A London home with all the charm of a country cottage (2020)
At the end of a quiet cul-de-sac in south-west London, complete with a picket fence, roses and a 27-metre-long walled garden, stands the cottage of interior designer Louise Jones. Sitting in her garden watching her two lurchers nose their way through the flowerbeds, I find it hard to believe that we are only 40 minutes from the West End.
Originally from Lancashire, Louise started working in accountancy, but it was not for her. After 18 months, she enrolled in a year-long course at the Inchbald School of Design and went on to work at Chelsea Textiles, before answering a job advertisement for an accountant at Todhunter Earle. 'My sister suggested it might be a way of getting into the design side of the business, and that's what happened,' Louise says.
After eight instructive years, Louise set up on her own in 2001. Today she leads a team of seven, which oversees six or seven projects at a time from an office on Richmond Common. The Victorian cottage she bought a few years ago is just a short drive away. A two-up, two-down with a lean-to shower, it was previously occupied by a sitting tenant, an old man who had lived there all his life. The company that owned the house had not invested a penny in its upkeep, and although it was in a pretty dire state, Louise could see it had enormous potential. It had been untouched since the Seventies and, as it backed onto the playing fields of an adjoining school, there was enough space to allow any extension to double its footprint.
GPS Architects drew up her plans to create a seamless two-floor extension along one side of the cottage and a single-storey extension clad in wood at the back, which form an L-shape around the house. With the help of builder John Lumsden, the two original ground-floor rooms, each with original chimneypieces, were opened up to form a comfortable sitting room. At the back of this, a door leads to the new kitchen and dining room, and from here you can reach a second sitting room at the back of the house. At the front of the main sitting room, reclaimed double doors open out onto the entrance hall, a cloakroom and a new staircase in the side extension. This leads up to two bedrooms in the original part of the house, and a dressing room and two new bathrooms in the side extension.
In decorating her own home, Louise was determined not to make the interiors look as if she had tried too hard. 'It's essentially a workman's cottage and I wanted it to feel English and a bit country,' she says. She bought pieces that did not look too pristine to give the impression of always having been there. It is a look, she admits, that takes time.
The use of reclaimed floors in the kitchen, the island in scrubbed pine and Minton tiles bought on eBay behind the stove add to the effect. For furniture, she concentrated on the feeling of comfort and continuity. Several pieces were inherited, while the Kingcome and Lawson Wood sofas were old friends that she had re-covered. Some of the lights and fabrics for curtains were bought on holiday in India, and she has selected several of her favourite wallpapers and fabrics from Claremont, Rogers & Goffigon and Tissus d'Hélène - discovered over the years from working on projects - to decorate the rest of the house.
While she is always on the lookout for artwork for her clients, in her own home it is her northern roots that are most evident. 'I spend a lot of time in the Lake District and much of the art is relevant to that area.' She buys regularly from Castlegate House Gallery in Cockermouth, which deals in twentieth-century art, and she is a fan of the Edinburgh artist Louise Kosman.
Not wanting to have her finished house full of mud, she put the garden to rights in her first year of living there. Overgrown and full of leylandii, with a large and broken-down greenhouse and an air raid shelter used by foxes, it took months to clear. Now it has a formal area of flowerbeds enclosed by box hedges with the layout loosening up as it nears the house. 'I had David Austin Roses on speed dial during that first year,' she says. 'It is a wonderful place to return to each night. The street has parties at the drop of a hat and they call my house Downton Abbey!'
Rachael Smith1/14Louise inherited much of the furniture, including this eighteenth-century drop-leaf sofa table in the living room. It is topped with collections of ceramics and a lamp with a hand-painted lampshade bought from Twig of Tetbury.
Rachael Smith2/14A pair of Charles Saunders oak leaf wall lights hang on either side of a mirror in the living room. Two wicker baskets below them are filled with firewood.
Rachael Smith3/14The cosy ochre-toned living room is home to artwork Louise has collected over the years. Lamps have been conveniently placed near to the armchairs for evenings spent reading.
Rachael Smith4/14Reclaimed double doors in the living room open out onto the new staircase. Creamy ochre tones give way to cool blues and greens.
Rachael Smith5/14The kitchen has traditional pine units designed by Louise and made by The Olive Branch Kitchens in West Yorkshire.
Rachael Smith6/14The kitchen island demarcates an informal dining area.
Rachael Smith7/14At the back of the house, there is a second, more informal sitting room with views to the garden.
Rachael Smith8/14Pink rules in the first-floor bathroom; its cast-iron bath and basin were found on the antiques and salvage online directory Salvoweb. 'Blue Flower' tiles from Fired Earth surround the bath and pick up the colour notes on the blind and pendant light from Handicraft Haveli. The large gilded mirror is from Guinevere Antiques.
Rachael Smith9/14A small bathroom has been papered with 'Botanical Tulips' a wallpaper by Twigs, available from Simon Playle. This is paired with bamboo furniture.
Rachael Smith10/14The main bedroom has walls covered in Nicole Fabre Designs' 'Abbeville' fabric, from Tissus d'Helene. Freshly pressed cotton sheets lie atop a bed with a wave-edged headboard.
Rachael Smith11/14In the spare bedroom the curtains are Bennison Fabrics' 'Apple Blossom', the wallpaper is 'Persian Rose' from George Spencer Designs.
Rachael Smith12/14The Garden
An archway of roses in the garden leads through to outdoor seating.
Rachael Smith13/14A collection of pots in the garden host a cheerful collection of geraniums, cosmos, hydrangeas and lobelia.
