When Tiffy Rook first heard that the rectory, in the Essex village where her parents-in-law live, was for sale, she dismissed the idea of buying it as a dream unlikely to be fulfilled. She and her husband Will had recently been gazumped on a beautiful house in Hampshire, and the whole experience had coloured their view of the property market. However, despite her doubts the estate agent persuaded Tiffy to take a look at the house.


“She said she had the perfect house for us. It was within commuting distance for Will's job in London, but it would apparently need a lot of work,” recalls Tiffy. “I had reservations, but the agent persuaded me to look anyway, and before I was halfway down the drive I had a weird feeling that it was going to be my home.”

Built in the early 1700s, the house had originally been part of the Moyns Park estate. Over the years it had fallen into disrepair, so when Tiffy saw it, it had become a major restoration project. With three young children – Alexander, 11; Hugo, eight; and Jemima, three – this could have been difficult, but fortunately the children settled into village life immediately, so Tiffy could get on with things.


“We moved in knowing we would be camping for at least a year,” she says. “We had to strip the house and build it back up again, which meant weeks of no water or electricity.” Tiffy chose to work directly with the builders, only employing an architect at the start, to gain the relevant planning permissions. Once the building work was finally completed, the more enjoyable process of decorating the house could begin.

Although she had developed a substantial interior decorating sourcebook from doing up her previous home in London, Tiffy was thrilled to discover new sources while working on the rectory. One of her finds was Coblands Farm Antiques, where she was able to indulge her love of bargains and quirky yet beautiful things, such as the low bench in the hall, which Tiffy had covered in old car leather. “It's a complete treasure trove and it became a compulsive place for me to visit looking for things to fill all the gaps in the house as I went along.”


Lots of what Tiffy calls her grown-up pieces came from her mother, including a delicate portrait of her ancestor Gwendolen Leycester above the fireplace. Other works of art include a painting by Tiffy's grandmother of a man holding a lobster, which hangs in the garden room. Elsewhere, a coat of arms in the family room, and the top-hat box in the guest bathroom, belonged to Tiffy's grandfather Hugh Leycester, one-time High Sheriff of Huntingdon. All add a wonderful sense of character and heritage to the rectory's interior design scheme.
Although the builders have long since left, Tiffy still finds new pieces for the house and feels the interior will never be completely finished. For the time being though, her eye for detail and passion for design are helping her with her new business venture – a mail-order fashion company called Box in the Post. “There are a few boutiques around here but we felt there was the need for something more,” she says. So, with friend Emma Kirby, she is creating a range of clothes, aimed at women whose lives revolve around their children, a part-time job and socialising.


Now that the rectory provides the perfect backdrop for both family life and Tiffy's new business, she has few regrets about losing the house in Hampshire.

FEATURE SARAH CARTLEDGE
PHOTOGRAPHS MIKE DAINES
APRIL 2005

SOURCEBOOK
FABRICS Osborne & Little, (020) 7352 1456.
FURNITURE Andrew Martin, (020) 7225 5100. Ann Boyd, (020) 7591 0202. Baileys Home and Garden, (01989) 561931. Coblands Farm Antiques, (01440) 820007. The Conran Shop, (020) 7723 2223.
LIGHTING Graham & Green, (020) 7727 4594. Habitat, (0845) 601 0740. Ikea, (01708) 860868. India Jane, (020) 7730 1070.
PAINT The Paint & Paper Library, (020) 7823 7755.
WALLPAPER Neisha Crosland, (020) 7584 7988. Osborne & Little, (020) 7352 1456.