The interior is a cocktail, a culmination of different styles and feelings,’ observes Amy Dalrymple of Dalrymple Studio, describing her favorite house design to date – a rambling period home in England, complete with a coach house, flint barn, and party barn.
‘We dipped into every genre to create the interior around the clients, who have traveled widely,’ explains Amy. The result is an intoxicating blend – an elegant yet practical home devised for modern living, with flowing open-plan rooms tempered by cozy hideaway spaces, designed to be a hub where visiting friends and family feel completely at home.
The clients, a couple with young children whose main base is in London, bought the property as an escape to the country. It was previously owned by the same family who had lived in it for years, so ‘it needed a revamp of freshness,’ says Amy.
Dalrymple Studio was recommended by a family member, and the studio’s flair for interior architecture, design, and bespoke product design is beautifully showcased in the comprehensive refurbishment. ‘The whole of the house was basically gutted inside,’ explains Amy.
‘The clients wanted to create a carbon-neutral home, so it incorporates lots of high-tech systems.’ Rooms were reconfigured and opened up, en-suite bathrooms were created for each of the bedrooms in the main house, a smart new kitchen was installed – complete with a walk-in larder and a utility – and the basement, which housed a wine cellar, was dug deeper to incorporate a cosseting movie room, where the low ceiling is given a rustic twist with time-worn plank cladding.
The barns were transformed into guest accommodations, with the quaint party barn – complete with its own sophisticated bar – morphing into a joyful space for entertaining. ‘It was a real passion project for the clients,’ explains Amy.
A relaxed aesthetic was key to the interior schemes. ‘The clients were keen that visiting friends and family would feel comfortable and happy. It’s a real hub and everybody feels at home in it,’ explains Amy. With that in mind, each space in the house needed to be utilized effectively and ‘not unloved or unwanted – the dining room, for instance, is not just a place to store your smart china,’ explains Amy.
Arches are a trope throughout the house, interspersed to soften spaces, as well as forming graceful entranceways at key moments. For instance, an arched door leads from the open-plan kitchen-diner to the generous sitting room, where guests have the choice of squishy sofas in front of a roaring fire or the considered library end, where a sumptuous red velvet sofa invites curling up with a good book, while an elegant chaise caters for those who want to be truly laid back.
Muted hues form the backbone of many of the schemes, but the studio ensured there were plenty of unexpected surprises. Vibrantly patterned wallpapers hug the cloakroom walls and form a lively backdrop to the cabinetry in the children’s playroom, deep forest green cabinetry anchors the kitchen scheme, while pops of joyful tangerine signal the ultimate fun spaces, swathing the walls in the party barn.
‘We pushed the clients with the colors,’ says Amy. ‘We wanted the playroom to be really fun – it’s a space that’s got to stand the test of time and grow with the children.
Because of the vast ceiling height and substantial wall area, it needed to pack a punch but also feel warm and cozy. The clients sometimes preferred calm and muted shades, then we would bring in punches of color with the warmer tones pushed through to bring it to life.’
Unexpected flourishes are revealed upstairs, including in the dressing room, where the wardrobe doors are inset with linen panels hand-painted and stitched to create cow parsley and grasses, mirroring the countryside. ‘The client wanted wild, botanical, and country, and we came up with the idea of the leaves and grasses,’ explains Amy. ‘Because of the height and narrowness of the dressing room, we needed to find a way to make it feel warm and special.’
Adding texture was really important.’ The arch motif, meanwhile, is teased through in the children’s bathroom, where an arresting marble alcove sits above the bath, and a playful washstand showcases scalloped detailing. Such exquisite interiors undoubtedly tempt guests to outstay their welcome.
