During the pandemic, interior designer Sarah Southwell and her family left south London and moved to rural Somerset. They bought a Grade II-listed manor house near Langport that was structurally in good shape (‘it has good bones,’ as she puts it).
Nevertheless, the house needed a lot of work and lacked mod cons, including central heating. The project involved a root-and-branch refurbishment that included stripping back the interior, rewiring and reinstating character, a process that encompassed replastering it in traditional lime plaster.
The kitchen floor that had previously been covered in brown carpet tiles was laid with pine boards sourced from a reclamation yard in Glastonbury. Mrs Southwell chose cabinets from the British Standard Stowupland collection and worked with one of its designers on planning the layout.
Work surfaces on the countertops and island are in Arabescato marble sourced from Italy.
When this was installed, Mrs Southwell says the striking, richly veined appearance was one of the highlights of the renovation: ‘I love the way the light streams through the windows onto the marble.’
The walls of the kitchen are painted in limewash that lends a wonderful depth to the space. ‘I put together a lot of mood boards and had a sample of the marble to make sure the colour palette and scheme worked together.’
Above the island hangs a trio of pendants with fluted shades and a pair of backless bar stools stands at the breakfast-bar end — both are by deVOL.
Sarah Southwell Design — www.sarahsouthwelldesign.com
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