It’s Autumn 2020. More than ever this year we are enjoying the Harvest Festivals, pumpkin picking, mushroom foraging, the chill in the air and even the rain on the Velux. Today we were treated to hundreds of leaves in a beautiful golden palette blowing off the trees all around us. It was so pretty, our young daughter was squealing!
So we thought it’s perfect timing to release our conversation with Gemma; who brings the Autumnal vibe into her home exceptionally well. Gemma owns the gorgeous independent homewares shop Wattle and Daub in Godlaming. She loves to create a unique home mixing old and new pieces which is right up our street.
Shere Kitchens Q: How do you design your home & how would you describe your interiors style?
Gemma, Wattle & Daub: I have designed the home by firstly considering how we use the spaces, plus trying to think about how the space will be used differently as the children change and require different things in the future. The house is set in a valley (more like dip) in Haslemere, so we are not blessed with brilliant light, so I have had to be more creative about how to use colour and lighting to bring more ambience and warmth to the rooms, where there isn’t the option to bring a sledge hammer and reconfigure the whole house, not that I even think that would make much difference.
Painting the rooms all white, although would make them feel brighter it wouldn’t bring any more light into the room. I think it’s really important that you have a flow throughout the house and that rooms are not designed and planned in isolation but considered as a whole, so that a coherent scheme can be created through style and colour. My own interior style is to mix new and old pieces, preferring to decorate in a rich palette of Autumnal tones. I love beautiful clutter arranged in different ways, and to mix different styles of distinctive and well-made pieces.
Shere Kitchens Q: Talk us through your kitchen layout
Gemma, Wattle & Daub: When we bought the house it had a galley style L-shaped kitchen, which we squared off with an extension, adding a skylight, picture window and bi-folding doors, using some of the space to create a utility room. We then opened up the kitchen into the living room by creating a wider than standard doorway, so that you could walk between both spaces. We bought an old door on e-bay to create a doorway would could be closed off to the living room if the need arises or the children happen to be eating on their laps in the living room and the whippets are trying to steal all their food.
Shere Kitchens Q: What made you choose Shaker style doors?
Gemma, Wattle & Daub: It is interesting how popular the shaker door is. When we first ripped out the kitchen and replaced with a new one, we chose a very contemporary door, just a flat surface with no handles, just a ridge. I had the doors ordered in a light grey colour, which shows you how much thought when into it. It was a rushed purchase and I didn’t live with it very long before painting the doors (it’s the dark green that was featured on the cover of Homes & Antiques). My paint job wasn’t the best, plus the green didn’t work as well with a light grey worktop, so we made the decision to replace the doors with a shaker-style which probably does suit the style of the property more in terms of look, and certainly all the salvaged objects that fill the room, but I still look back at the more contemporary door and wonder if I could have lived with it a little longer had I done a better paint job. I actually love the plywood doors and cupboards that shout simplicity, but obviously love the in-frame look using shaker style.
Shere Kitchens Q: We love wood, so we were thrilled to see you have incorporated quite a bit of it…talk us through your use of wood in your kitchen
Gemma, Wattle & Daub: I think where you can bring natural raw materials into a scheme, such as wood, concrete and stone for example, it adds such beautiful natural texture. We only had to consider the sink up against the wall, so I knew we could get away with using wood as a splashback, as it would not need to be wiped clean. Obviously, it would not have worked had we had the hob up against the wall. Sometime ago I found a company who produce 3d wall panelling. There are lots of different styles, however I ended up choosing a more rustic version.
Shere Kitchens Q: When you are designing your kitchen, is the period of your property important in your choices?
Gemma, Wattle & Daub: I think whenever decorating or redesigning a space you need to consider the overall style of a property to some extent. We live in a pretty cottage with some traditional features, so I have always wanted to work in conjunction with this, rather than fight against it. With salvaged pieces, it is easier to do this as you can choose pieces that reflect the style of the home, whilst mixing with more contemporary modern pieces.
Shere Kitchens Q: So now to the pink. How did you decide on your kitchen colour palette of pink & green?
Gemma, Wattle & Daub: Mr Wattle is amazing as he can put his hand to most DIY jobs, even though that is not a skill that is required in his ‘day’ job, so a lot of ideas that I have, he helps to bring them to life. I wouldn’t have been able to change this house in the way that I do, if I had to pay someone to do all these jobs every time I have an idea. I already had the green walls from when the kitchen had been painted in Obsidian green, and actually I do believe Mr Wattle did put his foot down and say that we couldn’t repaint the kitchen AGAIN if we were going to change the doors. Pink is a perfectly gorgeous colour to be combined with green, so the Sulking Room Pink had very recently been launched by Farrow & Ball, so it was an easy decision. The kitchen also has a touch of blue left over from another one of my previous schemes, so along with the green and some retro pieces, such as the day bed and dining room table it does not feel overly feminine.
Shere Kitchens Q: We know how much you love to paint. If you change the colours in your kitchen again what might you go for?
