A Little Bit Of Heaven

A Little Heaven... BIT OF

Nestling on a hill overlooking the South Downs, a 15th century cottage has been styled to a high level of prettiness by Anne Jackson and her partner, Nicholas Dawe

SITTING ROOM The sitting room is light and bright with clean white walls but still feels inviting and cosy with throws and textured materials

HOME TRUTHS

LOCATION:

Near Haslemere, West Sussex

THE OWNERS:

Nicholas Dawe and Annie Jackson with her son William

THE PROPERTY:

A cottage first built in 1435 and extended in 1912 with 2¼ acres of garden

ROOMS:

Hall, kitchen, study, dining room, sitting room, four bedrooms and two bathrooms

Anne Jackson and Nicholas Dawe’s home near Haslemere, is a picture perfect cottage, ideal to feature on a typical English countryside postcard. It has the quintessential qualities that tourist boards promote and visitors love to photograph. Essentially the most sought after characteristics include leaded windows framed with wisteria, roses over the front door, kitchen Aga, old beams and of course, an inglenook fireplace, all of which define the perfect English country cottage.

HALL The old hall floor tiles were painted in white floor paint to set off the eclectic collection of furniture and make an inviting entrance hall

It has the quintessential qualities that tourist boards promote and visitors love to photograph

Not surprisingly it took ages to find it, but the couple were determined to locate a home that satisfied all their exacting requirements. “With just three of us in the family I did not want to be stuck out in a very rural and remote spot, especially as Nicholas worked in London during the week,” Annie explained. “But we did want some seclusion and not to be within earshot of traffic, plus we wanted a house with a decent view, set in the middle of a well matured garden. We looked at dozens of properties, many of which were either too big and sprawling with long corridors, or the other extreme and too cramped. What I loved about this house was its compact layout. You never feel isolated or stuck out on a limb as all the rooms fan off from the main staircase, which leads into a lovely big square hall.”

The house is steeped in history which appealed to both Nicholas and Annie. “Architectural historians have paid us impromptu visits since we have lived here. The original building would have at one point in time, had a central open fireplace with smoke rising through just a hole in the roof – not

KITCHEN Annie painted the kitchen in almond white and the units and window frame in a light blue which accentuates the red accessories unlike an Indian wigwam.” Nicholas claimed, “You can still see the smoke marks in the attic.”

They have also discovered other information about the history of the cottage including that it was occupied by Roundhead soldiers and that in 1912 it was extended to make two cottages. Then in 1960 it was knocked back into one house and modernised and it then remained untouched until Annie and Nicholas moved in. “It was locked in a 60s time warp,” said Annie.

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What I loved about this house was its compact layout

As they didn’t have a huge budget for the makeover of the cottage, it was mostly cosmetic which Annie said, “It just goes to show, how you do not need a lot of money to make dramatically beautiful changes. It was largely achieved with just a paint brush and pots of paint. In an old cottage like this one, I did not want lots of pattern or colour on the walls, which would complicate and overwhelm the interior. So instead I painted just the window frames in colour and painted the walls all white.”

“Nicholas did an amazing job on the outside garden area, we had an area of scrubland by the swimming pool, which he cleared and turned to grass, which made a huge difference. Whilst inside, I painted most of the walls white and removed as many of the old carpets as I could. Then I painted the floorboards in off-white which looked quite special as they vary in plank sizes and some are quite wide and uneven. But the variations created character.”

MAIN BEDROOM The main bedroom has a brass bedstead found at an antiques fair and simple white painted floorboards

Architectural historians have paid us impromptu visits since we have lived here

Annie explained, she went on to paint old tiles in the hall, tiles behind the Aga, tiles in the bathroom and even several pieces of junk furniture. “It was all perfectly feasible and inexpensive but with the amazing paints now on the market the results looked surprisingly professional.” To create contrast and inject some colour, she painted all the window frames in a pale blue. “I knew my favourite colour is red which would show up best against the white and muted blue.”

For Annie, the most important asset of the cottage has been that it has “lots of nooks and crannies and it really suited my style which is country, eclectic, French and decorative, which all slowly developed out of my interest in shabby chic.”

Having done an art foundation course and opened a dress shop when she first graduated, a sense of style has always been her main inspiration whether in fashion or interiors. “I have

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Window dressing is uncomplicated with inexpensive voile panels to give an airy feel to the rooms Annie warned that her kind of style attracts clutter and she has to keep it under control

always had a passion for car boot sales and antique fairs. I like nothing more than transforming pieces of furniture with paint, wax, sandpaper and some new crystal knobs.”

Nicholas, an art agent, naturally has a good trained eye and Annie explained they also have the same taste. “He has combined everything with a good sense of balance. For instance, I have always collected Kate Greenaway but the pieces always looked a bit of a mess until Nicholas rearranged them.”

Annie warns that her kind of style attracts clutter and she has to keep it under control. “Every now and then I have a clear out and edit out the junk keeping only what I love. The rest goes to charity.”

Full of money saving ideas, Annie used inexpensive embroidered voile panels at windows in the main bedroom and her guest room, and then combined them with white blinds. “People can spend a fortune on interlined curtains but in a small cottage like this, they would be particularly inappropriate.”

Another radical saving that she suggested was to create a kitchen along continental lines with open shelves hidden behind pretty curtains. “The Italians keep a stock of winter and summer curtains just as some people in England have seasonal sofa covers or rugs. It is so much cheaper than having a fitted kitchen, which I find so boring and I can change the colour scheme any time I like.” l

Text by: Maggie Colvin Photography: GAP Interiors / Johnny Bouchier

THE TERRACE A picture postcard cottage terrace offers the perfect opportunity to enjoy the spring sunshine