Awards Announcement
The results are in. Congratulations to this year’s winner and to our very highly commended runners-up
Back in May, when we began the search for this year’s Period Living Home of the Year, we never imagined we would receive so many outstanding entries from readers who have put their hearts and souls, and bucket-loads of elbow grease, into renovating and decorating period homes of all shapes and sizes.
The stories of your various renovation journeys have made for fascinating reading, and it has been a privilege to see photos of the finished projects. We found it very difficult to choose just one overall winner from so many strong entrants, and our runners-up couldn’t have been closer. Congratulations to them all. Here we reveal the winner and runners-up, all of which will be featured in future issues of the magazine…
HOME OF THE YEAR
After living and working in London for many years, Laura Padovani was searching for a country home for herself and her two dogs. As the Covid-19 pandemic struck, it proved the best decision she’d ever made. She got the keys to her Georgian home just before the first lockdown, and began to transform the house, room by room, even adding a further orangery-style conservatory at the back of the property. ‘A keen collector of antiques, brocante and ceramics, Laura has furnished her house in a modern country style and with unusual colour combinations that really stop you in your tracks,’ explains contributing editor Karen Darlow. ‘I honestly can’t decide which is my favourite room here – there is something special about each and every one of them. Laura’s home is a very well-deserved winner of our Home of the Year Award 2023.’
RUNNERS-UP
When Naomi Stuart took on her pretty two-bedroom cottage near Hemel Hempstead, many of its original period features were missing. She gradually brought the cottage back to life and restored its characterful charm by stripping the wooden floors and beams, adding salvaged cast-iron fireplaces, and opening up the kitchen. Acting editor Rachel Crow says: ‘Naomi has painstakingly restored this pretty cottage, turning it into a stylish and welcoming home, surrounded by a flowery cottage garden. Her a
