PEAK DISTRICT

TAKING THE LONG VIEW

For artist Nellie Shepherd, the landscapes outside her renovated farmhouse are just as important as the colourful scene inside

WINNER BEST RURAL RENOVATION 2021

Livingroom

Nellie uses plants, flowers, and art as part of her décor, and says lighting is important in creating atmosphere. Wall lights, Industville

AT HOME WITH

Owners Artist Nellie Shepherd and

husband Andy, a physicist at Oxford University, bought the property in 2017. Nellie runs an art school (bullcloughartschool.com) from the house. The couple have pet sheep Dave and Hope, alpacas Teddy and Maggie, cockerpoos Benji and Bonnie, golden retrievers Betsy and Blossom, and British shorthair cats Charlie and George.

House The oldest parts of the

former farmhouse date back to 1660, but it has been extended and altered over the years. The home is set in seven acres of land in the Peak District National Park and has seven bedrooms and three reception rooms.

Looking for a canvas to paint the next chapter of her life on, location was everything when Nellie Shepherd began house hunting. Her ideal property would not only be home to herself and husband Andy, but would also be in a beautiful setting with views to inspire the students at the art school she runs.

After a seven-year search she found the perfect place – a 17th-century farmhouse of rose pink sandstone with limestone mullioned windows. With a barn and several acres of farmland, there was room for the art school, and the vistas of the Peak District National Park are eminently paintable.

‘People say it’ s in the middle of nowhere, but I say it’ s in the middle of everywhere, ’ says Nellie. ‘It’ s easy to get here from all over the country. ’ The more obvious artists ’ landscapes of the Cotswolds and Cornwall were initially in the mix but Nellie soon realised it would be too costly to develop properties there. ‘This house was well priced. We got a lot of home for our money, and I found myself drawn to it. It was magical. ’

She may have found a special and affordable property, but there was more to its restoration than Nellie bargained for. ‘I’ ve done a few renovations before and I knew it would be a challenge. I just hadn ’t realised how bad it was, ’ she says. Nothing had been done to the property for years, apart from a heavy- >

Artists’kitchen

Nellie keeps this second kitchen to cook for her students. She designed the floating storage and had it made by a local blacksmith. Bespoke cabinets, Trevor Wood

I WANTED INSPIRED BY THE HOUSE TO HAVE PERSONALITY. THE PICTURES OF ACTRESS DIANE KEATON'S KITCHEN IS HOME

Kitchen

An old butchers’ block provides welcome extra display space by the back door. Landscape painting, Richard Kitson

Hallway

A palette of restful blues frames the view through the glazed front door. Staircase painted in Aquamarine Deep, Little Greene. Front door painted in Dix Blue, Farrow & Ball

Nellie had some of the rotten timbers and glass replaced in the 1980s conservatory. The window seat conceals storage and was made by carpenter Richard Keyes. Woodwork painted in Invisible Green, Edward Bulmer Natural Paint

One of the stone walls was left exposed to give a sense of the building’s origins. Bonnie perches on a green bench seat, @poodle _ retro. Velvet cushion, Courthouse Interiors. Rug, Birdie Fortescue. Teapot still life, Gill Gathercole

There are plenty of places to sit and enjoy the views. Table and chairs, Garden Trading

Bedroom/dressingroom

Soft pastel shades create a restful, romantic look with the original fireplace providing a central focus. Vintage tailor’s dummy and painting above fireplace, Locally Leek. Mirror, Garden Trading handed makeover in the 1990s, when the beams were painted with thick black paint and many of the home ’ s original features were lost or covered up.

The house isn ’t listed but still Nellie felt a weighty sense of responsibility for its renovation. ‘I was passionate about restoring it and bringing it back to how it should be, ’ she says. She waited a year for heritage builder Andrew Preston to take it on, by which time so many problems had become apparent that she was regretting buying it.

The roof had to be removed and all the ceilings came down as most of the rafters were rotten, and every single lintel needed to be replaced. The house isn ’t on mains water so a borehole was drilled and filter systems introduced.

Andrew examined every corner of the farmhouse. ‘He told me it had to be taken back to the brick and done properly, and he sourced salvaged rafters, beams and stones for the window sills to keep the character of the building, ’ says Nellie. A local carpenter made replacement doors and windows to match the originals in a 1960s photo of the house.

The renovations couldn ’t be rushed and it was four years before Nellie and husband Andy vacated their renovation HQ – a one-bedroom apartment in the barn. ‘I wanted the house to have personality and still feel higgledy piggledy. Andrew understood that and >

Bedroom

Taking advantage of every inch of the roof height, a modern fourposter bed shares the limelight with the original beams. Bed, The White Company. Lamp, Lara Grace Interiors. Bedside tables, The White Company. Round rug, Benuta. Pink bedside runners Cuckoo Home

Original stone walls have been left exposed at either end of the space, with a wet room style shower in the corner. Bath, taps, and shower fittings, mirror and heated towel rail, all Inside Out Perfectly positioned to enjoy the full height of the loft space. Bed, Time4sleep. Fringed ceiling and bedside lamps, Anthropologie. Wire bedside tables, Made. Textured rug, Loaf

created beautifully rounded lime plaster walls. He is a true craftsman and his passion for the house renewed my enthusiasm for it, ’ says Nellie.

He and Nellie didn ’t always see eye to eye, however. The heritage builder advised flagstones downstairs, but Nellie chose porcelain tiles, which she says look like stone to the untrained eye and are easier to maintain than real stone. ‘Houses have to evolve and suit the way we live today, ’ she says, ‘but you need to get the bone structure right, so the beams, roof and lime plaster all had to come first. ’

Her former role as a party designer helped when planning the interiors, although the pace of building work frustrated her at times. ‘I used to create elaborate sets and build Venice – or even Rome – in a day, so it drove me mad how slow it was, ’ she says. Good lighting was a priority, and Nellie designed her own for the two kitchens, spaces that were inspired by photos of actress Diane Keaton ’ s kitchen.

‘I like the boho-country look, ’ says Nellie, who uses colour, paintings, flowers and lamps to decorate the rooms. ‘I try to edit and tell myself sometimes less is more, but I like to be brave with colour, ’ she adds.

‘A house is a living thing and I’ m forever changing things, inside and out. I don ’t think it will ever be finished but we are so grateful to live here. Our time here started out as a nightmare but now it’ s a dream. ’

ON OUR DOORSTEP

Visit… ’Chatsworth House (chatsworth.org) has over 30 rooms to explore. It also houses the Devonshire

Collections, one of Europe ’ s most significant art collections, encompassing

Old Masters to contemporary ceramics and artefacts from Ancient Egypt to modern sculpture. ’ Shop at … ’The Totally Locally Leek Sunday Supplement market is held on the first Sunday of every month (except January). It is an award-winning market with up to 80 stalls featuring handmade artisan products and local food. ’ Go for a meal at…

‘Callow Hall (wildhive.uk), where lunch offers a fabulous immune-boosting superfood salad. Spring dining on the terrace is a treat, in the bright and airy Garden

Room overlooking the valley, and sometimes I book a private dining room. ’

Garden

Lunch al fresco with an eclectic mix of chairs and folding tables set for the students at Nellie’s art school, with views of the landscape they paint. French antique wire double seater, Odeon Antiques in Leek