Built in the 1930s at the edge of a quiet pond, this six-bedroom house has been inhabited by generations of the same family. The latest custodian grew up within its very walls and was keen to make her mark on the property. To help make her vision a reality, she enlisted interior designer Becca Casey and her team at Becca Interiors to bring their signature blend of elegance and comfort to each room.
‘The brief was a thoughtful balancing act,’ Becca says, ‘It needed to simultaneously bring together the husband and wife's differing tastes while staying true to the house's history.’ This was no small undertaking and perhaps most difficult to accomplish in the house's new extension. But instead of seeing this as an obstacle, Becca and her team took a glass-half-full approach to designing the space.
As it was an extension rather than a renovation, it offered a rare opportunity to design the newly created main bedroom and ensuite from scratch. ‘The clients were steadfast in their desire to preserve all the characterful elements of the property's architecture with the extension only to complement the existing footprint, not compete with it,’ explains Becca. ‘Every detail from the window muntins to the interior flooring was carefully considered to feel as though it had always been there.’ These details, among others, ensured the extension felt inseparable from the house's original rooms.
A considered mix of bespoke work and carefully sourced vintage pieces makes the main bedroom's scheme sing. At the heart of it is a custom-designed bed frame upholstered in De La Cuona's ‘Duchess Paisley’ fabric. With a contemporary twist on a timeless motif, this fabric's rich greens and reds have informed the bed's dressing as well as the choice of lighting: a handmade ceramic lamp by Becky Aubry and a bronze reading light. Another bespoke element is the built-in fireplace made from a combination of limestone and Belgian Bluestone. This piece not only anchors the room's seating area but also echoes the architectural features in the original parts of the house.
This cosy nook is an example of how Becca Interiors creates zones within a room. The pair of vintage English armchairs, sourced from Clare Langlety, become a place to lounge and drink a cup of coffee in the morning or perhaps read a book in the evening. As Becca explains, ‘this layering of function allows the room to shift with the moment, offering moments of respite away from the busier, more social spaces within the house.’
Designed to embrace both a new chapter and a larger footprint to fit a growing family, the house, with its next extension and main bedroom, now feels ready for the next generation, where long summer days can be spent fishing on the pond and cold winter nights can be enjoyed fireside.
