A masterclass in Cottagecore: an 18th-century Cotswolds barn nails the trend

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.

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.

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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.

‘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.

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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.

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.

View Lisa’s pieces at edit58.com; @edit.58.
This is an edited extract from CREATE: At Home with Old & New, by Ali Heath, published by Mitchell Beazley, £30