Patchworked
textures and rich, vibrant hues are combined with the smell of baking bread in
this family home full of character and style
Family
home - Carola and David with children Efan and Laura
When Carola van Dyke’s husband David James,
49, decided to quit his well-paid job as an accountant to become a village
baker in Firle, East Sussex, it proved to be a completely life-changing move.
Front
of house - The three-bedroom cottage dates back to the 17th century
‘It was nerve-racking, obviously, but we
wanted a better lifestyle. Also David wanted to be able to take the children to
school and bring them home,’ says Dutch-born Carola, 49, who trained as a
fashion illustrator before setting up Tiny Tulips, a textile design business
specialising in children’s clothes and cushions.
Living
room - Inspired by nearby Charleston House, Carola painted the fireplace and
surrounding walls in rich colours for dramatic impact
Eleven years on and the couple, together
with their two children, Laura, 14, and Efan, 11, have established themselves
as an integral part of Firle’s close-knit community, where everybody knows, and
helps, each other.
David gets up every morning at 3am to do
the first bake and makes around loo loaves a day. He sells them to local shops
and restaurants, as well as outside the cottage with an honesty box. Carola,
meanwhile, works from her nearby converted cowshed studio, designing textiles.
Business has been booming since last summer, when Mary Portas chose her
patchwork cushion designs as part of a House of Fraser collection.
Kitchen
The wonderfully bright room is made up of
recycled materials: Carola rescued the floor tiles from a skip; the unite doors
were made from an old barn door and the work surface are old scaffold boards
Dining
room - A yellow wall lifts the room, giving a modern feel to the traditional
cottage furniture
‘I’m working seven days a week to meet the
demand. Last week we were all making cushions. Laura stitched the back panels,
while David cut up the fabrics. He has time during the day, otherwise I
wouldn’t have managed,’ she says.
Carola has also channelled her creative
talents into turning their picturesque, redbrick three-bedroom cottage, which
dates back to the 1 7th century, into a cosy family home. The couple, who rent
it from the Firle Estate, renovated it from scratch when they first moved in.
In exchange they get a slightly reduced rent. ‘Nothing had been done here for
ages and, as we didn’t have much money we did it all ourselves. It’s such an
old house that I wanted to bring back something of its history.’
Bathroom
- Carola updated the room by painting the wall in a deliciously dark purple,
which works well with the warm wood and terracotta tones
Nearby Charleston House, which was the home
of Bloomsbury artists Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, has been a huge source of
inspiration for Carola, especially when she came to paint the living room. ‘The
room’s so small and dark that I thought, why not go over the top and make it
warm and cosy by painting it in bright, rich hues? Colour has always been my
strongest point. You have to trust yourself when you mix the shades.’
She also made patchwork covers for the
chairs, sofa and pouffe, as well as a heavy door blanket. ‘The space is so
tight that we took the door off. But in winter it gets cold and the blanket is
so thick it keeps out the draughts.’
Master
bedroom - Carola’s own cushions sit on the chaise longue and bed. The bedroom
is a wonderful mix of vintage and homespun style
Homemade
style
The bathroom door got a fresh new look as
Carola used it as a canvas for her artwork; one of the fabulous animal cushions
chosen by Mary Portas for her range at House of Fraser; the white floorboards
at the entrance to the master bedroom.
Elsewhere in the house Carola has painted
walls in striking shades that she mixed herself, including a deep khaki green
in Efan‘s camouflage-style bedroom and a gorgeous muted lemon yellow in the
dining room. She also painted the kitchen splashback with blue and white
squares after she realised that the walls were so crooked, putting up tiles
would have been impossible.
Everywhere you look in this characterful
cottage there are charming homemade details, but none more so than the basket
of freshly baked loaves for sale in the front garden.
