Mimi Pickard tried southern London twenty years ago. “My husband Ed and I have three children and we liked the idea that our children go to school in the country,” she says. So it was Kismet when some friends mentioned that they might be interested in selling their house near Guildford in Surrey (about 30 miles southwest of London).
The three hectare plot on the edge of a picturesque village with a charming pub in the neighborhood was with everything Mimi was looking for: a remote location, a Bukolian view and a beautiful garden. The only thing her break gave was the farmhouse from the late 1920s. “Overall, it was well built with a good foundation, and the house had a nice, happy atmosphere, but I didn't loved it,” she says. “It only took a few years of renovation work to make the house itself our own.”
This process was to put down many walls to penetrate more natural light, to reorganize spaces for a better river and to maximize the view in all rooms. The unhindered view of the garden and the neighboring fields also inspired a shift in the taste of Mimi. Over the years, she replaced her conservative neutral with bright colors.
Years of working with nature proved to be particularly fertile. After their children had grown, Mimi decided to combine her love for textiles and nature in her own business: Mimi Pickard English Textiles. Your English-Kopryside-inspired collection of background images and fabrics has a number of posies, birds and trees as well as stripes and geometric designs.
While her goods are now being sold in cities all over England, Australia and the USA, Mimi has no plans to leave the place that has made everything possible. “I love how getting my own designs even gave this old house a new life,” she says. In addition, she could never be removed too far from three horseshoes, his favorite pub nearby. Mimi says: “They serve a delicious Sunday brunch, and that is very important for us British!”
Tour more from Mimis House below:
ENTRY
The entrance flows seamlessly into a living area thanks to Sisal carpets and walls, which are covered by Peggy Angus for Blithfield.
KITCHEN
The EAT-in kitchen is a contrast made of creamy colors and black granite slabs with a splash of pink about window treatments in “Charlie Stripe” by Mimi Pickard.
Mutroom
What was once the “boot room” is now a cloakroom on the ground floor. Mimi added tongue and useful watercoting cladding and “Angelica” wallpaper from her collection.
Bedroom & bathroom
The same floral wallpaper (“Hatley” by Cabbages & Roses) appears both in the bedroom and in the adjacent bathroom. “The right wallpaper lets the two rooms flow better. My mother always did the same, so I copied it,” says Mimi. The chair in the bathroom, which belonged to the mimis grandma, is reorganized in a Jane Churchill Plaid. The bed consists of a variety of crispy bed linen from the white company and pillows that are covered with a number of antique fabrics. An old Wicker side table was refreshed with a layer Farrow & Ball's slipper -satin.
External
Life in the English landscape requires a dog – in this case, English jumper Spaniel Lola – and a garden. “When it came to gardening, I was not a natural talent. When we moved here, I had to bother my mother very much and she really helped me.”