Country Homes & Interiors

Spoiler alert… We have a new look coming, and I think you’re going to love it! I’ve given you a sneak peek at our box-fresh logo and front cover below, but you’ll see lots more exciting features, inspiring design and decorating ideas, plus expert tips and insight, inside the October issue. It’s on sale on 1 September, so pick up a copy and don’t miss out. But before we race ahead, we’ve made sure that this month’s magazine is an absolute standout for you. From the roof above your head to the floor beneath your feet, every part of your home is covered – check out Up On The Roof (page 110) and Do Look Down (page 96) for stylish roof and floor tile knowhow. If you’re planning a room makeover,…

Our picks for you…

There is something magical about the final throes of the British summertime; those mellow, shorter ‘betwixt and between’ days poised between the end of one season and the start of another. They start off crisp and dewy, expand into warm golden sunlight, and end with deep russet sunsets that slowly wind down with sharp bites of crispness in the air. With age and experience comes an appreciation of the many contrasting delights bestowed upon us by the seasonal calendar. As children we are as awestruck by the ‘touch’ of sunshine on our skin, as we are with the flurries of snow drifting quietly onto our upturned faces. These days, I believe the ‘secret’ to evolving with the seasons comes from intentionally recapturing that sense of awe and adapting willingly to the…

In the heart of Suffolk, surrounded by miles of green fields, is the characterful village of Debenham where Jojo Humes, founder of Sojojo Interior Design Studio, now lives with her 14-year-old son, Teddy. ‘In 2019 we were living in the market town of Woodbridge, where I grew up,’ says Jojo, ‘but as my eldest children had flown the nest and there had been a change in my marital status, it was time to embrace new surroundings.’ Jojo focused her search on Debenham for its outstanding high school, and it was there she stumbled across her dream house, with wisteria growing over the porch and red brick façade. The four-bedroom property had started life as the village reading rooms in the 1800s before becoming a social club in the 1960s, then being…

AT HOME WITH Owners Animal physiotherapist Frankie Bickerdike, her husband, Jack, who works in the family engineering business, and three dogs, Bonny, a bulldog, Bear, a boxer, and Bodhi, a cocker spaniel. House A 19th-century detached property with five bedrooms and three bathrooms located in a village outside York. Living busy lives in a house they’d self-built from scratch on the outskirts of Leeds, Frankie Bickerdike and husband Jack began yearning for more space for themselves and their dogs. ‘We were working hard all day and then coming home to an urban environment, which was nice enough, but we started to think we wanted a different pace of life,’ says Frankie. The couple love hosting friends and family, so as an investment, they bought a holiday cottage to rent out in a village outside…

AT HOME WITH Owners Laura and Patrick Butler-Madden, property renovators and designers, live here with daughter Lily, four, and two Maltese terriers, Coco and Lola. House A red-brick Victorian cottage with two bedrooms when they bought it in February 2019. They have added a third bedroom with a shower room and extended the kitchen. The Butler-Maddens caught their first glimpse of Carpenter’s Cottage by torchlight, huddled over a tiny screen in a rustic farmhouse in Menorca. It was February and the couple, with baby Lily, were on a no-frills business trip. ‘We sort of design and renovate properties,’ they explain modestly, although they are experts at what they do. ‘It wasn’t part of our plan but something kept drawing us back to this small, dated cottage.’ On returning to the UK the couple headed…