Liliya Salakhutdinova used her creative skills to the full when she reinvented a lacklustre country house interior with vibrant ideas drawn from her childhood
FEATURE AMANDER MEADE PHOTOGRAPHY RACHAEL SMITH
The chandelier was purchased at Christie’s. The silk cushions are all by Anor Living.
The process of creating a characterful family home has been filled with enriching learning experiences for Liliya Salakhutdinova. The founder of fashion and lifestyle brand Anor Living, Liliya drew upon her design instincts as well as her huge passion for colour when she moved with her husband from London to Somerset 13 years ago. Since the couple’s move, they have become parents to two children. “We agreed it was the right time to move out of the city to raise our family in a more rural setting,” she says.
Finding the right home, however, proved more of a challenge. Liliya and her husband focused their search on the West Country, due to its commutable distance to the capital, but the elusive ‘this is the one’ feeling evaded them until they viewed a striking Grade II listed former rectory. “I immediately felt a strong emotional connection with the house and often feel I must have lived here in a previous life,” Liliya says. Selling their former property took much longer than expected so hopes of her dream home still being available had all but disappeared, until 12 months later, when the vendor rang unexpectedly to ask if they were still interested. “Of course, we were, and had just sold our own house, so the timing was perfect,” says Liliya.
Designed by renowned English architect, Charles Edward Davis and built in 1836 for the second son of the Earl of Cork, Liliya’s new home immediately provided her with a constant source of pleasure as she immersed herself in learning as much as she could about its rich history. Although the existing decor was a little uninspiring, she was not in a hurry to begin redecorating, choosing instead to take her time to get to know the house thoroughly. “Structurally everything was in good condition, so no major building work was required,” she explains. “I needed to live in the house for several months to fully understand how we would use the rooms and how the light moved around the space before I could consider which colours would work best.”
Colourful surroundings are vitally important to Liliya and are a priority for both her work in sustain
