Christine and Stephen Marriott-Smalley have transformed a dark and gloomy 19th century cottage in North Yorkshire with a neutral palette and one-off auction finds.
Back in April 2009, former teacher Christine Marriott-Smalley refused to buy the cottage of her dreams until she knew if the sun was going to fill the rooms with light. 'Natural light is really important to me,' she says.'My husband Stephen and I really liked this cottage, but it doesn't have much of a garden, and even that was overshadowed by neighbouring trees. So I asked the estate agent if I could sit in the courtyard to see how much sun it would get. '
On the spring day of their visit, however, it was so overcast that Christine had to wait hours for the sun to appear. 'But when the sky eventually cleared, I realised that the garden was an effective sun trap,' she says.'It convinced me that Stephen and I should buy the house.' First, however, Christine negotiated with a neighbour to have a large beech tree cut back. 'It was a significant expense and a bit of a gamble,' she admits, 'because at that point we hadn't even exchanged contracts, but it was worth the risk - it has made a huge difference.'
Christine planned to bring even more light into the cottage with pale paint, but there was a more pressing matter when they first moved in. 'It's not until you see a house without furniture that you begin to see it for what it really is,' says Stephen. 'The kitchen wasn't at all how Christine and I had remembered: it was very basic, with a Rangemaster in the chimney breast and a butler sink in front of the window, but not much else.The previous owners had taken most of their free-standing furniture with them. '
Although IT WAS an Unexpected expense, Christine and Stephen Agreed to immediately hire a Bespoke Kitchen Company ( valentinefurniture.co.uk ) to Avoid Major upheaval later. They kept some of the remaining furniture, however - such as a cupboard next to the cooker, painted to match the new units. 'We wanted the kitchen to retain the unfitted feel,' says Christine. 'That's why we chose to have a table in the middle rather than a central island.' They also kept the flagstone floor, even though it has never been sealed and bears the scars of years of wear and tear. 'It just adds more character,' says Stephen.
While the kitchen was being made, Stephen and Christine started decorating, with the help of friend and neighbour Alan Robinson. Most of the Painted Walls are in Crown's Antique Cream , Which Creates a neutral backdrop for a New Collection of antique furniture and That Has Been Purchased over the years. 'We Lived in a very Similar House in Cornwall before Moving to Yorkshire,' says Stephen, 'SO thankfully a lot of our furniture suited this House.' Christine adds: 'We've just Painted Most of the Rooms in Farrow & Ball's Off -White to help freshen up a bit Them. '
Other work tackled by the Marriott-Smalleys has included removing an upstairs wall to turn a second bathroom into an en-suite to the main bedroom. They also took out a built-in cupboard on the landing and created a run of fitted wardrobes in the bedroom. 'It's these small upgrades that make a huge difference to the way you use a house,' says Christine. 'We didn't want to make changes for change's sake - the cottage has lots of character and we wanted to preserve that - we just had to bring it up to date.'
Both Christine and Stephen have enjoyed the renovation process, but for Christine, furnishing the cottage was the most fun. With an eye for Detail, Has she filled the House with lamps, pictures, antique crockery and Fabrics Pretty to great Effect; skills That she CAN utilise in her New Interiors Shop (lavenderandmoor.com ). She finds a lot of smaller pieces of furniture and accessories at auctions, and often bids on something on impulse because she knows it will look perfect somewhere in the cottage - even if she's not sure where at the time.
'I'll buy things because I like them, then find a place for them later,' she says. So when a restaurant was being refurbished, she snapped up a pair of benches for £ 50, knowing they would come in handy. One has been painted and piled with cushions to create a pretty dining seat; the other is in the courtyard garden, where the important decision to buy the cottage was first made. Christine says: 'Sometimes I sit outside and recall that afternoon three years ago, waiting in the garden for the sun to come out, in what was then a stranger's home. I think it was the best few hours I've ever spent; without them, Stephen and I wouldn't be living here. '
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