11 minute read
To The Manor Adorned
Alison Moss lives in a Tudor manor house and has a creative spirit that embraces and incorporates everything from baronial through rustic via smart contemporary to modern day sparkle – just right for a fresh look at Christmas
HOME TRUTHS
Outdoor fairy lights are threaded through the greenery and the enormous pine cones found in Vail, Colorado add a dramatic touch
LOCATION: West Sussex
THE OWNERS: Michael and Alison Moss, their three children, twins Hugo and Wills, and Millie and two retrievers, Dottie and Digby
THE PROPERTY: Period: Tudor Grade II listing, conservatory added by present owners Size: Seven bedrooms, four baths, five receptions and four acres “F or me, Christmas is not just about a family gathering, it’s also an opportunity for creativity and a chance to immerse myself in wonderful scented winter foliage,” said Alison Moss. “I absolutely love the textures, colours and smells and all the seasonal expectations they bring each year. And I enjoy the way memories of past Christmases with all our family gathered flood back as I open up the boxes stored in the
STYLE TIP Change and regroup things and add something new – even if it’s small – to the mix to spice it up and keep it fresh. Your decor needs to be refreshed and renewed in the same way as your clothes and accessories.
attic. My mother, brother and sister and her family come every year and it wouldn’t be the same without them – so I try to do my decorations in a different way every year and enjoy experimenting. My home is like a scrapbook, an accumulation of our family memories, interests and personalities.
Christmas is a time when my creative juices flow and I love to mix great artificial pieces with fresh foliage from the woods or local flower market. As I pack away in January, I make a ‘note to self’ I need never buy another thing… but then I invariably find something charming as shops re-stock in October and November which inspires a new look.”
For our family Christmas brings a real sense of occasion; memories of happy times are interwoven into the atmosphere of the house
STYLE TIP Develop your gut instinct for what works. I’ve been doing this for so long that I now have an instinctive feel and know what I like and can see instantly if something will work. Also, try things out from stores with a full refund policy and you can then experiment and avoid expensive mistakes.
I love the texture and smell of Christmas trees, and the expectations they bring. I have a ritual with close friends of exchanging one special tree decoration every year so my tree is adorned with the memories of friends
And Alison really does have a flair for new looks. During the festivities the whole house is turned into a winter themed modern-day fantasy in a manor house setting. These are traditional Christmas decorations with a twist; fresh greenery is mixed with realistic artificial garlands, glass baubles, fairy lights, sprayed cones, twigs, citrus fruits, cinnamon sticks and fabric. Tree decorations are used in set piece ‘landscapes’ on mantelpieces, cupboard tops, doors, banisters and tables; and During the festivities the whole house is turned into a winter themed modern-day fantasy in a manor house setting
faux pheasants and ice skates, storm lanterns and carved deer, glass domes and fresh flowers are added for a memorable twist each year.
In the same way the decoration of the house is an eclectic mix brought together by the sure design eye of Alison. The period hallway is baronial with carved wood and tapestries; the kitchen is warm and welcoming with an Aga and rustic painted wood. There’s a sophisticated feel and contemporary glass in the drawing room. The dining
Two huge armchairs flank a Chinese altar table and mirror, complemented by the Chinese ginger jars Alison collected over the years on her travels
Mike Millis, Middleton On Sea
SUBSIDIES AVAILABLE
*Quote Ref SLE1221
There are many reasons to change your conservatory roof with Green Space UK
LATER THAT DAY
BEFORE
INSTALLED IN 1 DAY
“ What a difference a day makes as the saying goes, and yes, that’s all it took to install.”
Mr & Mrs Barber, Wells
WARMER IN WINTER
“ There is no doubt that the conservatory is much warmer than previously, and no, the room is not darker either!”
David Birch,Chichester
USABLE ALL YEAR ROUND
“ The conservatory is now used throughout all seasons of the year and is far more comfortable to sit in whatever the weather outside.”
Mr & Mrs Gibson,Portishead
MOULD & CONDENSATION
“ This is the best thing we have done in this house. Used to run with condensation and now zero.”
Karen Thomas, Chippenham
COOLER IN SUMMER
“ You could have fried an egg on the table in there in the summer, I now look upon the conservatory as a new room. It is quiet, restful and cosy.”
Carol Doyle,Surrey
REDUCES ENERGY BILLS
“ I’ve already turned the underfloor heating down. Lovely job guys, thank you!”
