A masterclass in Cottagecore: an 18th-century Cotswolds barn nails the trend
A masterclass in Cottagecore: an 18th-century Cotswolds barn nails the trend
Lisa Mehydene’s skilful use of texture and pattern, paired with an eclectic selection of antiques, has transformed a rural barn into a warm and welcoming home away from home.
Photographs Michael Paul/Living Inside
As a former advertising director working for agencies around the world, Lisa Mehydene made a name for herself bringing prestigious brands to life. But on returning to London in 2015 with her husband, Hil, and their twins, Milla and George, Lisa was keen to begin a new journey. Drawing on her passion for vintage homeware, she launched edit58, an online brand that creates and sources one-off artisan and vintage finds.
The reclaimed French doors, with their original green paint, add a dramatic appeal to the opening between the hallway and sitting room. The soft pink foxgloves echo the paintwork in Farrow & Ball’s Dead Salmon, and the colours of the vintage Swedish runner used on the stairs. The French table was bought from a garden centre in Dubai. - Michael Paul/Living Inside -
Having established a London base for their family, Lisa and Hil were keen to find a place they could decamp to at the weekends. Focusing their search on the lesser-known corners of the Cotswolds, Lisa explains they were looking for a place with a quiet sense of community, as well as space for entertaining friends and allowing their children to run free.
It was love at first sight, says Lisa of the rambling, 18th-century barn in which they have made a home-from-home in its ‘higgledy-piggledy flow and lofty heights.’ Major structural changes were few: they opened up a wall in the living room and fitted it with floor-to-ceiling doors salvaged in France; and upstairs, vintage cheeseboard planks, also from France, were repurposed as wide, patina-rich floorboards in all the bedrooms.
Solidly built of mellow stone, this rambling 18th-century barn in the Cotswolds has been sympathetically
restored into a comfortable home for Lisa and family. - Michael Paul/Living Inside -
A green gingham tablecloth from Maison de Vacances adds to the verdant theme
in this rustic table setting for dining al fresco. Metal chairs from Maisons du Monde are paired with a bespoke table by Londons Calling Antiques. - Michael Paul/Living Inside -
New utilitarian cabinets from British Standard blend effortlessly with a glazed antique sideboard sourced in Belgium. Checked cushions and a runner from edit58 heighten the colourful, decorative appeal. - Michael Paul/Living Inside -
Reconditioned electric Aga works for the family’s busy lifestyle and is paired with copper pans
from Mauviel. The plates are modern transferware styles from Zara Home, with hand embroidery on vintage textiles picking out the colours in the plate patterning. - Michael Paul/Living Inside -
The kitchen’s terracotta tiles were laid upside down for the rustic finish Lisa wanted, then sealed with antique and clear wax to get the right look, setting off the vintage wall cabinet and well-worn florist’s bench now used as the family’s kitchen table. - Michael Paul/Living Inside -
Bringing the outdoors in creates a harmonising feel, while gathered curtains in soft sprigged
cotton fabric remnants on the cupboard fronts help to set the ‘country’ tone. - Michael Paul/Living Inside -
The warmth of natural wood and rattan add to the restful effect of the decor. - Michael Paul/Living Inside -
The fact that everything needed updating was a bonus, Lisa says, as it gave her an opportunity to play; this is evident throughout the house, where she has used a fusion of colour, pattern, and texture alongside a glorious mix of vintage, artisan and select high-street finds. The walls are hung with beautiful artworks – think flea-market finds, folk art, landscapes, portraits, and abstracts.
‘My sartorial style is very similar to my interiors, but at home the main thread is always vintage: traditional with a twist, never too wild; layered, but organised; colourful, yet knocked back,’ she says, adding that she’s not looking for energy from the interiors at the barn.
A Wayne Pate abstract and other artworks hang above the console table. The vase is from Astier de Villatte. - Michael Paul/Living Inside -
‘I want to dial down the noise, to create a feeling of tranquillity and calm.’ Most of the furniture and furnishings were bought at antiques markets and fairs: the drinks table cost £35 at Kempton antiques market, and in the sitting room, a wavy-back vintage sofa was an eBay bargain which Lisa reupholstered in Folies Bergère by Howe.
The home office area is filled
with light from the French doors. The artwork above the desk was discovered at Sunbury Antiques Market at Kempton. - Michael Paul/Living Inside -
Bauwerk limewash walls add natural charm to the living room, perfectly offsetting Lisa’s colourful artworks and decorative folk-art finds. A rug from Moldova is complemented by a bespoke ottoman, scallop-edged vintage curtains and repurposed tablecloth blinds. - Michael Paul/Living Inside -
A hand-painted green cabinet from Vintage on the Vine sits against plaster-coloured walls in the living room. The scallop-edged detail to the wall is an original feature of the barn. - Michael Paul/Living Inside -
The herbarium artwork was sourced from a Ukranian maker via Etsy. - Michael Paul/Living Inside -
She likes combining old and new in one item, as ‘it adds a fresh edge and always makes for a more interesting story.’ Although there are one or two more precious antiques, for Lisa it is never about the value of the object in question, but the feel. ‘Using things we had already and buying second-hand has helped us to create a more personal style, while thinking more sustainably,’ she says.
The kitchen was transformed with terracotta tiles, a vintage yellow and pink cupboard, and an antique Belgian sideboard; a weathered florist’s bench is now the kitchen table. The contrast with the utilitarian British Standard cabinetry and modern hand-painted enamelware adds another layer of interest, as does the atmospheric lighting in every room.
An antique floral sofa from Lassco, with its original fabric, is offset with vintage rugs from edit58, which have also been made into window blinds. The floorboards are reclaimed cheeseboard planks, bought from BCA Matériaux Anciens in France. - Michael Paul/Living Inside -
Textiles also play their part, with old and new imaginatively layered and repurposed: runners are colourful bath mats; vintage floral rugs used for headboards; and patched antique kantha throws transformed into one-off bed coverings. Cosy, vibrant and welcoming, the house feels as though it has always been this way.
The prints in the master bedroom are part of a series by Antoinette Poisson. - Michael Paul/Living Inside -
In the eclectic guest bedroom, Lisa has combined florals, stripes and vintage kantha prints with a beautiful handmade headboard created from one of the antique rugs that she sells at edit58. - Michael Paul/Living Inside -
Bath panelling in green gloss enhances details in the Wayne Pate tiles for Balineum. The bath mat is made from an edit58 vintage rug. - Michael Paul/Living Inside -
In the master bedroom, Kelmscott Studio’s Ludlow lamp base for edit58 is paired with an Alice Palmer shade, embroidered by Cressida Jamieson. The floral headboard is bespoke, while the throw is a vintage Indian kantha. - Michael Paul/Living Inside -
The bath has been painted in a deep green, which creates a soothing feel when teamed with the soft green on the walls. - Michael Paul/Living Inside -
