Collectivevision

An abundance of fairy lights and natural foliage set the festive scene in the drawing room, where the family relax after Christmas lunch. The sofa and coffee table are from Jamb, the antique mirror was sourced by Dunning and Everard and the oak leaf and acorn chandelier is by Richard Taylor.

Although they purchased their Hampshire home in 2014, it was clear from the start that Rebecca and Rob Stirling’s ambitious plans to reimagine the space for modern living would take time to accomplish. “We could immediately see how the house could be transformed, but there was a great deal to tackle before we could even think about decor,” says Rebecca. As well as a tired and dated interior, the entire property required rewiring, replumbing and reroofing. “There were three different hot water systems, and someone had grafted a copper pipe onto a plastic hot water tank, which melted and caused a massive flood, so there was plenty of costly reparation to undertake initially.”

The couple decided to address the renovation and redesign as a single project. After meticulous planning, work began in November 2019, taking 18 months to complete. “Although we planned to live here full time, we remained in our London property during the heavy work,” says Rebecca. “We had an excellent team of builders and tradespeople, with our architect project managing for us. Every weekend we looked forward to driving down to see what progress had been made.”

Once the structural work was complete, Rebecca and Rob could turn their attention to the excitement of planning a new interior. “We had a pretty clear idea of how we wanted the house to look,” says Rebecca. “It is Grade II listed, with lots of original features, so we wanted to make the most of these while injecting a contemporary country feeling, and we knew a professional designer would help us achieve the cohesive look we hoped for.”

The couple chose four designers whose work they admired and invited them to visit the site to discuss their portfolios. Among them was Stephanie Dunning, who founded design firm Dunning and Everard with her husband Peter Everard. “With over 30 years’ experience, Stephanie had some suggestions which were too compelling to ignore,” explains Rob. “She listened carefully t