An 18th-century farmhouse brimming with colour and texture
“My husband is very understanding of my love of colour,” Francesca Gentilli laughs when talking about the rainbow of tones that make up the interiors of her charming farmhouse, from the green living room, via a pink snug and yellow kitchen to a blue bathroom. In fact, her husband is very understanding of her love of all things decorative, which also include an array of eBay and antique-market finds, the enviable fabrics that upholster them, and the beautiful, intricate suzanis that crop up in most rooms. His contributions, on the other hand, are limited to a rather lovely still life of garlic in the kitchen and an ostrich egg in one of the guest rooms.
All this is to be expected, however, given Francesca’s line of work; as a textile dealer she is well known for her marvellous stock of Uzbekistani suzanis, Turkish kilims, Moroccan Berber rugs and Indian dhurries. Francesca is the go-to source for textiles from around the world, as she forges relationships with local artisans, then provides a platform for their work back here in the UK, offering a wide selection of rugs, wall hangings and cushion covers. All this translates easily into her own home, the eclectic and layered farmhouse that she lives in with her husband Alex and their two baby twins, Felix and Mia, as well as two dogs.
The house is situated in a bucolic part of Hertfordshire, with farm buildings on one side, and an expanse of garden and fields on all the others. “We’re pretty conveniently placed, as it’s only 20 minutes to London on the train,” she explains, “but you only have to drive for ten minutes from the station and you’re in the middle of nowhere. It’s so commutable that we’ve actually drawn lots of people here and now have many friends in the same village!” It’s not hard to see why. For Francesca and Alex, it’s very much a family home, with his parents and the family farm just down the road, as well as his uncle, who lived in the house 35 years ago.
There was no need to make great changes when they arrived, and no structural work was undertaken except for removing a brick pillar that stood in the middle of the kitchen (“it’s a listed property so we were nervous about being able to get rid of that”, Francesca admits). A gentle facelift was required to update the house, starting with a new kitchen and new flooring throughout the three-storey property, plus a whole lot of colour and texture when it came to furnishing it.
“It did just come together naturally,” Francesca says of the finished interior. “It’s a collection of bits I really like and thankfully it all goes together. I wanted old world, I didn’t want many new things,” she continues. Lucky then, that Francesca has a sharp eye for antique finds and all the most covetable pieces–or really everything in the house–have been found on eBay, Vinterior, at Kempton, Ardingley or the like. “I can sit with a temporary piece for a long time until I find the right thing,” she explains, such as the kitchen table, which needed to be round to create a social space at the end of the long, thin room.
Her approach to furnishing the house with antique furniture is very clever, as it means she often picks up pieces for extremely reasonable prices, then balances out the savings by having them reupholstered in her favourite fabrics. The dining room chairs, for example, are a mix of two carvers from Pato Interiors, alongside four strikingly similar chairs inherited from her parents when they downsized, all of which have been reupholstered in Guy Goodfellow’s ‘Fez’ fabric. In the pink living room–which will become the children’s playroom as they grow up–another eBay win has been covered in Charles Berger “Percale”, a choice which Francesca admits is “totally impractical and I will need to move it when the babies get to crawling and walking. As it is, I have to cover it with a blanket so the dogs don’t ruin it.”
In no way does the house feel precious, even though it is filled with so many lovely and often fragile pieces. It is very much a family home, welcoming, comfortable and replete with fabrics, objects and art that are full of meaning. Above the sofa in Francesca’s favourite room, the green sitting room, are eight artworks that for Francesca “tell the story of my family”. There are paintings by her uncle, Peter Woodward, and her great grandfather, Arthur Lumb, “the naked lady being one of my favourite pieces in the house,” she says. Remarkably for a house that’s only been inhabited by the family for a year and a half, it feels like it contains a multitude of memories already, with many more to come as it adapts to work for their growing family.
Francesca Gentilli: francescagentilli.com
Chris Horwood1/21The main living room is painted in ‘Breakfast Room Green’ from Farrow & Ball and is Francesca's favourite room in the house. Francesca chose Christopher Moore 'Tarascon' for the curtains.
