No.7
The beautiful Welsh countryside was the inspiration for Sally Latto’s pared-back decorating schemes
After house-hunting for three years, Sally Latto and James Brook knew they’d have to compromise to find their dream home. After discovering a charming 17th-century five-bedroom cottage in 2001, the trade-off was the unappealing mock Tudor double garage within the garden. Luckily the rural setting in Monmouthshire offered enough appeal to compensate.
‘The garage was a complete eyesore,’ says Cardiff-born Sally, a former banker who now works as a teaching assistant. ‘We always knew we were going to do something with it, but our use for it kept changing.’
With their attentions focused on the main house, the project remained on the back burner for many years until 2019 when planning permission was granted to demolish it and create a new structure using the same footprint.
Initially their ideas were geared towards children, Joe and Poppy, now 19 and 20. ‘We wanted a shower room as Joe plays rugby, and somewhere for them to play table tennis,’ says Sally. ‘But then they went to university and our plans kept escalating.’
In the end, the pair maximised the plot’s potential with a two-storey ‘upside down’ house with kitchen, bedroom and en suite on the lower floor, allowing them to create a first floor living/dining space with sloped ceiling that makes the most of the views. ‘My husband, who works in finance, uses the top floor as an office three days a week,’ says Sally. ‘And the rest of the time it’s handy for hosting visiting guests or for p
