Four years ago, the interior designer Jessica Summer received a rather inauspicious email from a client about a house renovation in the southeast English countryside. She was traveling and hadn’t replied straightaway; luckily, they emailed again, promising 'I’d want to get involved, Jessica says. A year and a half later and 'we were standing on this massive construction site with half the house missing and new walls going up'. It was only then that the client confessed 'she’d possibly undersold what a challenge it would be,' says Jessica

Having spent time in the wife’s family home during Covid with their four boys, the then London-based couple decided to decamp permanently to the Home Counties in the South East of England after taking over the house from her parents. Working in collaboration with Russell Taylor Architects, the plan was to add 30 percent more to the already substantial four-floor late 1800s house, including a big back extension with a fully glazed orangery, while also updating the interiors with fresh new schemes and finishes. 'It wasn’t in a terrible state, but having been done in the 90s, it was a bit dated,' Jessica recalls. 'It was the biggest project I’d undertaken at that time.'

'It didn’t feel like it needed the full country house treatment of patterns and whimsy,' says Jessica of its neat, chic feel that was more generous Belgravia townhouse than rambling country pile. So instead, the designer wove a sense of 'unfussy modernity' throughout the six bedrooms, four bathrooms, two dressing rooms and home office by pitting characterful antiques and luxurious textures that 'didn’t feel overly traditional' against a gentle backdrop of knocked-back, earthy hues echoing the natural shades of the rural landscape outside.

Restoring cornicing, architraves and skirting boards, while laying mottled English flagstones to complement the existing heavily patinated parquet flooring, 'added a lot more interest and depth to the flat, too crisp feel left over from the previous renovation,' the designer explains. A discerning empathy for marrying the past with the present stems from Jessica’s studies in interior and architectural history. 'It opened my eyes to the beauty of architecture and design,' she says.

Working tonally is essential to Jessica’s ethos. 'Many of the rooms are intentionally light on pattern, choosing to introduce stronger color through either the upholstery or curtains, not both,' she says. Here, long volumes of slubby matka silk, supple glazed linen and sumptuous cotton velvet 'read almost like elegant, fluted columns framing the windows and front door.'

Pattern, too, has been used sparingly so as not to interfere with the feeling of sanctuary; instead, it comes through personal effects such as waku (canoe) paddles and wall hangings decorated with Māori motifs, and textures such as rush, rattan, chunky jute and grainy or burr woods. Meanwhile, 'the power of antiques' sourced by Jessica, teamed with the family’s inherited pieces, brings a pleasing 'collected rather than curated feel.'

Stylish, robustly practical custom pieces elevate many of the rooms, like the cabinet-cum-bar (complete with mini fridge) in the orangery, the ebonized butler’s pantry fitted with a modern sink and Quooker tap, and double-sided central chest-of-drawers in the dressing room. 'We started to look for an old kitchen dresser and antique bar cabinet, but I just knew they needed to fit and function perfectly, so we had them made,' she says.

The same with lighting. 'Finding pairs of antique lights is always so difficult’ says Jessica; so alongside a few inherited crystal chandeliers, there are contemporary Hector Finch lanterns, Jamb sconces and antiqued iron oak leaf pendants in the dining space and orangery that 'really resonate with the views through the vast windows of the woodlands outside.'

The relaxed feeling in every room, despite the generous proportions, comes from Jessica’s belief that things shouldn’t look too tidy 'because the house had a neatness to it already that needed rustling up bit,' she says. Together, the effect is that 'everything works to deliver a wonderful, warm atmosphere', much like a cosseting – if sophisticated and timeless – hug.

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