leave London and move back to where they’d grown up, near Reading in Berkshire. ‘Tom’s work was in Berkshire, and he was keen to reduce his daily commute, and after my father passed away, I wanted to move back to be near my mum,’ says Kate. ‘We’d also been thinking about starting a family, and as our flat had almost doubled in price since we’d bought it, we knew we could trade it in for a much bigger house with a garden close to where Mum lives.’ Despite some family reservations the couple bought a filthy,…