Never go on a journey with Mum…” the heartfelt advice from Sarah’s daughter, “not only will she have researched every junk shop, reclamation yard and antiques centre at the destination – she’ll have also researched any along the way.” Sarah Featherstone is an inveterate collector, which is self-evident the moment you arrive at her home – a traditional five kiln oast and barn in the middle of the Kent countryside – which she, together with husband Chris, has been completely renovating to create a real gem.

Some fifteen years ago they began looking for their next home. They didn’t want anything near a road, it had to be in a good area for schools, and for affordability it had to be a project. The oast – a derelict, but listed, farm building comprising a completely original five kiln oast – was certainly the latter, so much so that it had been on the market for over a year, with no one brave or foolhardy enough to take it on. But for Sarah and Chris it was love at first sight.

So in 2012 they poured all their resources into the purchase, agreeing they would work out how to fund the conversion further down the line. For three years they lived in one part of the barn attached to the kilns – a 50s building with very basic amenities –and, with no money to start building, focused all their attention on the outside. An old concrete barn and yards were demolished and many of the nine acres they had acquired were planted with trees, shrubs and hedges.

It wasn’t until Sarah inherited money from her Grannie that work could commence. Having sold off three of the kilns a few years previously to fund living expenses, there was less to convert and the project could begin in earnest, with Chris being the master builder and Sarah the builder’s mate and responsible for all the interiors.

The barns around the kilns were renovated first to make the ground floor accommodation, the kitchen, snug and – still referred to by its original name – the undercroft.
Certain themes are found throughout: pale coloured walls, the use of striking big and bold botanical prints, lots of industrial/agricultural metalwork and the clever use of decorative salvage finds wherever you look.

An ugly 1970s window has been replaced by a pair of beautiful doors that lead from the garden into the snug, which is a cosy yet stylish space. The bold design on the curtains, Nympheus by GP&J Baker, works well against the pale Farrow & Ball Ammonite walls to create a welcoming space crammed with finds from junk shops, eBay, Facebook Marketplace and vintage fairs. The metal pharmacy cabinet was from Brewhouse Salvage in Lydd.

The wall between the two has been opened so the snug now leads directly into the kitchen, which has a lovely vintage charm as almost everything apart from the fridge has been reclaimed, repurposed or reimagined. Old cast iron decorative bollards were sent to the Forge in Tenterden who fashioned them into a frame to support a lovely big slab of marble from Facebook Marketplace. The walls are also painted in Ammonite, Sarah’s go to colour. The nickel lamps came from France and Chris has cleverly used long runs of twisted cord flex with small galvanised steel winches to create an industrial feel, while the glass lamps on the other side of the room are mostly from Jim Lawrence. In contrast to the pale walls and neutral cupboards, a bright pink lampshade creates a real splash of colour, and as I wander through the rest of the house I see this is a clever trick Sarah employs in quite a few of the rooms.

From the kitchen another opening was created through into the undercroft where all the tractors and farm machinery were originally stored. Sarah wanted this room to offer a respectful “nod” to the building’s agricultural past, so to achieve this she focused on leaving the brickwork exposed and keeping what would look like an original floor. The actual original had to be taken up to put in underfloor heating but by using new brick slips – all laid by Sarah – and not having any grout between them she has achieved her aim. 
At the front of the room, glazed doors open out to the courtyard beyond flooding the space with light. A huge Knowle sofa, upholstered in a sumptuous Mulberry fabric, another eBay find, takes centre stage with its jewel coloured Susie Watson cushions. The low painted table was from Faversham Antiques Market and the figurine on top is very special. Sarah just happened to be trawling through Instagram when she came across a dealer who was involved with the studio clearance of a sculptress who was popular in the 50s.

Unlike the others, this figurine must have been left out in the elements to give her a weathered look. Christmas was coming and Sarah pointed Chris in the right direction to secure the perfect present! The room is full of many of Sarah’s other favourite pieces including a metal boat she found in Bruges and lots of classic glass science jars. 
On the other side of the room are two fabulous chairs, also covered in Nympheus, and a collection of interesting finds yet to find their place at the oast or to be sold on to find a new home through Sarah’s Instagram shop (@sjlfeatherstone) and her brocante fairs, more of which later.

Leading off the undercroft living room is what Sarah calls her ‘project room’: a round space, the bottom of one of the two kilns. As well as her love for collecting and creating beautiful interiors she is also an accomplished artist. Always botanical, the walls are adorned with her pen drawings and she was happy to show me her latest work which involves pressing flowers on a grand scale – spires of foxgloves, billowing stalks of cow parsley and pastel hellebores – all pressed, mounted and framed in fabulous vintage frames. 

At the far end of the living area is a light and bright hallway with a pretty and long cherished Parker Knoll sofa, covered in a striking green Christopher Farr fabric, sitting at the bottom of the stairs. Further along the passage is a storage area, but a really quite beautiful storage area. The main feature is an old drapers unit with over thirty drawers. Sarah says it’s the perfect place to keep all those things – light bulbs, maps, Sellotape, candles, keys – that usually get scattered around. She wouldn’t be without it. The walls here are papered in a unique wallcovering made from rice leaves printed using the batik technique, the perfect backdrop for more treasured finds.

The stairs had to fit the space, so much against the grain they were made to measure and purchased new, then inevitably the hunt was on to find some vintage spindles and newel posts to age them. Needless to say Facebook Marketplace delivered and a set of wonderful cast iron spindles was duly acquired which currently sit on the landing waiting for Chris to install.

Once upstairs it becomes much more evident that this is an old oast house with its imposing brick kilns. The landing was once the area where the hops were received prior to being spread out on the first floor of the kilns with the fire below. The hops came through a large open door, now a window – although the shutters have been retained – which creates a lovely light area where comfy sofas and chairs invite you to sit and read or just dwell.
The main bedroom opens off the landing and many of the features have been retained, such as the original boards behind the bed where each year the farmer recorded how many hop bales had been produced. The colours are fairly neutral but for the fuchsia pink sofa that adds a real pop of colour.

Mention must go to Chris who has carried out all the renovations and is now working on the last stage to turn the kilns into bedrooms. The skills acquired to renovate the old building have not been wasted and Chris now runs his own building business @cjafeatherstone working on other people’s projects. The Kiln 4 bedroom is complete and Kiln 5 is a work in progress. Because the oast walls could not bear the weight of a ceiling, Chris had to build a wooden shell inside each one to create the rooms and also install the windows. The result is a charming round room into which Sarah has woven her magic. The walls are Ammonite, the curtains are Nina Campbell and a selection of vintage furniture has created the prettiest of bedrooms.

Just before the first lockdown, a friend suggested that Sarah should have an Open Day to share her talent and passion for sourcing vintage brocante finds. The idea proved an instant success and her Open Days have become increasingly popular.

She now hosts two each year, with the next taking place in October, when visitors are invited to explore Tanner Oast, browse the carefully curated treasures on sale and settle around the kitchen table with a slice of cake and a cup of tea. What could be nicer?

Address Book:
The Oasthouse Brocante will be running on Friday 2 &  Saturday 3 October from 9am, with free entry and plenty of parking, at Tanner Oast, Goudhurst Road, Marden, Kent TN12 9ND. To find out more about SJL Featherstone, visit sjlfeatherstone.com and follow on Instagram @sjlfeatherstone