An enchanted Christmas in the Dorset cottage of designer Jess Wheeler

A mobile the couple created, using foraged finds from their works. Jess's ‘Flower Candlestick’ sits on the table.

Elliot Sheppard

At this point, Eddie was living and working in London, but admits to being quietly thrilled at Jess’s discovery. ‘It seemed inevitable that I’d eventually move, because I’ve always loved it down here,’ he explains. When his housemates in London both decided to move out at the same time, it gave Eddie the push he needed, and the couple embarked on the cottage as a joint project. ‘We had just two weeks from signing the lease to moving in, so we just had to crack on,’ says Eddie, explaining that a few bits had to be done before they could live there, including the construction of a kitchen as what was there was fairly rudimentary. Carpets were pulled up, vinyl was peeled back in the hallway and replaced with simple industrial red floor paint. In the kitchen, an inherited oak tabletop was sliced in two to make a kitchen counter and shelf. ‘Otherwise, it’s basically all freestanding furniture in here, so we can take it with us when we move on.’

A garland, created by Bridport-based floral decorator JRASIC, frames the fireplace in the sitting room. A pair of Jess's ‘Clematis wall lights’ sit above the fireplace, surrounding The Skater (Official 1984 Winter Olympics Poster) by David Hockney

Elliot Sheppard

Jess's ‘Little Mistletoe Decorations' are dotted throughout the fireplace garland.

Elliot Sheppard

For a couple who spend hours thinking about the details of their designs, they admit their approach here was quite the opposite. ‘It was important for us to make a home, but a busy period in the studio meant we didn’t have loads of time, which made us quite disciplined,’ explains Jess, who was setting up her new workshop while also overhauling the cottage. They made an early decision to just paint woodwork rather than entire rooms. ‘Efficiency was key,’ reasons Eddie ‘so we made use of some favourite paints left over from our last homes’, referring to the shelves in the sitting room painted in Edward Bulmer’s ‘Malahide’ and the sludgy green in their bedroom on the fireplace. The tiny downstairs bathroom was refreshed with stripes hand-painted by Eddie - a playful and efficient use of a single tester pot of Little Greene’s ‘Mazarine’.

Much of the furniture in the kitchen is freestanding so that the couple can take it with them.

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A ‘Little Mistletoe Decoration’ hangs off the kitchen shelf, which Eddie created from an offcut from the tabletop that he used to make the worktop. The mug is by Miranda Berrow, Jess and Eddie's neighbour.

Elliot Sheppard

As for filling the cottage, the couple did a good deal of rationalising – ‘we were both coming from bigger spaces, so it was a case of streamlining and choosing our favourite four mugs and determining who had the best garlic crusher that would make the cut,’ jokes Eddie.

Other pieces were sourced for very little locally, while there are also a few treasured possessions, including a rug by Ishkar in the sitting room. The curtains in both the bedroom and sitting room that Jess had made from rhubarb- and madder-dyed fabric that she had created for an exhibition a couple of years ago when she launched her bronze rhubarb collection. ‘I had them made using some of my mum’s nice old interlined curtains and just replaced the fronts with this pink fabric,’ explains Jess. ‘We didn’t have quite enough for the bedroom, so we added this indigo strip on the outer edge to make them work.’

Jess Wheeler Studio's ‘Clematis Floor Lamp’ sits in the corner of the couple's bedroom, with curtains made from a piece of linen dyed with rhubarb and madder.

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The couple painted the fireplace in a sludgy green to provide a splash of colour. A print of Eype Beach by Sophie Sharp hangs above the fireplace, while a ‘Plaster Fig’ by Jess Wheeler Stusio sits on the mantel.

Elliot Sheppard

The couple surround themselves with many of their creations, describing it as a chance 'to live with our designs before we launch them.’ Some of these, Jess explains, make it through to the product stage, ‘others are just for us’. A case in point is the sculptural silver swinging light in the corner that Eddie made out of necessity when he needed a reading lamp; another is the tissue paper lampshade in the hallway, created because they simply needed a lampshade. ‘It’s nice for our needs to inform our creations and allows us to be quite experimental,’ explains Eddie, who after six months of commuting to work in London joined forces with Jess to run the studio. ‘He just understands the workings of stuff and had been very involved before he formally joined,’ explains Jess. ‘Creating pieces for our home just lets us have a bit more fun, rather than things always needing to be perfect.’

Eddie and Jess pictured at the front of their cottage. Eddie added the porthole window into the door.

Elliot Sheppard

Christmas, too, is a chance for the couple to have fun, and they love gathering foliage and natural treasure to dress the house in a way that feels right for its humble origins. ‘The idea of overdressing it would feel a bit jarring and the people who lived here would have spent their time outside, so it feels appropriate to bring the landscape in,’ explains Eddie. As such, this year they have created little foraged mobiles, using beech nuts and acorns as 'beads' and branches as its structure. Prioritising space to have merry evenings with friends, the couple opted for a garland, created by Bridport-based floral decorators JRASIC, for their fireplace rather than a Christmas tree. ‘It would have taken over the whole room,’ laughs Eddie. ‘We just wanted it to feel natural and relaxed,’ explains Jess. Their entire home feels generous and warm – the sparkling brass mistletoe hanging from the kitchen shelf and above the dining table, the tray of glasses filled with vermouth for guests and the well-stocked cheeseboard. A rental it may be, but it’s a truly enchanting world they’ve conjured up.

jesswheeler.com