They had been invited to stay over for the event in a beautiful converted barn: “The house belonged to family friends,” says Rachel. “When we stayed here, I just thought, what an amazing place, but I didn’t think too much more about it.”
Fast forward two years and they heard the owners were planning to sell and after visiting them immediately sold their own house to buy it, even though it meant moving right in the middle of Rachel’s teaching degree.
“We remembered how lovely it was and came for a look around one Friday – and by the Saturday we’d bought it.
It wasn’t in the location we’d originally planned to move to, but it had four big bedrooms, a playroom, study, two sitting rooms and a huge garden. It had everything you could want.”
Everything and more, because the unique design of this former malthouse has given the building some enviable attributes. Warmth, light and, it would seem, a lot of space is needed for malting (the process that starts grains, usually barley, into germination so that they release more sugars, namely maltose – as in Maltesers…).
The result is that the house has an appealingly original layout, plenty of barn-style charm and, as an added extra, some of the rooms have enormous windows and amazingly high ceilings.
The feeling of light and space hits immediately on entering through the front door. From the soaring, double-height hall there are views up to the first floor and on ground level, a straight sightline down to the huge lounge at the opposite end. It’s no wonder they found it hard to resist.
Although needing no structural work, Rachel wanted to alter the kitchen and dining space. “This part of the house was very different when we first moved in,” she explains. “The dining room and kitchen were two separate rooms and that isn’t really how we live. It’s important to have one big space for day to day living and eating. This is how everyone lives now.”
So they took down the dividing wall, moved the dining room door and enlarged the opening from the hall into the kitchen: “The plan was to have a sliding stable door, as the space is quite wide, but it seems to work well with just an opening and feels quite spacious, so we’ve changed our minds and may not do that now.”
The problem with moving doors and walls adjacent to a large hallway is that once the work is done, it all needs redecorating.
“Where does that stop?” muses Rachel, as we survey the vast, now beautifully painted expanse. “We just kept going, from one end all the way down to the playroom at the front of the house. Then we did the playroom and next we moved all the way upstairs. It took a lot of paint.”
The whole area has been painted in a welcoming warm heather-grey colour. At first this looks like a single shade, but Rachel has cleverly used two very similar tints (Chalk Blush – no.1 and no.2). This subtly alters the appearance of light and shade as you pass along the corridor towards the front door. “We also had a picture rail put in where the ceilings get really high out here and that has helped to break it up and bring in more definition,” she explains.
One of the first things they did on moving in was to take the curtains down from nearly every window in the house: “I’m not so keen on curtains,” says Rachel, “and although some of the rooms are big and bright, others have smaller windows and can be a bit dark.”
They are not really overlooked, especially at the back of the house where the large rectangular kitchen window is, and the French doors in the dining area open out to a large garden and paddock, so there’s no rush to replace the curtains.
“It might make it warmer in the winter,” she says, “but some of the windows are quite hard to dress without blocking out light and I like looking out from the kitchen, so won’t have curtains in here. I have what I call a golden moment in the day in here, looking out across the garden in the mornings. I have to hang on to that moment when I can, before the boys come downstairs and the chaos of getting ready for the day starts.”
The spaciously streamlined kitchen and dining area has a modern country feel. The crisp, clear white of the kitchen units and walls is offset by the deep earthy brown of leather dining chairs and granite worktops. This rich brown colour is reflected in the darker bricks of the end feature wall.
Natural materials and antique furniture mingle comfortably with the sleeker modern elements. Except that all is not quite what it seems. The wooden floor is made from porcelain wood-effect tiles and the end wall is not brick.
“No,” laughs Rachel. “They’re brick slips that are adhered to the wall. It comes in sheets.”
The wall features extensively in Rachel’s online life too, as a backdrop for numerous photoshoots and Instagram posts. Her blog grapesandcloth.com features slogan T-shirts from Bon Vintage, a clothing company featuring wine-inspired slogan sweatshirts and t-shirts, set up by her friend Rae Adam.
