Honey-coloured stone walls, rolling hills, flora and fauna… so far, so Cotswolds. But step inside the 18th-century farmhouse conversion that is home to Laura Butler-Madden, 45, interior designer turned founder of fine-fragrance brand Grove England, and the similarities end.
‘It’s mid-century modern meets English country charm,’ she says of the space she shares with her photographer husband Patrick, 49, their daughter Lily, seven, and Maltese terrier Lola.
The new open-plan kitchen extension features orangery-style arched windows. A secret pantry area is concealed behind the kitchen and houses the couple’s fridge freezer and dishwasher, as well as further storage. The sofas are from B&B Italia.
The property comprises a house, a bothy and a garage that were all once part of a working farm but had been left untouched for 50 years and looked tired.
‘It had been lived in and loved by one family for two generations,’ says Butler-Madden, who viewed the space with Patrick in late 2021 after their own cottage began to feel cramped: ‘It had a higgledy-piggledy layout that hadn’t been modernised.’ The farmhouse was slightly over budget, but they couldn’t resist its high ceilings, generous proportions and sprawling garden. ‘We didn’t have to rip anything out,’ she says. ‘The bones were all there, it just needed a few modern touches.’
At Grove Farm, Laura grows much of the household’s fruit and veg, such as artichokes, leeks and potatoes. It was the inspiration for her fine-fragrance brand, Grove England.
By January 2022, the couple had the keys and a nine-month renovation began. The property was classified as a working farm, so it wasn’t listed, ‘Gold dust for the Cotswolds, where it feels like everything is listed,’ says Butler-Madden. She made an outbuilding into a new kitchen, dining and pantry area, featuring orangery-style windows and modern swathes of glass across the ceiling and floor-to-ceiling windows that draw the sky and scenery inside.
The en-suite bathroom features the piece of resistance of the Dover White marble shower.
‘Cotswold houses are generally cosy, but we wanted to open up the space as an architectural feature filled with light,’ she says. The pantry area is cleverly tucked behind a dividing wall in the extension to hide functional items such as the coffee machine, fridge freezer and cooking utensils. ‘It’s our secret clutter zone.’
The rest of the house remains largely untouched, save for a few savvy reconfigurations. The old kitchen was transformed into a home bar and downstairs WC; the drawing room became the main bedroom; the dairy was reimagined as a laundry room; and the guest bedroom gave way to an en-suite bathroom after Butler-Madden put in an archway between the two spaces. Original features, including ceiling beams, internal doors, staircase and dado rails, have been sensitively restored or repainted in the calming neutral shades reflective of the Cotswolds countryside.
The banquette dining area in the kitchen extension is wrapped in swathes of glass to pull the view inside. The table and chairs are from rh.com.
Despite the muted colour palette, Butler-Madden wove in a few unexpected showstoppers throughout. These include the sculptural shower crafted from Dover White marble in the en-suite bathroom (‘Gwyneth Paltrow has the same marble in her home bar’), and custom burl-wood pieces including a TV unit and bed frame. ‘These may seem extravagant, but I’ll keep them forever,’ she says. There’s also a Scandiborn cabin bed in Lily’s room, complete with a slide. ‘When I was Lily’s age, I wanted a four-poster bed and a white poodle, so I think I got off lightly there!’
Originally the drawing room of the farmhouse during the 1960s, the main bedroom now has an adjoining en-suite bathroom after Laura opened up the space. The burl-wood bed frame, bedside cabinet and dressing table were designed by Laura and made bespoke. For similar pieces try sohohome.com.
These hero pieces are paired with preloved items such as a drinks cabinet found at a Talisman warehouse sale and kept in the family for over ten years; colourful artwork painted by Patrick’s mother; and the ‘conversation piece’ circular sofa, left by the previous owners and reupholstered in cream velvet. ‘They were used for courting couples in the 19th century,’ says Butler-Madden. ‘Two people would sit on a “conversation piece” with a chaperone.’
Three of the family’s four chickens – Whiskers, Pucci, Cashmere and Cadbury – who live on Grove Farm and supply the house with fresh eggs.
Whimsical touches are peppered throughout – a vase with a moustache, a cushion with eyes, and the naked-lady wallpaper in the downstairs WC. Says Butler-Madden, ‘It’s the little things that add personality without being over the top.’
Disclaimer: This news article has been republished exactly as it appeared on its original source, without any modification.
We do not take any responsibility for its content, which remains solely the responsibility of the original publisher.
Author:
Published on: 2025-10-25 11:01:00
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
