A 17th-century house and barn in Berkshire seamlessly unified by Caroline Riddell
Caroline Riddell is one of those designers who flies under the radar, in that while working on her many projects, all of them very different, she wants “to make a home rather than an interior designed project." It is testament to her skill that she manages to create houses that look like organically-evolved homes, while still imbuing them with the sense of harmony that only a professional designer can provide.
It was a skill that came in handy as she took on this project, a 17th-century rectory in Berkshire with an enormous weatherboarded barn attached at the rear. Having recently completed a project nearby, she was asked by friends of those clients to lend her talents to their own house. Next door to a church and separated by a cob wall , the rectory was Grade II-listed, meaning very little could be changed. Therefore she started her work with the attached barn, an enormous room measuring 16 metres long, which was already used as a kitchen and with a mezzanine of sorts already in situ. But any resemblance to the present incarnation of the room ended there. In Caroline's hands, it has become a comfortable multi-tasking room with easy going eating and seating areas clearly defined.
“I wanted to let the room keep its original feel," says Caroline, “and I made sure the essence of barn was very obvious.” The skeleton of the beams is untouched, and the walls of cross-grained raw oak give it a suitably rough and authentic feel. The floor meanwhile is of chevroned oak with huge Crittall windows installed where the barn doors would have been. The enormous scale of the room had to be respected, and the kitchen area is defined by a vast 3x6 metre island with a generous six-oven Aga behind it.
Concerned that the room should not look too considered, the windows overlooking the dining table were literally ‘punched’ out of the wall at random so that they look like pictures on the wall, giving a view through to a very British scene of lawn and the church beyond. Caroline designed a large arc of lights , originally inspired by a Calder mobile, to span both the dining and the seating areas. This beautiful installation is not entirely static, and moves gently if there is a breeze, giving a warm ambient light over the whole area.
The mezzanine above is used as a home office, and is furnished almost entirely by a large Another Country desk, with no other distraction. The same approach characterises the living area below, with expansively proportioned, clean-lined furniture in modern forms taking centre stage. The seating area with its contemporary sofas is defined by a carpet by Christopher Farr, and overlooked by a large painting by Gary Bunt. Everywhere the colour scheme is quiet , since as Caroline maintains , there is already so much going on architecturally.
What makes this barn so special is its close proximity to the house, and one of the Caroline’s challenges was to encourage the clients to use the rest of the house, even though (as is so often the case) the large room encompasses all that a family might need. So a central passageway under the mezzanine, with utility areas on either side, leads down, via a carefully considered glass corridor with York stone flooring, to the dining room. This space is kept very simple with its contrasting walls of dark blue grasscloth by Philip Jeffreys and a circular Benchmark table over which hangs a light from Howe.
Elsewhere throughout the house colours are muted, as in the sitting room where beautiful curved windows overlook the garden. “People like to think that they want a formal room but in reality, and especially since lockdown, that side of life has changed.” she maintains. Rugs from Vanderhurd, Christopher Farr and Tim Page, Water Monopoly bathrooms, and corduroy sofas form threads that tie the house together. As Caroline explains, “keeping the background calm allows the owners, over the years, to add their own individual pieces and the interior will evolve to suit them”.
Caroline Riddell is a member of The List by House & Garden, our essential directory of design professionals. Find her profile here.
Simon Brown1/22In the barn, the vast island and the rest of the kitchen was made by Lewis Alderson.
Simon Brown2/22Benchmark's ‘Ovo’ table and bench and Hans Wegner's ‘Wishbone’ chairs form a dining area. Above is the bespoke light designed by Caroline. On the island are lamps from Rye Pottery.
Simon Brown3/22In the living space, a Christopher Farr rug adds colour, and anchors the generous sofas by B&B Italia, as well as a Colonial Chair by Carl Hansen, bought from Olson & Baker. The large painting is by Gary Bunt.
Simon Brown4/22Another view of the dining area shows off the windows ‘punched’ as if at random into the wall. A ‘Ripple’ rattan console table by Soane Britain stands to the left.
Simon Brown5/22A view from the kitchen into the mezzanine study and the passageway that leads to the main house.
Simon Brown6/22The family's spaniels in the passagaway between the barn and the old house. A ‘Hex Box’ lantern from Original BTC hangs overhead.
Simon Brown7/22Off this passageway is a utility area with reclaimed floor tiles from Bert & May.
Simon Brown8/22The boot roomfeatures an antique French basin with the stand and marble splashback made to order by James Elliot. The wall lights are by Rose Uniacke and a pendant from Hector Finch hangs above.\
Simon Brown9/22The dining room is the first room in the main house as you approach from the barn. A bespoke dining table from Jonathan Baring Furniture and Benchmark's ‘Boundary’ dining chairs stand under a chandelier from Howe. The walls are lined in a textured wallcovering by Philip Jeffries.
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Simon Brown10/22In the sitting room, a rug by Vanderhurd forms a calm backdrop. The armchair is upholstered in Guy Goodfellow's ‘Lotus’ (campari) weave.
Simon Brown11/22The curtains in the sitting room are in Lewis & Wood's ‘Hanbury’ fabric.
Simon Brown12/22A ‘Hundi’ pendant from Light Fixation hangs in the entrance hall over a bespoke table by Jonathan Baring. The rug was the client's own and is from Peter Page.
Simon Brown13/22At the back of the main house is another entrance hall, where a runner from Christopher Farr picks up the golden tones in the curtains, which are in Lewis & Wood's ‘Benaki’ fabric. A pendant by Rose Uniacke hangs overhead.
Simon Brown14/22The main bedroom is papered in Soane's ‘Scrolling Fern Frond’ wallpaper (cream on duck egg blue). The rug is by Vanderhurd and a lamp from Guinevere stands on the chest.
Simon Brown15/22A dressing room adjoins the bedroom, which looks through into the bathroom, where an artwork by Elisabeth Frink hangs over the Water Monopoly bath. The rug here is by Vanderhurd and the pendant lights here and in the bathroom were sourced in Paris.
Simon Brown16/22The curtains and blinds in the bathroom are in Vanderhurd's ‘Embroidered Paraveto’. A chair by George Smith os covered in Namay Samay's ‘Buray’ from Tissus d'Hélène. On the walls are Balineum's ‘Parker’ wall lights.
Simon Brown17/22The son's bedroom has a fresh palette of blue and white, with Edward Bulmer's 'Blue Azurite' on the bottom half of the walls, and the top in Fired Earth's ‘Flake White’. The bed was sourced from The Natural Bed Company. An existing sofa was covered in ‘Aegean’ corduroy from Tissus d'Hélène, while the cushions are from SCP.\
Simon Brown18/22The son's bathroom features an ‘Atlantic’ bath from Fired Earth, painted in ‘Royal Navy’ by Little Greene. The blind fabric is from Christopher Farr Cloth. \
Simon Brown19/22The daughter's bedroom has playful bed hangings in ‘Flamingo’ by Cole & Son.\
Simon Brown20/22The adjoining bathroom is painted in Edward Bulmer's ‘Duck Egg’, with ‘Madeira' floor tiles by Fired Earth. ‘Polaris Star’ wall lights from Vaughan hang over a ‘Charterhouse’ basin from Lefroy Brooks.
Simon Brown21/22The exterior of the house, showing the relationship between the original house and the barn.
Simon Brown22/22