“The T-shirts and sweatshirts are printed with wine-based slogans, saying things like ‘Premier Cru’ and ‘Sparkling’, with ‘Grand Cuir’ for men and ‘Bon Vintage’ for kids. A new one saying ‘Bubbly’ is being released for Christmas, which we think will sell well.”
Rachel models the T-shirts on the Bon Vintage site and the marketing shots are proving to be a hit on her own growing Instagram feed @grapesancloth.
Between all this online activity, furnishing the house is an ongoing and occasionally challenging process. Several pieces of furniture were left by the previous owners and have been gratefully received: “We bought the kitchen dresser and the corner cupboard from the previous owners. The kitchen table and chairs came from London with us. We’ve bought quite a few things since we’ve been here, because there’s so much more space to fill. The funny thing is that we had to buy several coffee tables. In London you don’t have to reach far for your cup, here the gaps are bigger.”
For the same reason, they found the smallest of the sitting rooms the easiest to decorate and so did it the first.
“It was on a scale we were used to,” Rachel explains. “Two of the sofas came with us from London. We’ve added the other one and the chair.”
The different shapes and styles of the seating are unified with some clever upholstery; using harmonising shades of green and blue creates a subtle and relaxed mix and match look. There’s a sea-breezy serenity to this room; calm blue walls highlight the music themed prints on the walls and soften the imposing presence of a huge and very dark old American sideboard, which they bought from the original owners.
“We weren’t sure about keeping it,” says Rachel of this monster, “but it is just the right height for the TV, so it’s staying.” She laughs. “I often look around this room and do a Through the Keyhole: ‘And here’s a couple that clearly love music, drink – and weird antique furniture’…”
Tackling the larger end lounge was more of a challenge. Apart from the amount of time and paint needed, it has been hard to furnish. The couple are still thinking about the collection of pictures they want to hang in the room.
“We kept the original curtains in here, just because it’s such a big window and finding replacements is quite a job. We put the picture rail in to help break it up, but lighting in here is tricky – you have to go with wall lights really, because the ceiling is so high. We do have our glitter ball though,” she adds, pointing up to the large mirrored ball hanging from the ceiling. “It was much too high when it was first hung. It’s lower now, but even that is still quite high.”
There are advantages to having such high ceilings though: “At Christmas we have a 12 foot tree and everyone helps with the decorating, although the finishing touches are left to me.”
Upstairs is just as spacious, but the windows are smaller, so Rachel uses mirrors to bounce the light around. “We’ve built up a large collection ranging from the 1800s to the 1950s and they add so much light to the house. They’re also so pretty, they stand as works of art in their own right. The large one in my bedroom came from somewhere I used to work.”
Big enough to dwarf even such a huge mirror, the master bedroom also gives a good sense of the old barn. The bed is centred under the high apex of the roof, beneath the structural metal bracing that has become a feature of the room.
The children’s personalities and tastes are reflected in their choices of bedroom decor. One is painted in blues and neutrals. Taking the Through the Keyhole line myself, I’d say this brother is more of a bookworm and by nature fairly tidy. And, glancing through the next door into a predominantly red and white scheme, complete with memorabilia it seems someone is a huge Liverpool fan.
“We all support Liverpool,” laughs Rachel.
In the guest bedroom, pale apple green walls are complemented by a pretty sprigged floral bed cover and harmonising cushions. “There are some very old family pictures in here that I’ve revamped using frames from reclaimed African wood.” The overall styling is simple and serene: an interiors take on a breath of restful country air.
Fresh air is all around them at the moment, not least outside in the large rear garden and paddock area – a great asset with two energetic boys about. In fact, there is only one fly in this practically perfect place: the travelling time to school and back for Rachel and the boys.
“We are thinking of selling and moving nearer to Oxted,” she sighs, “but we haven’t been able to find anything that compares to this house yet.”
Finding another property as individual and with as many appealing features could be a tall order – perhaps as tall as some of the ceilings. I suspect that Rachel and her family will have plenty of time for many more golden moments in this magical malthouse.
