Alex Wilcock and his eldest son Felix Conran, co-founders of luxury furniture business Maker&Son, rent a beautiful historic house in West Sussex to use as a showroom for their company. Kemps House, as it is known, is his Grade II listed 1660s country home in south-east England. “I fell in love with this house the moment I saw it,” Wilcock says of the six-bedroom home. “I just wanted to go in there and live there. I loved the light and the space.”
His design mission from the beginning was to create a home where families would enjoy spending time together. “Having lived here for the past 16 years, the space has proven to be very flexible, and each room is constantly evolving,” he added. He used his home as a photography studio for his business. One room that has particularly changed over the years is the kitchen. “When we first moved in, the kitchen wasn't really a kitchen; it was a second living room and then a small scullery kitchen,” Wilcock says of the picture-perfect kitchen. Let's talk about the cooking space. Now, his eat-in kitchen is much larger and a long dining table has also been installed, perfect for his large family, which includes five children.
Inspired by the home's beauty and Wilcock's personal mission, we took a tour and discovered three design lessons worth stealing. Please take a look!
Take the complete tour: Maker&Son co-founder lives in a stunning country house built in the 1660s
1. Repurpose old furniture in amazing ways.
This is a tip taken straight from Wilcock's playbook. Buy old furniture, repurpose it and use it in new ways. He explains: “Try taking things out of their original context and placing them in places you wouldn't normally go.”
For example, consider Wilcock's answer to kitchen storage. The large paneled cabinets (shown above) were built by Wilcock himself using antique shutters and reclaimed kitchen countertops. The cupboards are painted Breakfast Room Green by Farrow&Ball. “It looks like it's been there forever, but in the context of the house it's very new,” he says.
Start by putting your second-hand shopping hobby to good use and find the perfect old-fashioned fixture. Wilcock counts the nearby Ardingly International Antiques and Collectors Fair as one of his favorite shopping treasures. You can also try eBay, Chairish, Craigslist, and Facebook Marketplace to find great vintage items.
2. Celebrate handcrafted objects.
Just as she handcrafts her own furniture using natural and sustainable materials, Wilcock says she tends to appreciate handmade items because they add so much character to a home. “Choose something that was clearly made by someone, an artisan, because you can really feel it in the room. It reflects in some way the story the room tells,” he says of the do-it-yourself dining room. I say, pointing at the table. “When something is made with love and care and attention to detail, it changes the feel of a room.”
His most treasured handicraft in the kitchen is a portrait of a young boy from the Russian Constructivist era that hangs on the wall of a cupboard and is surrounded by a collection of ceramics. “It's very calming to watch,” he says.
3. Don't be afraid to change things up.
Wilcock strives to give her homes a lived-in feel, ensuring that they are not only beautiful but functional. “You know, we're always doing something new, and it's interesting that the juxtaposition of old houses and a lot of newness seems to work very well,” he says of his modern home. Talk about a rustic atmosphere.
Kemps House is also his company's showroom, so Wilcock regularly changes out the sofas and color palettes. “Now, we do different staging for different photo shoots, so sometimes the room looks completely different from one week to the next for him,” he says. “Sometimes it's very strange,” he explains of rearranging the furniture. “A notebook or a tool that was missing turns up weeks later.'' Still, Wilcock loves that the house is constantly evolving to meet his family's needs.
Of course, you don't need to change it as often as Wilcock, but the appeal is the same. Playing with different vignettes around the house gives you the freedom to be creative and feel inspired. Don't be afraid to mix and match to find what really works. And more importantly, find something you really like.
Inspired by these clever ideas? Let us know what you like about this kitchen in the comments below.
This post originally appeared on The Kitchen.See here: 3 great ideas to steal from this great English country kitchen
