SUSSEX COTTAGE
Antiques dealer Minnie Craske has decorated her home with a mix of soft neutral tones and natural textures, to create the perfect backdrop for her most precious finds
A love of Scandinavian design, both old and new, has been the catalyst for many of Minnie Craske’s life decisions –most significantly, her passion for sourcing and selling the most captivating Swedish antiques she could find. She sold small pieces in her three shops, and traded larger furniture by appointment at her former home, aVictorian villa in Tunbridge Wells, Kent.
But seven years ago, adramatic change in the fortunes of the high street, paired with soaring business rents, led to acreative rethink for Minnie and her husband, Peter. The decision: to downsize both home and business. ‘At the time, we had just closed our shops and had been inviting customers to our home to view furniture for sale, so our home was acting as our temporary showroom while we looked for anew shop,’ Minnie says.
Needing to be acommutable distance to their teenage children’s schools in Tunbridge Wells, the pair started their search, finally unearthing a gem of a property in nearby East Sussex. ‘Peter actually found the house online,’ explains Minnie of the property that came with asurprising bonus. ‘It had abeautiful double-fronted shop as well as alovely Georgian cottage within the same building, so it was the perfect fit for us,’ she says.
The shop is accessed via adoor from the hallway, meaning home and business can run in unison. And much to Minnie’s delight, there was also aworkshop that doubles as invaluable storage. Amodern rustic-style barn room forms the extension to the back of the cottage where the original barn/stable would have been, and it leads directly onto asecluded garden. ‘It is the prettiest courtyard garden and areal sun trap in the summer,’ she says.
Humble in its design, and dating back to the early 1800s, the Georgian part of the property has plenty of original period details. The simplicity of this interior architecture appealed to Minnie, as she knew it would suit her preferred palette of colours and could create an elegant backdrop for her collection of antique pieces.
‘I love Scandinavian interiors, especially Swedish, so that influences my love of light, simple schemes,’ says Minnie. ‘Most of our furniture is antique Swedish, with some French, too so we wanted the décor to complement these. The use of cream, white and neutral tones throughout the house gives it continuity and awonderful feeling of space.’
Without any major
