A ballerina and an antique dealer's charming refurbishment of a Peak District cottage
For the Royal Ballet principal Lauren Cuthbertson and antique jewellery dealer Matt Gerrish, there was a silver lining to the pandemic. Lauren gave birth to the first of their daughters, Peggy, in 2020, followed by Dolly in 2023 and the couple created a colourful, sophisticated home in Derbyshire. When the first national lockdown was imposed in March 2020, the couple retreated from their home in London to Matt’s parents’ house in the village of Bonsall in the Derbyshire Dales, close to Cromford, birthplace of the Industrial Revolution.
At that time, a rental house in the village belonging to his parents became vacant and Matt, who has always loved interior design, asked to refurbish it, with the initial idea of creating a holiday home. Though most of the research and sourcing had to be done online due to Covid restrictions, it proved a rewarding occupation during the months of lockdown. Matt, who has a considerable knowledge of antiques and art having grown up surrounded by them, spearheaded the project and Lauren contributed her eye for colour, something innate to her from years of collaborating with costume and set designers.
The couple, with their keen attention to detail, have brought together an exuberant, harmoniously layered mix of textiles, quirky objects and colour. ‘It was a painstaking process,’ Matt recalls. ‘We live in a golden age of interior design, with a crazy amount of information – and had to seek out our own style. Working creatively to a budget, I trawled online decorating and auction sites, and bought blindly on Ebay and The Saleroom.’
They started collecting a small archive of fabrics, as they discovered bargains online and, between lockdowns, continued their research by browsing in antique shops both locally and in London, on Golborne Road, W10, and Pimlico Road, SW1. ‘We couldn’t afford to buy anything, but we chatted with – and gleaned lots of ideas from – the decorators and dealers there.’
The house was originally two 18th-century miners’ cottages that later became Bert the Butcher’s. The buildings had been amalgamated into one by Matt’s parents in 2005, but were in need of refurbishing. ‘We covered the hall in bead-and-butt panelling painted yellow, but it looked too much like a sauna,’ Matt explains. ‘So we redid it in a chalky white and, to add depth, painted the ceiling green. For fun, I have collected references to a butcher’s shop, including antique papier-mâché cows, original signs and rather macabre meat hooks.’
They decided that the kitchen should look as little like a kitchen as possible, so they eschewed wall cabinets and built-in units, choosing freestanding antique pieces instead. Framed alphabet prints by William Nicholson line the wall beside the yellow-painted door that leads into the playfully decorated garden room beyond. Inspired by the drawing room of the farmhouse decorated by Rita Konig in County Durham (featured in House & Garden in March 2020), they chose an apple green for the snug. The blinds, adapted from old French potato sacks by their friend Jacqui Farquhar of Quarndon Curtain Design, add a touch of whimsy.
‘When we were living in our old flat in London, I was a bit cheeky and contacted Robert Kime’s office – I knew him a little,’ says Lauren. ‘I asked him if he was painting a room light blue, which one would he choose? The message came back – Edward Bulmer’s ‘Aerial Tint’ so we used this in our sitting room and in the adjoining library, with a slightly raspberry rusty red on the bookcases. When we’re entertaining in the colder months, roaring fires greet our guests in both rooms.’
The focal point of the sitting room is a coastal landscape, May Day by Barnett Freedman – the artist’s Royal College of Art diploma piece from 1925 – which hangs above a second-hand Soane Britain sofa, covered in the company’s ‘Paw Print’ linen in chocolate brown. Muted light emanates from various lamps, as overhead lighting is banned throughout the house, and, above the Derbyshire gritstone fireplace, inset with blue and white Mexican tiles, sits a treasured carved wooden capital that belonged to Modernist set designer Edward Gordon Craig.
The main bedroom, nicknamed the Du Pré Suite after The Cellist, the one-act ballet about Jacqueline du Pré that Lauren was starring in at the time of their move, has a more Victorian feel. A 20th-century reproduction mahogany four-poster, bought for a song from Facebook Marketplace, is set against walls and ceiling in ‘Willow’ wallpaper, designed by William Morris and recoloured in yellow by Ben Pentreath. Paintings of local scenes collected by Matt, including one of the village of Matlock Bath, hang on either side of the bed.
Opposite, the bedroom known as The Clover Room has been transformed by CommonRoom’s ‘Lucky Leaf’ wallpaper, to which it owes its name. The once-dingy attic room on the floor above was given a similar treatment, with its walls and ceiling smothered in Cole & Son’s ‘Sweet Pea’. On the wide landing outside it, Lauren does her daily Pilates and barre practice. There is a radiance to the decoration of this house which, for a first-time effort, done mostly online and on a shoestring, is a remarkable achievement.
Dean Hearne1/8Inspired by Rita Konig's Country Durham farmhouse, the walls of the snug are painted in Edward Bulmer's ‘Invisible Green'. The piece of wood hanging above the fireplace was found on a walk and the couple enjoyed how it resembled a shark.
Dean Hearne2/8In the hall, antique papier-mâché cows, which refer to the house’s previous use as a butcher’s shop, are displayed above an antique Welsh settle. A vintage-fabric cushion and blind tone with a poster from the Mariinsky Theatre’s March 2020 production of The Sleeping Beauty in St Petersburg where Lauren danced the title role.
Dean Hearne3/8A small library plays host to the couple's collection of books relating to the Peak District and ballet. The walls are in Edward Bulmer's ‘Aerial Tint’ at 60%, while the blinds are from The Cloth Shop.
Dean Hearne4/8In the bedroom, a reproduction mahogany four-poster, with
bed hangings in embroidered cotton from The Cloth Shop and a Victorian patchwork quilt, is complemented by ‘Willow’ wallpaper in yellow by Morris & Co and an antique Shirvan rug.
Dean Hearne5/8The main bathroom included ‘Osmunda Silhouette’ wallpaper in ivy by Soane Britain is the backdrop for a Burlington basin with an antique Delft-tile splashback.
Dean Hearne6/8The attic room features Heal & Son 1920s mahogany and canework beds that are enveloped by trailing ‘Sweet Pea’ wallpaper from Cole & Son. Brita Sweden wool blankets and a valance in ‘Lagoon’ linen from The Cloth Shop pick up on a painting of a cottage by Pia Pack.
Dean Hearne7/8In a guest bedroom, walls are lined in Common Room's ‘Lucky Leaf’, while the quilt on the bed is from Toast. The headboard and squishy window seat are upholstered in a Fermoie fabric.
Dean Hearne8/8The pink guest bathroom is lined with Soane Britain's ‘Coral’ wallpaper and decorated with prints by Eric Ravilious and a blind made from another Soane fabric. Matilda Goad's ‘Scalloped’ lampshades form pretty wall lamps.
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