Anne Bird,Bristol
QUIETER IN BAD WEATHER
“ For the first time in 10 years we do not have to close the door to the conservatory when it rains, as the noise is minimal and before I found it difficult to hear the TV over the loudness of the rain on the old roof.”
Mr & Mrs Bailey-Webb, Warsash
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The kitchen provides an atmospheric colourful background on any given day and not just at Christmas. A large red tin star sits above the mantle piece over the Aga and is flagged either side by large painted tin hurricane lamps
STYLE TIP With Christmas decorations, do vary it but keep the colour scheme simple or it will look cluttered. I work with the decor in every room and enhance, not detract, for a luxurious seasonal feel. room – once part of the old baronial hall – is imposing but cosied with plaid covered chairs and a glowing fire. The master bedroom is formal with elaborate drapes and elegant French antique furniture, and the conservatory is modern with exposed brick and flagstones.
Many would be daunted by taking on a manor house, but Alison has taken what’s been handed down in terms of scale; period features like Tudor doorways, huge mantels and flagstones; and reinforced the feel of heritage with big pieces of antique furniture such as armoires and chests, tables, pews and so on, but she’s imposed on it what’s needed to make it a comfortable home. And she’s done this by using her strong design style and creative flair. The décor, which is individualistic, quirky and sure-footed, makes it a place where a family can really live, not a museum or shrine to the past.
Alison and her husband Michael have three children: twins Hugo and Wills, and Millie, plus two Flatcoat Retrievers Dottie and Digby. They moved to West Sussex from London when Alison was pregnant with the twins
and spent 22 months looking at houses until they found this one, a manor house built in the reign of Henry VII. “I fell in love with it the moment I saw the heavy oak door with its iron studs and ancient old padlock, it’s survived over five hundred years, protected from the elements by the ancient entrance porch.”
It took quite a long time, however, for her to get to the point where she could really style her own house. It had been a clean and well-loved family home, but the whole carcass of the house had to be fixed first, for the previous owners had put most of their energies into the lovely gardens and enjoyed only the parts of the house where they lived. Consequently, it needed work: pipes ran along the corridors, the boiler system was outdated, walls had to be repaired and so on.
The Moss’s put in a whole new heating and plumbing system, rewired throughout, floors were dug
YELLOW GUEST ROOM The wallpaper is a traditional Toile de Jouy and is complimented with hand painted chests and beside tables. The bed is surrounded above the headboard with a yellow and white ticking fabric adapted from an old pair of curtains found at auction
BATHROOM TO MASTER BEDROOM Hand painted fitted cupboards hide all the clutter while the mirrored cupboards are flanked either side with huge shell decorations that Alison made herself, inspired by a collection of shells she collected on her honeymoon, then added to over the years
hallmark
GLAZED EXTENSIONS
up, the damp fixed, and the plaster and lathe walls made good and re-plastered. They lived for a while with scaffolding and a cement mixer in the hall and for years with a constant stream of builders, “I found it exciting to see the builder’s van – another day of transformation!” It was done piecemeal as the children grew up; good bathrooms for them were the first real priority, and the money was saved for each new project, including a new kitchen installed and conservatory added in later years. It took seven or eight years until the bones of the big house were right.
And with that great structure given the firm underpinnings it deserved, Alison was able to make it the home for her family she wanted; a mix of traditional and fabulous, baronial meets fantasy. It impresses with its history and size while always feeling like a cosseted home where you can express yourself. And, like its history, it changes and renews itself over time: “I was drawn to the rustic look originally, but it doesn’t work everywhere, and I changed tastes as I went along. I knew the drawing room had to be more contemporary and reflect my changing tastes. But the whole process has become easier over the years because I’ve gone further afield and discovered more contacts.”
Alison mixes her own paint colours in addition to using established brands, gets her curtains from auctions or has them made to her own design and
keeps the freshness by moving things around. “Michael gets used to coming back and finding his favourite chair has been moved.”
Alison’s creativity shines out in her home, her career and family gatherings. Alison’s love of adornment is something her family have appreciated for centuries because it celebrates life and its rituals shared with family and friends, so is truly timeless. “For our family Christmas brings a real sense of occasion; memories of happy times are interwoven into the atmosphere of the house. With the decorations magical, the fire roaring, the candles glowing in the crystal hurricane lamps and the seasonal scents in the air, I feel truly content,” said Alison. l
