HOW WE LIVE NOW
‘My new home gave me a whole new (crafty!) life’ Like many of us, Anna-Lisa De’Ath yearned for a complete change of lifestyle, then a dream property in the West Country led to a creative, happy fresh start WORDS KERRY FOWLER | PHOTOGRAPHY RACHEL WARNE
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ometimes the stars align – even if not quite how you’d planned. For years, Anna-Lisa De’Ath daydreamed about leaving behind the daily slog of work and commuting, to run craft workshops from a little place in the country. A few animals and a vegetable plot were part of the picture and her plan was a solo venture: a brave new life.
‘Throughout my career I always had it in the back of my mind that one day I would have a smallholding in the West Country,’ says Anna-Lisa, an editor and consultant. ‘My parents had an allotment, so I was into
growing my own fruit and veg from an early age. I’d go foraging with my dad for chestnuts and berries, and dream of having chickens and goats – out of the question at my parents’ council house in the suburbs of London!’ About four years ago, Anna-Lisa was returning from a work trip to Devon and decided to stop over at a friend’s house on the Somerset border: ‘We went to a pub and I got chatting to a local chap called Tim, who, I found out, is an amazing cabinetmaker. There was an instant spark between us and, to cut a long story short, over time we became an item – albeit with Tim in Somerset and me still in London. As luck would have it, he shared my dream of having a smallholding and running arts-and-crafts courses. So we set out to make that our reality!’ The 126 housebeautiful.com/uk
happy chance of their meeting led to their search for a home that would match their joint 12-point tick list. Then, after a couple of years, serendipity played its part again. ‘A house came up that Tim had known and loved since being a child. He used to call it the ‘Pointy Palace’ because of its little turrets, and when we went to see it I burst into tears because I had such an emotional pull to it,’ says Anna-Lisa. ‘With stunning views over the Blackdown Hills, it had been built by its owner in 1937, and they were the only family to have lived there. As well as the pointy turrets, it had a greenhouse, an old orchard, a redundant kitchen garden and, crucially, outbuildings for Tim’s carpentry, and an old studio, very down at heel, where I could run craft courses.’ Anna-Lisa’s enthusiasm for crafts began as early as her passion for growing, and she is never without a project: ‘I went to art school and have always loved making,’ she says. ‘A few years ago I went to an arts-and-crafts workshop in Whitstable in Kent and was invited back to teach. I loved the energy: people coming together, new friendships being made as they learnt new skills, everyone helping each other.’ As soon as she had the keys to their new house in her hand, the hard graft began – with the exterior taking priority: getting the derelict studio into shape (even the concrete floor had