Christopher Horwood2/21Behind the sofa is a collection of artworks, including two Phoebe Dickinson paintings, one by Francesca's uncle and another by her great grandfather, Arthur Lumb. On the right is a 19th-century walnut library chair with twisted arms and legs, upholstered in an antique French Indienne textile.
Chris Horwood3/21The rug is a vintage Beni Ourain sourced in Morocco by Francesca, while the ottoman is upholstered in Penny Morrison's ‘Tulkan’ fabric.
Chris Horwood4/21The scheme in the kitchen combines Edward Bulmer's ‘Rose Tinted White’ on the walls and woodworks with kitchen cabinets painted in 'Sudbury Yellow' by Farrow & Ball. A selection of colourful Murano glasses and jugs from Italy populate the open shelves, alongside a Petra Palumbo hand-painted jug, Moroccan pottery and Italian splatterware espresso cups.
Chris Horwood5/21An internal window looks through the kitchen to the entrance hall and front door beyond. The clam shell is a Matilda Goad piece.
Chris Horwood6/21Francesca found the antique farmhouse table on eBay, alongside the armchair. Guy Goodfellow's ‘Olive Sacking’ has been used for the blinds.
Chris Horwood7/21A round table was important for Francesca, to help create a sociable feeling within the space.
Chris Horwood8/21On the other side of the kitchen is a second living room, which has more of a snug feeling. The library chair was sourced on eBay, and recovered in Charles Berger's ‘Percale’ fabric.
Chris Horwood9/21The second living room leads into the dining room. The walls are covered in Soane's ‘Coral’ wallpaper, while the selection of cushions on the sofa are made from antique textiles sourced on various buying trips.
Chris Horwood10/21The dining room is papered in William Morris' ‘Willow’ design. The table and four of the chairs were inherited from Francesca's parents when they moved house, before she recovered the chairs in Guy Goodfellow’s ‘Fez,’ including the two carvers that came from Pato Interiors. The wavy lampshade on the left is from the Munro & Kerr x A Considered Space collaboration.
Chris Horwood11/21The sisal flooring is covered with a vintage Beni M’Guild rug sourced from a trip to Morocco.
Chris Horwood12/21The master bedroom is painted in ‘Light Blue’ from Farrow & Ball, with ‘Coromandel Tulip’, a Karun Thacker fabric for Soane Britain, used for the curtains. The bedspread is from Christopher Moore, with an antique Fez embroidered cushion on the bed.
Chris Horwood13/21The antique mirror on the chest of drawers was sourced from Kempton antiques market, while the occasional chair is an eBay find, upholstered in a Chelsea Textiles fabric.
Chris Horwood14/21In the adjoining bathroom, a deeper Farrow & Ball colour is on the walls and woodwork: ‘Oval Room Blue’. An antique barley twist wall shelf from eBay adds a decorative edge, as does the nude watercolour by Julianna Byrne.
Chris Horwood15/21The vintage bamboo mirror came from a flea market in France. The curtain is the same as the fabric used for the blinds, a red and white ticking from The Cloth Shop.
Chris Horwood16/21The walls in one of the spare bedrooms, currently used as the babies' room, are painted in the soft tone of ‘Mizzle’ from Farrow & Ball. On the walls are a child's suzani coat – a gift from one of the dealers Francesca works with in Turkey – a selection of framed antique textiles, a watercolour by Julianna Byrne and bunting made by Katherine Preston. Francesca found the hand-painted chest of drawers at a flea market and brought the vintage Kilim back from a buying trip in Turkey.
Chris Horwood17/21A Penny Morrison lampshade sits atop a tamegroute lamp base, from a collaboration between Francesca and Laurie Lamps. Francesca found the vintage wall hanging while on a buying trip to India. The antique Swat Valley wedding cushion on the bed is one that Francesca sells similar versions of on her website.
Chris Horwood18/21The suzani bedcover and Turkish kilim in the spare bedroom were sourced by Francesca on a buying trip – similar styles are available on her website.
Chris Horwood19/21The painting is by Peter Woodward, Francesca's uncle, and is titled ‘Pompeii Fountain’. As for the ostrich egg, “my husband jokes this is the one thing that is truly his in our house!”
Chris Horwood20/21Clematis and wisteria frame a charming outdoor seating area in the garden.
Chris Horwood21/21The farmhouse dates to the 18th century.
