A PASTORAL PLAYGROUND
Veranda|September - October 2023
Out of an ancestral millhouse, designer MARY GRAHAM raises a new family home in the country, alive with checks, florals, and ruffles
JO RODGERS
A PASTORAL PLAYGROUND

CRUNCHING OVER GRAVEL toward a gray, pebble dash millhouse on an exposed slope above the River Ure, set in traditional farmland in the north of England, Mary Graham prepared to see her soon-to-be home. She and her husband, Sam, had known the house at a distance for years-Sam's parents have a farmhouse half a mile away, and his uncle Sir James Graham lives at Norton Conyers, a nearby estate with Dutch-style gables that might have inspired Thornfield Hall in Jane Eyre. "There are cousins and other Grahams tucked everywhere and have been since 1624. It would have been a great surprise if we'd gone anywhere else," says Mary, cofounder of the London-based interior design firm Salvesen Graham with partner Nicole Salvesen. The house had been let to tenants by Sam's parents, and it wasn't until he and Mary were chewing over a move from south London to Yorkshire, in the winter of 2018, that they stood in the frowsy front hall and saw rocks ahead.

This story is from the September - October 2023 edition of Veranda.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the September - October 2023 edition of Veranda.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM VERANDAView All
Social Study
Veranda

Social Study

In the Chicago suburbs, a convivial family home is reimagined with intoxicating color, wild florals, and a sweeping two-story library-secret doors included.

time-read
5 mins  |
January - February 2025
Building DRAMA
Veranda

Building DRAMA

IN A STORIED UPPER EAST SIDE APARTMENT, CHAIRISH COFOUNDER ANNA BROCKWAY TURNS UP THE HEAT WITH HIGH-VOLTAGE COLOR AND AN ULTRACHIC VINTAGE HAUL.

time-read
4 mins  |
January - February 2025
STORYTELLERS in Residence
Veranda

STORYTELLERS in Residence

Interior designer Stephanie Sabbe pens a new chapter for a Nashville author's guesthouse, creating a writer's cabin with muses stretching over centuries.

time-read
3 mins  |
January - February 2025
ELECTRIC REGENCY
Veranda

ELECTRIC REGENCY

Glamour, symmetry, and a bookish emerald study: In Richmond, Suzanne Kasler and Carter Skinner usher in a new era of bravado for so-called neutrals.

time-read
3 mins  |
January - February 2025
A Bold REWRITE
Veranda

A Bold REWRITE

Designer Guy Oliver changes the narrative of a late 19th-century London townhouse to showcase exquisite art and literature and exude an ageless sense of comfort.

time-read
3 mins  |
January - February 2025
Handwriting HISTORY
Veranda

Handwriting HISTORY

WITH THE OPENING OF A NEW IMMERSIVE MUSEUM IN GERMANY, MONTBLANC CELEBRATES THE ART OF PENMANSHIP ACROSS TIME AND CULTURE.

time-read
1 min  |
January - February 2025
ONCE UPON AN ODYSSEY
Veranda

ONCE UPON AN ODYSSEY

While sailing the Antarctic, a writer makes a thrilling discovery: an EXTRAORDINARY SHIP'S LIBRARY assembled with an explorer's heart.

time-read
4 mins  |
January - February 2025
The Drintmakers WORKSHOP
Veranda

The Drintmakers WORKSHOP

Venetian studio BOTTEGA DEL TINTORETTO conjures the creative spirit of its namesake Italian Renaissance painter, one hand-bound book at a time.

time-read
2 mins  |
January - February 2025
GOOD on PAPER
Veranda

GOOD on PAPER

Using traditional Philippine techniques and recycled magazines and newsprint, Lori Weitzner champions the powers of page and plant with wallcoverings crafted entirely by hand.

time-read
2 mins  |
January - February 2025
Etched in TIME
Veranda

Etched in TIME

Patek Philippe's new rose gold Retrograde Perpetual Calendar draws upon the sweeping scrolls, foliage, and volutes of a classic antique pocket watch.

time-read
1 min  |
January - February 2025