An interior designer's 17th-century farmhouse in a secluded Devon valley
“I have dreamed of this house for years,” says Tom Cox of his remote farmhouse in Devon, which lies at the end of a farm track in a peaceful valley where the river rushes past and the hills rise up on each side. “I'm surrounded by nature, which I love, and I've filled the house with things I love, so it's a brilliant double whammy.” Bought two years ago as an escape from his busy work life with the family company HÁM Interiors, the farmhouse and its outbuildings are now both a comfortable, inviting retreat from outside stresses, as well as a perfect representation of Tom's own and his family's collective taste.
Tom grew up in the world of interior design. His parents, Nick and Pamela, have run a design business since his childhood and he grew up hanging around the upholstery studio at home and going along on weekend trips to fairs and market. After a spell working in a software business, he joined his parents in starting HÁM Interiors; his sister Kate joined a little later, so that it is now a true family affair. Sourcing antiques and salvaged materials is a shared interest, and such is the extent of their collection that a significant part of the business now resides in Studio HÁM, which sells antiques and art (as well as original designs) to clients outside their interior design projects.
The family is lucky to have a strong shared aesthetic, which runs both through their projects for clients and their own houses. “It's not like we all sit down and discuss what we're going to buy for our own houses,” says Tom, “but sometimes one of us will buy something and then one of the others will realise it's exactly what they need at home.” His parents' taste has clearly seeped in, even when he isn't conscious of it. “I've got this huge love of decoys [models of ducks and other wildlife] and of folk art,” he explains. “Mum and dad used to sell a lot of that sort of thing in the shop when I was growing up, but I had completely forgotten about it, and it was only when I saw an old photo of the shop that I realised that's where it came from.”
Tom's house in Devon, then, is an expression of everything he grew up with and still works with today, with a hefty dose of his own love of the outdoors and nature thrown in. The main farmhouse has the feel of a deeply comfortable cabin or lodge, its long, low structure comprising a snug, sitting room and kitchen on the ground floor, with three bedrooms and a bathroom above. A second compact cottage next to the farmhouse has an office space on the first floor and a bedroom and bathroom, and out in the garden is a deeply covetable outdoor kitchen.
Like many houses of its period, the main house is low-ceilinged, with small rooms and plenty of architectural quirks–something you might think would be off-putting for a man of Tom's considerable height (he is 6'5") but this was not the case. “I gravitated towards this kind of building from the start when I was looking down here,” he explains. He does concede that it was difficult to get the arrangement of furniture right. “It is a listed building, so you're completely snookered with the space, you can't open anything up. Every entrance to this building is absolutely tiny, so just getting furniture through the doors was a nightmare.” Determined to introduce a dining table that would fit into the compact kitchen area, he still ended up having to saw a bit off it to get it through the hallway. Having access to lots of different pieces was a boon in this respect: “I just kept bringing things in and out until it made sense!”
Although furniture came and went at the beginning, Tom is a big believer that one key piece can have the power to transform a room. When he was struggling to think how to lay out the sitting room that leads into the kitchen, he found a large Irish dresser that brought the whole thing to life. “It suddenly made sense that it was where I'd keep my whisky collection, and then from there I saw that there should be a little place to sit by the window and look outside, and it just grew from there.” The Delft tiles around the fireplace in the snug sparked another idea: Tom chose Farrow & Ball's ‘Oval Room Blue’ to echo the blue of the tiles, and the enveloping colour scheme of the room emerged from there.
Warm, comfortable and surrounded by nature, the house is the perfect place to escape. “When I get back here, slam the door and get a fire going, I feel engulfed in it, it's so comforting and safe.” But it is also a destination for his friends and family, and the extra cottage and outdoor kitchen mean that the main house is rarely in danger of becoming cramped. “When I have friends down here with their kids I leave them to it in the main house and decamp to the cottage, where I can have a nice bath and listen to the radio and make a cup of tea." Not surprisingly, everyone loves it. “I've had old friends come down here and they say that this place seems to have been made for me.”