Gemma, Wattle & Daub: That is a good question and probably not one I should put in print, as otherwise a certain Mr Wattle may read it. The kitchen has been painted a total of 4 times in 5 years. It started Grey, then went to a gorgeous blue colour with grey cabinets, then to Green walls with green cabinets and then to the Green walls with pink cabinets. I love the idea of a completely natural wood kitchen, with much more muted tones, so I imagine it will be much more toned-down next time. Although an all gold kitchen does appeal!
Shere Kitchens Q: A lot of designers start with the floor … when you’re thinking of re-doing a room where do you start?
Gemma, Wattle & Daub: We did in fact start with the floor. There was never a huge budget for this renovation, but the floor is one of those areas that if you can spend a little more you will not regret it. We were really lucky that we were left with the old-style column radiators and gorgeous original wooden windows, so having these little features in the house help with the overall look.
Shere Kitchens Q: As an Interiors Shopkeeper you must get asked for interior design advice all the time…what are your top tip for kitchen design?
Gemma, Wattle & Daub: There are daily interior discussions at the shop which is great, it’s a place where others can seek inspiration but chat with like-minded folk who are all obsessed with the same thing . I will attempt to give a few tips; however I will caveat this advice with the fact that I did not take the time I should have done over this kitchen design. We did all of the planning for this extension prior to moving in, and I am very much a visual person, and due to lots of things going on at the time, I didn’t visit the house to walk through plans and working from extension drawings doesn’t feel me with much joy, (the reason I am not an interior design), so I did not take as much interest as I could have done, but at the time life was just a bit more chaotic than normal.
- If I had my way again I would have a utility room twice the size of what it is. I do not like clutter (unless it’s pretty clutter), so I like to be able to tidy everything away at the end of a day and have everything looking the way it should. I hope one day I will be able to spend the money on a bespoke kitchen (we designed and had one fitted for a previous house, which we completely loved, but moved house not long after having it was fitted).
- I would always think first and foremost how do you use the space as a family? I actually think our actual kitchen area could be bigger and is not really in proportion to the size of the whole room, clearing away the dishwasher is a speedy process as I can virtually reach all the cupboards as I stand at the dishwasher.
- Thinking through where the appliances are in relation to each other is important.
- How much prepping surface area do you have. By the time you have all your fancy appliances on show, you can lose quite a bit of surface area at that point, and a couple of us trying to cook a mindful chef meal can very easily lead to arguments.
- Choosing a classic style of kitchen which will stand the test of time will not be regretted.
- If you are choosing to invest in a bespoke kitchen then you will not be able to change it in the same way that I have changed my kitchen, other than a repaint, so choose wisely. Plus, the experts know what they are doing. I have never had the luxury of using a kitchen designer, but if you imagine they have seen many options and ideas, so they know what works and what does not work. I am sure I would have a very different layout if I had consulted an expert.
What features do you love about your kitchen?
Gemma, Wattle & Daub: I love that the space has different zones. Even though the space isn’t huge, it has somewhere to sit and read/chat with an informal seating area, plus the dining table to sit and eat, alongside the breakfast bar and the cooking area. It is the reason we spend so much time in the room, plus it is where we listen to music, which we all love.
Talk us through your dream bespoke kitchen….
Gemma, Wattle & Daub: I do love the kitchen we have, so that’s a good thing for now. If I would allow myself to dream a little, I would have
- A gorgeous bespoke kitchen made in wood, and likely leave it that way and finally put away the paint brush.
- Some gorgeous open shelves to house all my vintage cups, plates and cooper pans.
- Walls painted in a Bauwerk paint (I had it in the kitchen before, but it didn’t stay around for long enough).
- I would love to have a range cooker, which has one side for baking (I had one in a previous house, and it was rather lovely).
- A pantry and a wine cooler too. I don’t drink a lot of wine, but I always think they look rather lovely.
- We also had a large fridge freezer in our old kitchen, housed in a lovely bespoke cabinet, so that would be nice.
I may have to stop dreaming now, as I suddenly have an urge to go and add more images to my Kitchen Inspo on Pinterest.
What are your favourite accessories from your shop that you have in your own kitchen at the moment?
Gemma, Wattle & Daub: A favourite thing recently which did not make it to the house but went straight to the shop was a ceramic colander, it was a thing of beauty and useful too. It is interesting as things never stay around in the house or shop for too long. I like to change things up and rotate things around the house, other than photography it’s just about my favourite thing to do, although I have some favourite suppliers who I have been buying from since the beginning, I always choose different collections. I love ceramics, so these feature heavily at the shop in different colours and styles made by makers far and wide and I love to source one off pieces of furniture for people or to sell from the shop.
Gemma and her two whippets hang out at Wattle and Daub in the historic Church Street, Godalming; surrounded by all sorts of lovely things. Wattle & Daub create, source and salvage objects for the home, for folks to share as a gift or as a keepsake to add to their story.