Your ultimate holiday checklist How to ace airport dressing Fashion fixers for every figure

Simple, healthy and tasty – your easiest ever suppers

SUMMER MENU SORTED!

ANDREAMcLEAN

‘I finally feel brave again – anything is possible!’

TROUT POUTS AND SELFIES

Why are our girls obsessed

with their faces?

LIVING THE DREAM‘I went on holiday

and stayed for ever’

...and

GET UP &

GLOW!Look radiant

all season long

relax!All the inspiration you need for a sensational summer

PLEASE REMOVE STRAY HAIRS

womanandhome.comSleep well – get your zzzs in the heat

£15 OFF

25%

elemis

seAsprAyT&Cs Apply

OFF

SHORT STORIES

Exclusive Best selling authors Veronica Henry & Milly Johnson

W&H SPECIAL

AugusT 2019 £4.75

styleSunshine

197 ways to WOW

A new kind of

With their chic barn conversion, Pippa and

Scott Paton have brought contemporary

glamour to family life in the country

R ather than having lots of

small objects around the

place, I like furniture and

accessories to be big. It’s

about creating impact,’ says

Pippa Paton, looking up at the giant cast-

bronze highland cow’s head on the balcony

above the living area in her Oxfordshire

home. ‘I knew exactly where we were

going to put it, so I made sure the balcony

was designed to holds its weight!’

At first glance, the property – home to

Pippa, New Zealand-born husband Scott,

and their children Max, 13, and Scarlett, 10

– looks urban chic; all steel surfaces and

a palette of grey and white. But look >>

Living roomThis space, which sits in the new

extension, is the first room you see

as you enter the house. A half-wall

separates it off from the hallway that

leads to each barn, without blocking

the exterior views. The walls are

painted in Zoffany’s Silver flat emulsion

at stylelibrary.com. The sofas are from

georgesmith.com. The painting is by

simonledson.co.uk. The ceiling and wall

lights are vintage Murano, sourced

by pippapatondesign.co.uk. Armchair,

left, by Andrew Martin, reupholstered

by pippapatondesign.co.uk. Lamps,

middle left, are from portaromana.com

COUNTRY

Dining area This double-height room – presided

over by a cast-bronze cow’s head

– defines cool, country style.

The Highland cow’s head is by

tessacampbellfraser.co.uk. The vintage

armchairs were reupholstered in Mark

Alexander’s Vanbrugh check with

orange leather piping by almaleather.

co.uk. The chandeliers are vintage

Italian. For similar, try rainbowlondon.

com. The dining table and leather

chairs are by pippapatondesign.co.uk

home inspiration

woman&home IT’S ALL ABOUT YOU! 169

closer and you see textured stone walls

and old wooden beams, with views of

hedgerows and fields outside the window.

Pippa and Scott bought two Grade II listed

barns and connected them with a single-

storey extension to create a family home in

the heart of the countryside. ‘In another

life, I’d be a sheep farmer,’ Scott laughs.

‘I think living in a barn is the closest I’ll get!’

The larger building had already been

converted into a living space, but it was

laid out as a series of small rooms. The

second barn had an apartment upstairs,

but the ground floor was untouched.

‘We didn’t want to create a faux-rustic

extension, preferring the link to look

contemporary. But we were careful

to make the roof no higher than the

eaves of the existing barn buildings;

that’s why the new living room is sunk

below ground level,’ explains Pippa.

‘We’ve highlighted the original stonework by leaving bricks and beams exposed

around doorways, and painting the roughwalls rather than plastering over them’

When it comes to creating interiors,

Pippa and Scott have a head start.

They run their own design practice,

with Pippa focusing on decor, and

Scott concentrating on architecture and

project management. They worked side

by side on this renovation, squished in

with the kids (and numerous pets) on the

top floor of the smaller barn for almost

a year, so they could oversee the work.

