No.4
The call of the countryside led Linda More-Burrows and her husband Patrick to a centuries-old cottage in need of some tender loving care
HOME TRUTHS
Cottage dating back to the 17th century and connecting barn
Sitting room, reading room, kitchen-diner, utility room, four bedrooms, two bathrooms
Buckinghamshire
Linda Morey-Burrows, founder of design practice MoreySmith, and husband Patrick were happy living in London after several years splitting their time between Bath and the capital while raising a family. ‘We had lived and worked in London for almost 20 years when we decided to relocate to Bath for our children,’ Linda explains. ‘We bought an office in central Bath and stayed in London two nights a week to work at the studio.’ After nine years, with the children having left home, a permanent return to the city beckoned. Then lockdown struck. ‘We had just finished renovating our London home, and with only a small terrace, like many others in the city, we felt trapped. We love to walk and cycle and we knew we really needed more time in the countryside.’
The pair searched online and found a property nestled in the pretty Buckinghamshire countryside, not a million miles from their work in London, but offering the rural life they craved. ‘When visiting, we saw a goldfinch in the garden and I knew that was a sign that the place would be ours,’ laughs Linda. ‘There was plenty of potential with the property, which required significant renovations. And we fell in love with the area, including the surrounding woods and rivers, the garden and wildlife.’
Rather misleadingly referred to as The Cottage, the house is a magnificent, yet sympathetic, restoration that includes a showstopping kitchen – this benefits from a voluminous roof space, thanks to the clever amalgamation of the existing house with the connecting barn. The barn once housed livestock, before being used as a coal store, and was totally open to the elements, a far cry from its current state.
‘Originally, we’d planned o
