Country Cool

Country Cool

by Robyn Alexander

photo credit Elsa Young

In a Tudor Revival home in Cobham, Surrey, interior designer Kim Stephen has crafted a chic yet laidback take on modern country style

After spending a number of years searching for the right property in the ideal location, the new owners of this characterful home in Cobham, Surrey, asked London-based interior designer Kim Stephen to assist them with its renovation. They wanted “a house that had a contemporary feel, but that was still homely and comfortable,” says Stephen.

After eight months of work, the update was complete, with the result being interiors that encapsulate the understated elegance that constitutes a very contemporary update on country living. The house is home to a family of five who moved to the United Kingdom from South Africa five years ago and is situated within walking distance of the heart of the village of Cobham.

The rear elevation of the house includes half-timbered walls and looks out onto a large lawn. The outdoor seating is the Caroline range from Sika furniture (sika-design.com) and the cushions are all made up in outdoor fabrics by Jim Thompson (jimthompsonfabrics. com) including Patron in Lemon, Sampan Stripe in Pebble, Palm Plain in Meadow, Tunis in Daisy, and Lisboa in Gold.

In the casual TV lounge on the ground floor, Stephen has again used Textures Vegetales wallpaper by Élitis (elitis.com), which she says “brings warmth and texture, and I love the way light bounces off the linen-like effect of the paper.” The corner-unit sofa is a bespoke design made up by Stephen’s upholsterers in Belisto Silt fabric by Black Edition (blackedition.com) and the rectangular Narrow Jet side table and Merton brass table lamp are both from OKA (oka.com). The scatter cushions include some bespoke items made up using Escale Noir and Marina Pastis—both by Lelievre (lelievreparis.com)— as well as embroidered, patterned pillows from Niki Jones (niki-jones. co.uk). The round occasional tables were sourced from South African furniture and design store, Weylandts (weylandts.co.za), and the elegant pendant Crescent light is by Lee Broom (leebroomstore. com). The rug is a bespoke order from Floor Story (floorstory.co.uk), designed by Stephen to create an ombre effect using the yellow shades from elsewhere in the room, and the window blind was made up in No 9 Ikat Basket fabric in Wild Daisy by Jim Thompson (jimthompsonfabrics.com).

In the hallway and stairwell, the statement pendant light is the Walker Two-Tier chandelier by Kate Spade New York, which was sourced from Circa Lighting (circalighting.com). It stands out beautifully against the wallpaper, Textures Vegetales by Élitis (elitis.com), which Stephen uses in almost all her projects—”it brings warmth and texture, and I love the way light bounces off the linen-like effect of the paper,” she says.

The kids’ lounge area in the loft of the house pairs walls painted in Light Blue by Farrow & Ball (farrowball.com) with a set of couches custom-made for the space by Stephen’s joiners and upholsterers and covered in Ava, Grace, Audrey, and Elizabeth fabrics from the Golden Age collection by Güell Lamadrid (g-lamadrid.com). The occasional tables are from Weylandts (weylandts.co.za).

Very much in accord with the location of the house are its readily recognizable Tudor Revival elements—including classic halftimbering on the upper floors—which made the interior renovation project something of a challenge. “The ceiling lines in the bedroom areas really were a struggle as they were all over the show, at angles and starting at different points where the wall meets the ceiling,” says Stephen.

This meant that using wallpaper was impossible in many of these first-floor spaces, and explains the very practical, yet also elegant, decision to either end wall paint colour an even 50cm below the ceiling line or paint ceilings and walls in exactly the same colour in several of the bedrooms.

In the casual TV lounge on the ground floor, Stephen has again used Textures Vegetales wallpaper by Élitis (elitis.com), which she says “brings warmth and texture, and I love the way light bounces off the linen-like effect of the paper.” The corner-unit sofa is a bespoke design made up by Stephen’s upholsterers in Belisto Silt fabric by Black Edition (blackedition.com) and the rectangular Narrow Jet side table and Merton brass table lamp are both from OKA (oka.com). The scatter cushions include some bespoke items made up using Escale Noir and Marina Pastis—both by Lelievre (lelievreparis.com)—as well as embroidered, patterned pillows from Niki Jones (niki-jones.co.uk).

