Tabla de contenidos para Modern Country en Modern Country

There’s a Bloomsbury Group-meets-country-house vibe to this beautiful Devonshire farmhouse. Think Bohemian comfort, rich colours and bold florals with a quirky edge – due to House of Hackney fabrics that bring maximalist colour to traditional florals. ‘We knew we could go bold in this house, and we were keen to give it a modern feel,’ says Emily Hutchings, who lives here with her husband Raymond Seager and their two young children. ‘We were inspired to create an interior that featured deep shades and opulent fabrics. It was a fantastic opportunity to be more confident about our decor choices.’ The couple moved from London to Totnes two years ago, after a long search for the perfect countryside home for their family. ‘We struggled to find a house that would work for…

The owners of this stunning property are known in their circle of friends as fantastic hosts. Cooking and entertaining comes naturally to this couple. In 2010, the couple, who had enjoyed many weekends in the countryside around Bath, moved permanently to a cottage in a Wiltshire village. After renovating the cottage, building the new barn extension was the game changer that allowed them to cater for all their friends and extended family who come to visit. The barn replaces some old stables and is connected to the kitchen in the cottage via a brick-built corridor that has become a walk-through pantry with wine fridges and a bar. ‘Renovating the house took up all of our budget so we put the barn on hold and completed it just two years ago,’…

When James and Sarah Ainsworth relocated to Dorset with their two daughters, they enlisted the expert help of interior designer Emma Sims-Hilditch to create the family home they had always aspired to. Here, we talk to James and Emma to discover more about the project. How well did you know the area? JA We were not familiar with it and had no idea where we wanted to live, so we rented while we looked for somewhere to buy. Past mistakes had taught us to wait for the right house. Sarah and I are confident of our likes and dislikes, and we fully expected to be renovating whichever house we eventually found. What did you discover while renting? JA The house we rented had outbuildings, 27 acres of land and no…

Having several hundred years of history to contend with always makes a house renovation more complicated. For Stephanie and Steven Thorne’s 17th-century farmhouse, its epic age meant a challenging journey as the couple transformed the dated interior into a gracefully refined modern country home, learning plenty about its past along the way. The farmhouse, set romantically amid acres of Dorset countryside, was never going to be a project for the faint hearted, but Steve had learnt from the experience of two previous renovations. ‘I discovered it by chance while browsing a property website, but because I’d promised Steph that our existing home would be the last I’d renovate, I went to see it on my own first,’ says Steve. It was the height of summer and he was beguiled by…

Felicity Thomson, who lives on a farm near Salcombe in Devon, says May is her favourite time of year. ‘Early spring is when our foals are born and it’s also when the countryside starts to come into its own,’ she says. ‘Wildflowers begin to bloom and the long, sandy beaches are at their most beautiful.’ Felicity, her husband Charles and their children, Freya and Freddie, moved to this part of the world 22 years ago from Kent, but already knew the area well. ‘We had a holiday home down here, which meant we’d already built up a good circle of friends,’ she says. It still took a while to find their perfect home, which is a Grade II listed 18th-century farmhouse with several outbuildings. The couple wanted a completely fresh…

The first time Lauren and Charlie Richards saw the details for this 17th-century Herefordshire farmhouse, it was a three-storey pile of potential in the perfect location. But even with all those plus factors, the rundown renovation project was too big a challenge for the couple to take on at the time. Fast forward 12 years, and not only are they now happily ensconced in the beautifully restored property, they’ve even added a stunning oak-framed extension to create a family space for them and their three daughters. ‘It first came on the market when we were trying to sell the barn conversion we lived in at the time, but we didn’t even view it as we knew it needed a lot of work,’ says Lauren. ‘We moved into a rented place…

For a sporty family used to the reliably good weather and relaxed outdoor lifestyle of Los Angeles, living in London might come as a bit of a shock. However, when work moved Canadian-born Eleanor and Michael Klein and their family to Britain ten years ago, the environs of leafy Richmond Park proved to be a worthy substitution for their previous home. At first, the Kleins rented in the area, then, having been won over by it, decided to settle there. One street – and one house in particular – caught their eye, and when it came onto the market, as Eleanor explains, ‘We jumped. It is right next to the park, and it is also an easy drive into central London.’ The early 20th-century property (including a dilapidated timber conservatory)…