Home Style: A Fresh Perspective

Downsizing takes careful consideration, but Sarah Jempson has created a comfortable new home for herself and husband Jonathan by combining their most-loved antiques and collections with new ideas and stylish finishes 

There’s more than a touch of serendipity in Sarah Jempson’s life. Take, for instance, the early Victorian round rosewood table in her sitting room. “My first husband bought this for £6 at a London auction almost 60 years’ ago, but then swapped it with my brother for an air rifle,” she recalled cheerfully. “The table then set off all over the world with him and his wife before it finally ended up in their new house nearby, where they simply didn’t have room for it. So, it has finally come back home to me, just as it was meant to...” 

A similar brush with fate can be applied to the mellow 18th century Sussex farmhouse that she and husband Jonathan now call home. “We were already familiar with this house because many years’ ago it belonged to people we knew,” she said. “Our children would come here to play with theirs. We always thought it was so pretty, but never imagined that one day we would actually live here.” 

In the intervening years, the house – built in the traditional red brick and tile-hung vernacular of this region – was to change ownership. But then, in 2020, the couple realised there was a possibility it might go on the market again, they wasted no time in speaking to the homeowner to register their interest. To their delight, their offer was accepted immediately. 

“We’d lived in our previous house for some 46 years and had always adored it, but it had simply become too big for the two of us,” explained Sarah. “I was spending so many hours every week in the enormous garden just trying to keep on top of it all. It felt very much that the time had come to make a change!” 

Their much-loved old home sold in just three days, and by August 2021, the farmhouse had become theirs. Fortuitously, an annexe had been attached to the property some years’ before, which meant that Sarah and Jonathan could make that their temporary home while the extensive farmhouse renovation took place. 

There was a lot to get on with. The property is Grade ll listed, so various stipulations were in place, but a top-to-toe renovation – from a new peg-tile roof to replacement floors throughout – was necessary. In addition, they also had plans for a new kitchen, upgraded bathroom and ensuite.

Sadly, despite the listing, no original characteristics remained inside the property. “It’s such a shame, but any internal features that may have once been here from the time the house was first built, are long gone,’ Sarah said. “This meant we really had to consider ways to inject some character, as well as make some of the recent additions more sympathetic to the overall scheme. 

“Our biggest concern about downsizing, though, was how to fit all the things we’ve collected and treasured over the years into a much smaller space so that it felt comfortable but not over-cluttered,” Sarah admitted. “We did have to be fairly decisive when we moved – I got rid of over 1000 books, for instance! But there are some things that will always be part of our lives, and absolutely had to stay.” 

These much-loved pieces include everything from family heirlooms to artwork and collections amassed over the years. “I get my love of antiques from my mother, I think,” said Sarah. “She was especially fond of good English furniture, such as mid-to-late 18th century oak and mahogany, but it wasn’t until I got a little older that I learnt to appreciate their qualities.” 

She laughed as she recalled that when she and Jonathan first met, he had no interest in antiques at all. “He’d furnished his entire bungalow with things he’d picked up in a junk shop one afternoon,” she laughed. “In the early days when we had a young family we made do with a lot of inexpensive pine, and it was some years before we could afford to replace it with more substantial items,” she continued. 

“Some people – unfairly, in my opinion! – call these antiques ‘brown furniture’, but I think there’s something very special about beautiful, well-crafted pieces that have stood the test of time, and have their own unique stories.” 

A case in point is the late 18th-century walnut desk in the sitting room. “This was my first serious investment,” Sarah recalled. “My lovely mother-in-law generously gave me some money for my birthday, and I went to the bank and borrowed some more, so I could buy it. It’s still my favourite piece, and I love sitting at it, imagining all the people who have done just the same over the centuries.” 

It was in those early days that Sarah also began to collect smaller items that appealed to her. There’s the sparkling collection of Victorian silver and glass bottles and containers now arranged on a shelf in the family bathroom for instance, and the Tunbridge Ware – little boxes madeof inlaid wood – which are displayed on various surfaces in the sitting room. “I am a bit of a butterfly when it comes to collections,” she admitted. “I’m drawn to all sort of different things, although if I’m trying to track down something in particular, I can get a bit obsessed, leaving no stone unturned!” 

Once the essential work had been completed, Sarah could finally turn her attention to the décor, calling on interior designer Amy Maynard to help her achieve the look and feel she wanted. “We’ve worked together on projects before, and Amy knows my tastes very well,” she said. “She fully understood the need to incorporate our furniture, artwork, rugs and so on into this new space, but also came up with clever suggestions to reinvigorate the overall scheme with beautiful colours, fabrics and finishes. It really was a collaborative process as we worked through our ideas together, and so satisfying to see it all come together.” 

“It’s funny,” reflected Sarah. “When the house was being renovated, Iwould walk through the rooms every day, carrying so many ideas around in my head as I imagined how it would eventually look: comfortable and familiar in many ways, but with a fresh new spin. It’s like the next chapter in our lives, and I’m so happy we’ve done it.” 

Photography: Richard Gadsby/Living4media

Words: Sharon Parsons/Living4media