HOMES Bespoke kitchens

Where there’s Willowbrook THERE’S A WAY

If you’re seeking style and function from a kitchen, there’s a way... with Willowbrook. The Peterborough based firm has been family-owned since 1988 and is headed up by Paul Davanna!

Words: Rob Davis.

An understanding of family life is essential for anyone working with you to design your kitchen, bedroom or home office. Having been family owned throughout its life and run by Paul Davanna since 1988, there are few handbuilt kitchen specialists anywhere in the country with as much experience at Willowbrook Kitchens, based in Barnwell, near Peterborough.

The firm works with budgets of anything from £5,000 to £50,000 and specialises in creating kitchens as well as bedrooms, studies and freestanding furniture in solid wood, typically tulip, walnut or oak, which can be handpainted in any Farrow & Ball shade a customer specifies.

With a real insight into how a kitchen should function for the family, Paul and his team

design with practicality as well as aesthetics in mind and the team works across Rutland and Stamford in both modern and period properties.

In addition to creating bespoke kitchens and working collaboratively with the customer to create a room that functions well and looks great, Paul can also help to project manage your space, liaising with building, electrical, gas, plumbing, tiling and decorating trades to ensure a stress-free turn-key experience for customers and a room that’s completely finished once the client signs it off.

From and quartz work surfaces, to Franke and Perrin & Rowe sinks, and with appliances via partnerships with Neff and Miele, the team ensures the latest technology can be thoughtfully and unobtrusively integrated. “A kitchen is a significant investment in your home, and it has to work well, as well as looking great,” says Paul. “Concept and design are important, but your kitchen is your project in your home and its design should reflect that.” “Being a smaller business, family-run, we’ve few overheads and our showroom is our workshop and the success of our past commissions. That means we can remain competitive against other firms, working efficiently so that our prices can be lowered.”

“Our reputation is our guarantee, and that’s why our no-pressure-selling experience and our design skills as well as our project management all make Willowbrook a great company to work with.” n

Barn Owl HOUSE

What better location could there be for a Rutland property than right on the banks of the reservoir, in a spot that’s unspoilt and teeming with wildlife? Barn Owl House is a property in a great setting that will afford its next owners the best views in the county!

Words: Rob Davis.

Location, location location, as the saying goes. And if those three qualities are the signifiers of a truly remarkable property, there are few locations if any in Rutland as desirable as that enjoyed by Barn Owl House. Right on the banks of the reservoir in Manton, Barn Owl House offers deliciously practical accommodation plus plenty of additional benefits too. It’s large enough to accommodate four bedrooms and three reception rooms, en suites to each bedroom and plenty of practical features like a utility room, boot room, triple garage and a generous six acres of land. Yet it’s still a property that offers its next owners a manageable size, whilst providing space to extend the property itself or create a larger area of formal gardens. Kitchens and bathrooms are modern and in good order but could still be tweaked to its next owners tastes plus there’s plenty of practical storage. The kitchen features hand-built units finished in Old English White, granite surfaces, an Aga, Belfast sink and American style fridge freezer, whilst the sitting room has a feature fireplace and French doors that open onto that panoramic Rutland countryside.

The first floor master suite features a dressing area and views across the reservoir, whilst mature gardens with year-round interest ensure plenty of bird and animal life as well as privacy from two-legged neighbours!

Uniquely, Barn Owl House is a house you can purchase with your head as well as your heart... you could even say that for its next owners, life here will be a hoot! n

Find Out More: Barn Owl House is currently on the market with James Sellicks, Catmos Street, Oakham LE15 6HW. Call 01572 724437 or see www.jamessellicks.com.

Barn Owl House, Lyndon Road, Manton: Guide Price £1,500,000.

Location: located just outside the pretty village of Manton overlooking Rutland Water and close to the popular county towns of Stamford, Oakham and Uppingham.

Style: A modern stone, barn conversion with flexible living accommodation, sitting within approximately six-acres of its own land with phenomenal views over Rutland Water and beyond. With the property being a U-shaped barn conversion there is a central courtyard that is accessed off the majority of the ground floor accommodation.

Bedrooms: Master bedroom suite that comprises a large double bedroom, complemented by a dressing room with ensuite bathroom. Three further bedrooms with en suite. courtyard and large glazed sliding doors out to the garden providing phenomenal views over Rutland Water. Beyond the sitting room is the breakfast kitchen and dining room.

Kitchen: Bespoke kitchen in Old English White with Aga, Belfast sink, American fridge/freezer. Separate utility.

Receptions: Large sitting room with a feature fireplace, windows looking back into the Gardens: Predominantly laid to lawn with mature trees and large paddock. n

Looking for inspiration for your garden? Look no further - visit our “Bricks ‘n’ Mortar” store at Markham Moor . We have a huge showroom full of wonderful products for the home, garden and gifting.

The Showrooms, Great North Road, Markham Moor, Nr Retford DN22 0QU 01636 822000 www.elizabethandstevens.com Open from Mon-Fri 9am-5pm & Sat 10am-4pm. 24/7 online. Please call ahead if you are making a special journey.

BLUES Story of the

Each year Pantone provides its ‘colour of the year’ for designers of interiors, home furnishings and the media. This year, the colour management firm has declared 2020 the year of ‘Classic Blue,’ so expect to see it everywhere. Here’s how to use it in your home... Image: Cole & Son’s new Macchine Volanti wallpaper , £276/roll.