‘Our vision was that you would

walk in the front door and immediately

have a sense of openness, but also

an understanding of where every room

fits in the space,’ Pippa explains. ‘You

look left and see the snug, dining room,

kitchen and utility room in the bigger

of the two barns. Straight ahead, there’s

the living room and music room in the

new extension. And to the right, there’s

the playroom in the smaller barn, as >>

Kitchen‘Half the island contains storage

and the rest is open,’ says Pippa,

‘so the stools can be tucked beneath

when not in use.’ The acid-etched

steel splashback echoes the ‘rusty,

agricultural look’ she wanted to

achieve. The kitchen units and

island are by pippapatondesign.co.uk.

Find matching metal bar stools at

madeindesign.co.uk

home inspiration

170 woman&home IT’S ALL ABOUT YOU!

Landing Glazing the gallery on both sides

allows plenty of light to flow through.

The vintage chair is upholstered

in a fabric by manuelcanovas.com

Scarlett’s bedroom‘Within an hour of moving in, Scarlett

had strung up all her showjumping

rosettes. It looks brilliant,’ laughs Pippa.

The walls are painted in Spur pure

flat emulsion by paintandpaperlibrary.

com. The twin beds were re-covered

in a Nobilis fabric. The bedding is

by marimekko.com. The lamp is from

tinekhome.com. The pendants are

by pippapatondesign.co.uk

well as two guest bedrooms, a dressing

room and shower room on the ground

floor. Everything’s open-plan, so the

challenge was to define each area

while bringing it together as a whole.’

Upstairs, Pippa and Scott’s bedroom,

bathroom, dressing room and study are

found in the first barn, with the children’s

bedrooms and bathroom in the second.

One of Pippa’s starting points for the

scheme was the large vintage table in

the dining area. ‘It has an agricultural

look that I wanted to offset with precise

lines and smooth materials, such as the

glass galleried landing and poured-resin

floor,’ she explains. On paper, the effect

sounds cold and slightly forbidding. In

reality, it’s anything but. Low-slung sofas

and a fur-covered chaise invite lounging.

Convivial chairs are just waiting for a

conversation to kick off. And layered

onto the pared-back paint palette,

gentle tones of charcoal, buttermilk,

caramel and smoke add warmth.

But it’s Pippa’s outsize pieces that

provide the wow factor – as well as that

cow’s head, huge 1970s Italian chandeliers

drip sensuously from the ceiling in the

living area and main bedroom. ‘Lighting

Main bedroom‘The vintage Italian chandelier

reminds me of crystallised sugar. I’m

a huge fan of lighting that makes a

statement,’ says Pippa. For a similar

Italian chandelier, visit modernshows.

com. The Louis XV caned bed and

bedside table are by simonhorn.com.

The bedspread is made in Circolo

by Ulf Moritz for sahco.com

is a big thing for me. I love vintage pieces

and one-off designs incorporating

unusual objects. Then I keep everyday,

functional lighting discreet,’ she says.

However well-planned a house is,

it’s the atmosphere it creates and the

emotions it evokes that are the real

testament to its success. Pippa and Scott

have designed a family home that makes

a statement while being easy to live in

and not too precious. ‘We absolutely

love living here and we’re lucky that we

have such a great space to entertain

our family and friends in,’ says Pippa.

For more information about Pippa

and Scott’s interior design work,

go to pippapatondesign.co.uk w&h

Bathroom‘This is probably the most used

room in any house, so I always like

to make it a surprise to walk into,’

says Pippa. ‘I love the challenge of

fitting so much into a small space.’

Her secret – streamlined units, a

soothing colour scheme and ‘wow’

features, such as this antique stone

trough, converted into a basin.

The tap is from hansgrohe.co.uk

WO

RD

S A

nd

rE

A C

HIL

dS

P

HO

TO

GR

AP

HS

JA

mE

S m

Er

rE

LL

home inspiration

172 woman&home IT’S ALL ABOUT yOU!