Dalrymple Studio and Barr Joinery dovetail on country estate project

DESIGN: Dalrymple Studio

PHOTOGRAPHY: Kensington Leverne

STYLIST: Milly Bruce

Dalrymple Studio are deeply focused on each client’s lifestyle and needs, projects are handpicked and run on an individual client-by-client basis. Having worked to their stunning bespoke cabinetry designs for previous projects, the Barr Joinery team knew they were in for a treat (and a challenge!) when contacted with a full cabinetry brief for 16,000 sq ft of wonderful country estate buildings.

As well as reconfiguring and renovating the main house, Dalrymple Studio designed and project managed the restoration (including major structural works) of three other estate buildings. The coach house, the party barn and the flint barn would each become a standalone habitable entity with its own unique character but linked through carefully considered usability and functional flow.

"The house and outbuildings really work together," says Amy Dalrymple. "Nothing stands out as being too different. Feet up on sofas, children can go anywhere, everyone can feel at home here."

A stunning library unit takes centre stage in the main house drawing room, backed with stunning Pierre Frey ‘Jardins Secrets’ wallpaper. Manufactured from pippy oak, its gorgeous markings come about through the tree’s natural response to a challenging environment (specifically, the gnawing of cattle and deer – the wonderful outcome of a natural phenomenon!). In the same room a secret mini bar, with an antique mirrored back and marble top, is concealed within the panelling.

In the all-important playroom, a full wall of bespoke shelving and storage includes a built-in reading nook and TV aperture. Fluted door and drawer fronts with aged bronze edge pull handles are accented with the wild and wonderful ‘Trematonia’ wallpaper by House of Hackney, and hand-painted in Benjamin Moore’s smokey blue ‘Nocturnal Gray’.

Adjoined to the main house is a stunning orangery-style poolroom, where panelled changing rooms include bespoke towel storage and cabinets featuring bespoke scalloped detailing and pretty petal-shaped vent cutouts.

Upstairs, ‘his and hers’ dressing rooms in the main suite are designed for the individuals using them. The wardrobes for ‘hers’, shown below, feature bespoke fabric panels by the hugely talented textile artist Claire Coles. Her textured linen, with layers of hand-cut faux suedes and hand-painted foliage, gives the fabric a lifelike feel. “Beautifully hand painted and stitched by Claire, the panel design mirrors the dancing cow parsley and grasses in our client’s beautiful garden and grounds outside,” says Amy, Dalrymple Studio. The ‘his’ side features a main study, complete with ceiling-height shelving and a rolling library ladder.

Across the courtyard, the coach house has become the estate’s primary guest residence. Mirroring joinery in the main house, the main living area features a tall pippy oak laddered library unit featuring ‘Scrolling Fern Frond’ wallpaper by Sloane Britain, which cleverly transitions into traditional bespoke panelling. A task not for the fainthearted joiner, the fine-mitred stained oak edge crisply meets the white hand-painted panelling it abuts.

At the far end of the coach house, traditional Barr Kitchens Shaker-style cabinetry nods to that in the main house. Open shelving, a tall larder cupboard and over-counter glazed cabinets are adorned with bold brass ironmongery and set against pretty chequerboard plaster and white tiles. “The coach house transformation was about celebrating its incredible ceiling height and maximising every millimetre of living space,” says Amy. “The bespoke panelling which encases the bedroom and bathroom wraps perfectly into the library bookcase.”

Just a stone’s throw away, the beautiful flint barn has been painstakingly brought back to life. Inside and out, heritage restoration works, overseen by the Dalrymple team, ensured that this stunning heritage treasure would survive for many years to come. A true haven for staff, extra kids, and overflow guests alike, this was a place where the boldest of palettes could be strikingly deployed. The Barr Kitchens cabinetry is unapologetically and gloriously hand-painted in Little Greene’s ‘Tuscan Red’, set against a ‘Racing Green’ Rangemaster. Bespoke tongue-and-groove detailing for the cushioned bench seat and blocky cooker hood add homely character, with the stoney whites providing the cool backdrop needed to ensure maximum pop!

Barr Joinery were happily commissioned to make the most important frivolity of the whole project... the party barn bar. A workshop-made former was copper-wrapped and attached to the hand-painted raised and fielded oak panels with antique brass supporting brackets, accompanied by a matching antique brass footrail. Brass glass rails and a distressed mirrored back panel are stunningly lit by inset lighting, by Maxwell Barlow. Behind the bar, an antique door leads to the catering kitchen and concealed plant room.

Barr Joinery also found themselves with the unconventional add-on commission of deconstructing a treasured shuffleboard to give it a bespoke hand-painted finish, and then carefully piecing it back together. We are pleased to report that everything went back in the right place!

“We always feel privileged to work with Dalrymple Studio,” says Lucy White, Barr Joinery and Barr Kitchens General Manager. “In this case, for a client who was hugely engaged in the complete restoration of his country estate and confident in the use of bold colour, extravagant pattern, and texture. His passion for music and entertaining, all wrapped up in a wonderfully busy family environment, really came through in the overall scheme.”