Room of the Week: Austere, Meet Elevated

A sitting room ideal for gentry and farmhands alike

Photos by Viola De Photography.

There’s a subgenre of historical romance books in which the high-society heroine loses her inheritance/family/social standing and is forced to become a governess or paid companion out in a misbegotten rural community, where she finds first animosity but ultimately love with a farmhand, a groom, or someone else she’d never have interacted with in her previous life. This room by Siobhan Hayles Interiors is where I imagine they’d spend their evenings.

Amid the rustic beamed ceiling, flagstone floor, plaster fireplace, and wood lintels sit a pair of velvet sofas. As if the plush velvet upholstery weren’t luxurious enough, the sofas also have refined rolled arms and backs complemented with perfectly turned front legs. Between them stands a gold-and-shagreen cocktail table, simple in silhouette but so opulent in material.

Is this not the perfect pairing of austere and elevated, raw and refined?

Here it’s styled slightly differently, with a sheepskin atop the natural-fiber rug and a striped garden stool added as an occasional table. The sheepskins atop the side chair and the window seat add to the autumnal cosiness.

The symmetry, oddly enough, enhances both the minimalist rawness and the classic elegance. It’s not a perfect symmetry, of course, which adds to the room’s allure. Having each sofa a different colour is something one might not expect to work, but oh, it does. The variance between the window on the left and the nook on the right is similarly effective. Ditto the difference in the shades of those quirky sconces: The pair flanking the fireplace have glass shades, while the shades of those on the adjacent wall are fabric. A detail that could easily be missed but, once noticed, adds to the room’s individuality.

More symmetry appears behind the grey sofa, though again, the styling of the table and the presence of the staircase rather than a wall keep things from feeling predictable.

Now let’s look at the space in context with the dining area and kitchen, as this floor is open plan.

Even if, like me, you typically crave colour and pattern, this space satisfies as is. Some of it is due to the cornucopia of textures. Even more is due to the South Devon landscape just outside the doors. (By the way, this is a self-catering holiday let, should you want to experience it for yourself. I’ve never been, but I think I’d love to.)