Open House - The great escape to Surrey

Words and pictures by Andrew Lopez Calvete

An acquaintance recently outlined her gradual march on the city of London. Having started with a flat in Guildford, a series of gains on her various properties and fevered career advancement had seen her plunge deep within the M25, but still nowhere near the congestion zone - miles from a tube station and half a million pounds worse off for a stylish but small property with no garden. At this rate, by the time she’s in the west end, her prime requirement will be a stair lift and all she’ll do is complain about the noise. Ironic then that the owners of this month’s featured property are gradually doing the exact reverse.

Moving to Surrey

Matt and Kate White previously lived in Wandsworth, having purchased a rather dilapidated Victorian terraced house. “Our last property was a real project; it took three months just to get it in a condition where it was habitable, and a lot longer once we moved in to get it exactly how we wanted it,” says Matt. But with Kate expecting their first child, a property with a great number of stairs in the heart of south London was not exactly ideal and became a prime motivator for starting a gradual withdrawal from London. “My business is based in London so we needed to find somewhere that had a good access to town but was more family friendly,” continues Matt. “I used to live in Ascot and had family in Hartney Witney, whilst a lot of Kate’s family were located on the south coast. Following the A3 out of town, it was obvious that Guildford and Farnham offered the best compromise.”

Thus, in 2003, the couple found themselves standing in the converted wing of Weybourne House, a suitably grand 1750’s property on the outskirts of Farnham. “The house was really remarkable with very high ceilings and loads of original features, including a very impressive and intricate plaster ceiling, but most of it was disguised by some appalling décor,” says Matt. “The previous owners seemed to have an affinity for pop art and vivid colours.” Hardly befitting of a grade II listed property that was once the home of engineer and inventor John Henry Knight…

Just a cosmetic makeover

Fortunately, unlike many homes featured in this column, the property was sound and the redevelopment consisted of just a cosmetic makeover – something that Matt was well placed to undertake, as his company designs interiors for hotels around the world. “The first step was to get some continuity into the property,” he says. “The previous owner had each room a different vile colour and we wanted to open up the downstairs by making ‘spaces beyond spaces’ more obvious - something that the hall and rooms radiating off it were ideally suited for. Predominantly, we used white for the rooms, with only subtle shades such as the light blue in the reception area to add interest.”

Having spent a great deal of time working overseas, including a spell in the far east, signs of his travels are very evident in the overall décor of the house, giving it something of a colonial feel. Several walls feature framed documents pertaining to Raffles hotel - utterly appropriate as all Matt and Kate’s home requires are rattan ceiling fans and a perfectly mixed Singapore sling to complete the picture. “Among my favourite pieces are the Chinese chest and Indonesian desk in the living room,” adds Matt. “They very much set the theme, but aren’t so intricate to detract from the inherent features of the room.”

The touch of an interior designer

Throughout the house, artefacts tell a tale of a well-travelled owner with eclectic tastes – from the Chinese scroll weights sitting on an occasional table to the wonderful 1950’s General Electric desk fan. “It has to be kept out of the way of our children as the protective cage around the metal blades is hardly up to the job and I’m pretty confident it could remove a finger without any trouble!” adds Matt. One of the finest tricks of the interior designer is the ability to make everything look like it hasn’t been touched by an interior designer – a trick that Matt is obviously a master of as each objet d’art and curio looks as it has been put down in between uses rather than arranged to create an effect. The result is a natural and unaffected style.

The kitchen is one area that has remained from the previous owners' otherwise awkward decoration. Simple and stylish, Matt has only had to add finishing touches like the coving that bonds the cabinets with the ceiling, some tiling and a more considered approach to lighting. The biggest feature of the room is the French windows that open into the sizable garden, which flood the room with light and allows it to integrate with a key al fresco entertaining area.

Since 2003, the family has added another member and an au pair, so a larger property is urgently required. “We’ve already found our next place, a wonderful 1700’s manor house in Twyford,” says Matt. “Once again, it’s only in need of decoration so it should be a fairly rapid process to make it habitable.”

This next move will take the family one step further from the pace of London and deeper into the countryside, to a new home with extensive grounds and even an out building ideal for Matt’s office. “We actually converted our last home into an office for my company and I’ll continue to work in town, but having somewhere that allows me to work remotely is very appealing,” he laughs.

So if you are following the same desperate path to living at the heart of the capital, you might want to keep your eyes peeled for removal vans travelling in the opposite direction – the smart money is moving out!

Get the look

• Combine antique oriental touches with more traditional styles
• Make the most of period features
• Use colour and flooring to connect rooms and increase the sense of space
• Hold back on the colour – let walls be a backdrop to and eclectic collection of curios

Why not join the Surrey Life community and swap decorating tips with your fellow readers.

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