Each of our wallcovering and fabrics brands are stocked by local interior designers who can create bespoke furnishings for your home...

Left: Harlequin Momentum, wallpaper £60/roll. Top: Lexi Fabric by Jane Churchill in blue colourway, £45/metre. Above/Right: Colefax and Fowler Conway yarn mix fabric in aqua and natural, £62/metre. Right: Prestigious Textiles Journey Beyond fabric in Twilight, £38/metre.

Above: Cecily, Vertex, Pulsar and Gershwin from Jane Churchill £various.

Top/Right: GP & J Baker, Modern Country Trims for cushions and curtains; Fairfield braid, Fortrose and Munro £various.

Clarke and Clarke Electro Quantum in taupe and blue £40/metre.

Right: Avalon collection by Clarke and Clarke, sofa in Levante, curtains in Monterrey, £30/metre.

Local Suppliers...

All Things House, 0333 210 7288, www.allthingshouse.co.uk. Corner Farm, 01778 561333, www.cornerfarminteriors.co.uk. Delcor Interiors, Stamford 01780 762579 www.delcor.co.uk. Elizabeth Stanhope Interiors, Oakham 01572 722345 www.elizabethstanhope.co.uk. Furleys, Rutland 01572 755539 www.furleys.co.uk. H Works, Stamford 01780 754605 www.hworksdesign.co.uk. Hunters Interiors, Uffington, Stamford PE9 4TD, 01780 757946 huntersinteriorsofstamford.co.uk. Lumison Lighting, Oakham, 01572 724600 www.lumisonlighting.co.uk. Sarah Harding Interiors, Uppingham, 01572 823389 www.sarahhardinginteriors.co.uk. n

Works from the Royal Copenhagen factory continue to be collected in great number, with buyers continuing to purchase figure groups from this European heavyweight in large number. Looking at the Post Modern design and style associated with the pieces commonly seen at our three Lincolnshire salerooms, one would assume the history of the Royal Copenhagen factory was a recent one. Nothing could be further from the truth as you have to go back to 1775 to find its starting date. The chemist Franz Heinrich Muller is credited for its creation and with his 50 year monopoly gave the factory a firm footing. By 1779 its finances were the responsibility of the Danish Royal Family when it was rebranded as the Royal Porcelain Factory. It was indeed Royal links which assumed the more famous designs of the company with the most famous Floral Dancia pattern pieces being made as gifts for Catherine II of Russia. With the familiarity of the green three wavy line mark and the post modern later pieces being made in association with the likes of Georg Jensen and the Holmegaard Glass works, it is somewhat a surprise that Royal Copenhagen has been in existence for the thick end of 260 years producing elegant tableware and high class and large pieces which would grace any sideboard throughout Europe from the Royal Family downwards. Production has remained in rude health since its inception. Bing and Grandahl added a collectable edge to the works with the introduction of their Christmas plates in 1895, with moulds being destroyed, so more could not be made. This led to a large collecting field which has continued along with the popularity of the more traditional figures, animals and birds we see today.

The large horse illustrated proves the skill of the factory. A rare, enormous piece which proves the ability of Royal Copenhagen; a work immensely difficult to fire at such size and an object which has been produced that classically illustrates the modernist pieces associated with the factory in recent times, it sold recently at our Grantham Rooms for £360. Objects are now produced under the name Royal Copenhagen at sites in Thailand. What hasn’t been lost from this Far East move is the quality, craftsmanship and modern design associated with this magnificent factory, which continues to attract buyers in large number who collect nothing other than this most famous of names. n

Find Out More: Craig Bewick is an antiques specialist with Golding, Young & Mawer: The Bourne Auction Rooms, Spalding Road, Bourne PE10 9LE, 01778 422686; The Grantham Auction Rooms, Old Wharf Road, Grantham NG31 7AA, 01476 565118; The Stamford Valuation Office, The George Mews, Station Road, Stamford PE9 2LB, 01780 751666 or The Lincoln Auction Rooms, Thos Mawer House Station Road, North Hykeham, Lincoln, LN6 3QY, 01522 524984. Alternatively, see www.goldingyoung.com.

Here for all your needs... Free Auction Appraisals We offer free professional advice on items you wish to sell. Free Home Visits Our valuers will help with house clearance advice or large collection dispersal. Advisory Days We have regular days at our Bourne, Grantham, Lincoln, Louth & Stamford offices.

The hallmark of a professional auction house offering executor & private client advice & services for valuation, auction sale & property clearance The Lincoln Auction Rooms 01522 524984 The Bourne Auction Rooms 01778 422686 The Grantham Auction Rooms 01476 565118 Do not hesitate & contact us now! Sold For £1,000Sold For £2,100 Sold For £700 Sold For £25,000

Making the most of your garden by creating new “living rooms” for your relaxation & pleasure. We offer a full design across your entire garden, through to upgrading a bed or part of your outdoor space. You get the garden you want, an investment in your property and improved well-being through the pleasure of your enhanced outdoor living areas and plants.

Call Soo on 07545 007323 for an initial chat. Email soo@soospectorgardens.co.uk See our portfolio of work and client testimonials at www.soospectorgardens.co.uk