‘I’d always dreamt of this house’

With its wisteria-clad walls and pleasing symmetry, this pretty Cornish farmhouse was just like the one Madeleine Olivia had dreamt of living in for years.

She and her husband Alex had been looking to upgrade from their small miner’s cottage in Cornwall, and were searching for a home that would give them more space both inside and out. Not only did the old farmhouse have two extra bedrooms, but it was a perfect match for Madeleine’s dream ideal home.

‘It looked exactly like the house I’d had on my Pinterest board for years,’ she says. ‘It was symmetrical, like a doll’s house, with sash windows, and had wisteria growing all over the back wall. I’d always dreamt of that.’

With demand for properties in Cornwall still riding high after the Covid pandemic, Alex and Madeleine knew they would have to move fast to secure the house and six months later they were in. Now it was just a question of filling it with their own style.

Updating the kitchen

‘The kitchen was perfect,’ says Madeleine. ‘It was open-plan to the dining room, with a fireplace and Aga – a real farmhouse kitchen.’

It was also light and spacious. This was important because as a content creator, and author of the Make it Vegan cookbook, Madeleine would be using the space for filming and trying out her recipes.

The transformation of their home started in the kitchen, where they redecorated and painted kitchen cabinets in Green 09, by Lick, which complements the room’s simple aesthetic.

‘As cooking is my passion as well as my job, I have a lot more kitchenware and food to store than most people,’ says Madeleine, ‘so we got a carpenter to build in extra cupboards.’

When they fitted their new double oil-fired Aga range cooker, the couple left the original farmhouse fireplace complete with its blackened stonework exposed.

Vintage kitchenalia and accessories, such as the classic airer, add character and complete the country kitchen look.

Madeleine gave a kitchen dresser she had found on Facebook Marketplace a makeover with the Green 02 paint by Lick to tie in with the cabinetry colour. She uses it to keep tableware and linens close to hand and display her selection of vintage chinaware.

Asking the carpenter to build a window seat next to the dining room cupboards proved to be an inspired decision.

‘I worried at first that I wouldn’t use it enough,’ says Madeleine, ‘but I sit there with a coffee every morning, looking out at the garden. I love it.’

The woodburner set into the original stone fireplace ensures the kitchen diner feels cosy all year round.

Adding colour

The property had been well looked after but the couple were keen to put their own stamp on it. ‘It wasn’t run-down, but as you’d expect from an old farmhouse, it needed some TLC,’ explains Madeleine.

She started to look at the décor. ‘The interiors here were all very neutral and that didn’t feel quite right. It was as though the house itself was inspiring me to branch out with more colour.’

Madeleine repainted the walls and woodwork in the hallway in a cool blue shade. As a hallway storage idea, she added a storage bench with coat pegs above – all painted in the same pale blue.

Creating cosy spaces

‘As we moved into the house in the winter, our priorities were to fix the chimneys and get the wood burners up and running again,’ says Madeleine.

Every inch of this country living room’s compact footprint is put to good use, with shelving fitted into the alcoves. Madeleine painted the woodwork in Green 02 by Lick and the walls in Farrow & Ball’s Slipper Satin.

A second-hand sofa found on eBay, mixed cushions and a vintage rug add to the comfortable and cosy feel.

Calming bedroom schemes

Madeleine and Alex introduced more colour and pattern to the upstairs rooms.

‘I’ve always loved William Morris and traditional styles, and I’m drawn to florals, patterns and decorative details, such as tassels,’ says Madeleine.

For the main bedroom, the couple tried wallpapering for the first time so had to learn how to hang wallpaper.

‘The room is lopsided, as with many period homes, and we had to use a plumb line and keep correcting the joins, but it was so worth it. I love it in there now. It feels so relaxing and it’s like falling asleep in a garden,’ says Madeleine.

The design for the bedroom wallpaper is Clementine from Sanderson, featuring birds and butterflies for an elegant country-house feel.

To pick out the colourway in the wallpaper design the skirting and picture rail were painted in Farrow & Ball’s Lulworth Blue.

The guest rooms are north-facing, and the new pale pink and rich-green colour schemes instantly add warmth, with myriad patterns in soft furnishings adding depth and interest.

The finishing touches for all the rooms came in the shape of some skilfully curated antiques and vintage pieces, with some lucky finds from local charity shops. Madeleine has the happy knack of picking out just the right hero piece to bring character to every space.

‘Each room has its own personality and feeling,’ she says. ‘And now I’ve added some lovely old furniture it makes our new interiors appear like they have been lived in for years. I don’t think the farmhouse would feel the same if it didn’t have antiques in it.’

Tranquil bathroom

The bathroom has a contemporary-style freestanding bath as a centrepiece, with metro tiles from Topps Tiles, patterned floor tiles and a marble-topped vanity unit to complete the luxurious look. A natural jute runner provides a hint of rustic style. The elegant Scallop wall light is from Jim Lawrence.

Outdoor makeover

The outside space has undergone its own makeover too, with rotten decking across the back of the house replaced with a new limestone patio idea.

The coupe also converted the garage into a living room. They fixed the garage roof and added French doors that open onto the garden.

The picture-perfect result is just as Madeleine had always dreamt of.