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Dean Hearne1/19The lamp to the left is made from an antique tole tea caddy, while an antique carved wooden Scottish salmon fishing trophy hangs on the wall.
Dean Hearne2/19Tom's dog Boo on a comfortable armchair.
Dean Hearne3/19A cowboy painting by Studio HÁM hangs above an antique bronze bust of an unknown gentlemen.
Dean Hearne4/19Looking into the sitting room from the snug. The entrance hall in between is painted in ‘Sang de Boeuf’ by Edward Bulmer Natural Paint.
Dean Hearne5/19On the other side of the entrance hall is the main sitting room, where a painted writing desk occupies one corner. A vintage pharmacist sign hangs above, re-worked by Tom with a custom-made ‘Sick of Life’ neon. The antique chair has been reupholstered with exposed webbing. Another lamp made from an antique tole tea caddy stands on top of the desk.
Dean Hearne6/19An antique Irish dresser stands in the corner behind, filled with Tom’s whiskey collection. The rush chair has been hand painted with folk detailing by HÁM’s artisan painters. A French Castelnaudary pot from Studio HÁM holds a plant to the right of the dresser.
Dean Hearne7/19
Dean Hearne8/19Tom Cox with his dog, Boo.
Dean Hearne9/19The sitting room has a door into the kitchen beyond. ‘Athletes of the Sky’, an original artwork by Richie Culver, hangs behind the sofa, with a Convex Globe lantern from Jamb above. An antique footstool reupholstered in hessian serves as a coffee table.
Dean Hearne10/19The kitchen was installed by the previous owner. An Irish linen curtain, embroidered with ‘H.L”, the initials of the house, screens the dishwasher.
Dean Hearne11/19At the other end of the kitchen is a dining area with an antique farmhouse dining table. The rush chairs are hand painted with folk detailing by HÁM’s artisan painters, and the painting of the Irish Wolfhound and the ‘Fresh Egg’ artwork are both also by Studio HÁM. A lampshade in Colefax & Fowler's ‘Foss’ fabric hangs overhead.
Dean Hearne12/19The main bedroom has a headboard in ‘Delgado’ by Colefax & Fowler. A custom ‘Cabin’ sign artwork hangs above the bed, and a ‘Harrison’ side table (both by Studio HÁM) stands alongside.
Dean Hearne13/19The twin bedroom has a comfortable cabin feel, with antique beds painted in Farrow & Ball's ‘Charlotte’s Locks' and covered in Swiss army blankets. The Palm Column Table Lamp on the table in between is by Studio HÁM.
Dean Hearne14/19The Malmo vanity in the bathroom is made by Studio HÁM (Made by HÁM collection). An ‘Oban Rise and Fall’ wall light by Vaughan is fixed next to an artwork by Mick Manning.
Dean Hearne15/19In the cottage next door to the main house, a bedroom with a bathroom and tiny kitchen occupies the ground floor. The kitchen on the right was made from a custom vanity unity by Studio HÁM, and has an On-Tap wall mounted pot filler by Waterworks.
Dean Hearne16/19The custom headboard is covered in ‘Cheyenne’ by Güell Lamadrid, and the Vaughan ‘Oban Rise & Fall’ light has a shade in the same fabric.
Dean Hearne17/19The bathroom is divided from the bedroom by a half glazed door and wall. ‘Verity’ wall lights from Jamb surround a ‘Branch’ mirror and ‘Exe’ vanity, both made by Studio HÁM. The taps are by Waterworks.
Dean Hearne18/19The loo area is papered in Pierre Frey's ‘Lakota’ pattern. The loo seat displays the house motto in a custom engraving.
Dean Hearne19/19The interior of the kitchen, with custom joinery, a handmade burnished brass sink, custom terracotta floor and decorative pieces all by HÁM.
