ON THE COVER CRAFTED BY HAND

raditions are an important part of Christmas for Kim Scillitoe. One in particular is the annual trip with her husband Gavin and their daughters to pick out a tree. ‘We’ve been going to the same garden centre since the girls were little,’ she explains. ‘They’ve since left home for university but we still all love doing this together – and inevitably end up bringing home the tallest tree there.’

Not that it’s a problem in this house, with its high ceilings and generous proportions. But while Kim loves decorating their home at this time of year, she initially got to know the property’s character by doing almost the opposite: stripping away everything superfluous to reveal the bare bones of its architecture. One priority when the family moved in was taking down a set of heavy red curtains that hung at the living room window. ‘They were thick with dust, and their dark folds, plus the pelmet, completely obscured the shape of the window and its delicate leading,’ remembers Kim. ‘As soon as they were gone, it felt brighter and the beauty of the room was revealed.’

As this window isn’t overlooked, Kim and Gavin were happy to leave it uncurtained. ‘Its decorative design speaks for itself,’ adds Kim. Below it, a window seat is decked out with comfy cushions, while decorative touches include lanterns and a vintage carved wooden house from Italy, illuminated with fairy lights.

Still more original features were revealed in the course of the renovation, providing Kim with all the decorative inspiration she needed. Having worked in interior design before opening her own shop, Curated Living, Kim was particularly keen to discover more about their home’s past. A key find came when the couple installed a new woodburning stove in the living room. This entailed removing some modern tiles that had been set around the fireplace.

‘I was curious to see what we might find underneath, so I asked the decorator to chip away very carefully,’ she says. As he did so, a frieze of original tiles was revealed, depicting Persian figures and glazed

The ori g i nal da rk wood pa nelli ng r u n n i ng th roug h several key spaces was pa i nted over for a li g hter, bri g hter feel

in beautiful blues and greens. ‘Their iridescent colours have inspired some of the fabrics and paints I used throughout the house,’ says Kim. The green brick tiles below this frieze are a more familiar Edwardian style, and Kim sourced a matching reclaimed set for the house’s second fireplace in a ground-floor snug. Kim and Gavin wanted to keep the original panelling that runs through several key spaces, but painted over the dark wood for a lighter, brighter feel. These paler shades shine out against walls painted in soft pinks, deep blues and a neutral grey, all chosen to reflect the heritage of the house.

‘Colour is so important to us – it can really enhance a room’s character,’ says Kim. ‘We have tried to pick shades that complement our varied collections.’ The top ledges of the panelling act as useful shelves for art and ornaments, as do window sills and mantelpieces. ‘This house is made for decorative touches,’ says Kim, a long-time collector of quirky, vintage and handmade objects. She loves seeking out unusual and original pieces, and is a regular at vintage events such as Newark Antiques Fair, where she adds to her own collections and buys stock for her shop. ‘We take a van, stay over the night before and get there early to spot the interesting furniture, lighting and mirrors,’ she says. ‘We always come home with a full van.’

At Christmas, vintage treasures are displayed alongside armfuls of evergreen foliage laid over mantelpieces and used as place settings. Handmade tree baubles and decorations evoke a host of special family memories: ‘Some belonged to my grandma, so they’re more than 100 years old, and others were hand-embroidered by my mum. I particularly treasure these because she is no longer with us.’

Walls in Sweet Pink by Dulux serve as a warm backdrop in the dining room, which will come into its own for the family’s festive dinner, when the table is laid with vintage glassware and candelabras. ‘Gavin cooks a lovely meal on Christmas Eve, then, on Christmas morning, we all help prepare the food, in between opening our stockings,’ explains Kim. ‘As dusk falls, we light as many candles as possible and sit down together to eat. It really is a beautiful atmosphere.’