Despite the challenges, the end result throughout the home is a feeling of cocooning comfort with a relaxed but contemporary aesthetic. “I used plenty of texture and layering to achieve this,” says Stephen, whose design style always balances sophistication with a relaxed liveability. The house is spacious, including five bedrooms and five bathrooms, but the interiors give it an easy-going appeal that means it never feels rambling or overly large.

One of the key structural elements added during the renovation is a set of glass and metal interior windows (and a door), which were inserted between the entrance hall and the main living room of the home. These serve to demarcate and add a more intimate sense of privacy to the living room area while also allowing a clear view through to the front door.

The choice of an early 20th-century industrial-style aesthetic for these glass and metal windows is an inspired one. They provide a subtle contemporary feel to the home while simultaneously complementing the more traditionally styled elements, such as the wooden staircase, which was also installed during the renovation.

Adding yet more up-to-the-minute appeal to the elegantly furnished living room are discreet touches of colour on scatter cushions and in artworks, as well as a plethora of indoor plants. Says Stephen, “I am a big believer in making a home come alive with greenery and it works especially well in this home against the textured charcoal wallpaper used in much of the ground floor.”

The striking Sommerard by Aerin triple-arm pendant lamp is a focal point in the main living room and was sourced from Circa Lighting (circalighting.com). The wood and wicker chair is one of a pair from Cécile & Boyd in Cape Town (cecileandboyds.com), and the monochrome patterned occasional table was found there, too. The rug is from Herringbone (herringbone.co.za), and the ‘nesting’ coffee tables were also found in Cape Town, at Weylandts (weylandts.co.za). The deep blue velvet couches were designed for the space by Kim Stephen and upholstered in Houdini in Ink by Andrew Martin (andrewmartin.co.uk). The scatter cushions include Andrew Martin’s Lowndes Charcoal cushion (with the ikat-style pattern) and some cushions made up in very textured Rolf fabric in Etian by Nobilis (nobilis.fr).

Leading off one side of the living room is a compact home office, while on the other side a pair of wood and glass doors opens onto the kitchen and dining area. These are open plan, with all the storage required of modern kitchen-diner spaces tucked discreetly away behind bespoke cabinetry designed and made by kitchen joinery specialists Martin Moore.

There is informal bar-style seating at a marble-topped kitchen island, as well as an elegant wooden dining table in an elongated oval shape (another of Stephen’s designs) surrounded by comfortable, upholstered dining chairs. Finishes and fixtures throughout this space—which include wood, marble, and brass elements—combine understated luxury with tactile appeal.

In the tranquil main bedroom, the headboard is upholstered in Manuel Canovas Marius fabric in Ciel from Colefax and Fowler (designs.colefax.com) with a piping edge in off-white leather from Samuel & Sons (samuelandsons.com). The walls are painted in Light Blue by Farrow & Ball (farrow-ball.com), up to a height of 280cm because of the uneven ceiling line of the house. The bedside pedestals were made by Kim Stephen’s cabinetry and upholstery workshop (with reed front detailing and brass hardware), as were the easy chairs in the window nook. The curtains are made up in embroidery fabric from Villanova (villanova.co.uk) called Asante in Chalk. The Lenne Bjerre Shea pendant light is from Sweetpea & Willow (sweetpeaandwillow. com), and the wicker and bamboo bench was found at a second-hand furniture dealer in Richmond. The rug was found at Anthropologie (anthropologie.com) and the bedding is all from The White Company (thewhitecompany.com) with linen throws from Cox & Cox (coxandcox.co.uk). The single scatter pillow is made up in embroidered Beaded Damask fabric in Champagne by Travers, which is available from Zimmer + Rohde (zimmer-rohde.com).

At the rear of the house are a casually elegant outdoor living area and extensive lawn that form additional entertaining spaces, while the first floor is much more private, being entirely given over to the family’s bedrooms. These include a spacious and tranquil master suite with an enviable bathroom that sports cabinetry and wallpaper in a supremely chic shade of pale duck-egg blue.

The entire renovation of this home is redolent of Stephen’s signature style. Both elegant and playful—there is always a subtle touch of the unexpected to please the eye in these interiors—this house is sophisticated in design as well as being easy to live in.

kimstephen.com

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