The December woman

It’s clear that Liz Pierson lets her creative genes run riot at Christmas. Almost every room in the house is decorated for the season with fairy lights,  bunting, garlands and holly. There’s even a reindeer rug in front of the roaring fire.

It is a festive feast for the eyes and her grade two listed farmhouse, near Keighley, offers the perfect backdrop. The beams, exposed stone walls, wood burning stoves and beautiful rural views help set the scene for a perfect country Christmas.

“I love this time of year. I was born at Christmas and got married at Christmas. The decorations go up and the carols are playing on December 1,” says Liz, a former knitwear and accessories designer. Her passion for vintage and handmade items is evident everywhere, from the old-fashioned wooden sledge in the dining room, which is piled with presents, to the paper balls hanging from the sitting room ceiling.

Her mother-in-law knitted the nativity set, which is on the hearth along with holly from the garden and a pot pourri of pine cones, cinnamon sticks and orange slices that she dried in the oven. The retro-style paper garland pinned to the beam is from the Museum Collection catalogue.

“It’s new but has a vintage look,” says Liz, whose trees, one for each sitting room, are trimmed with a mix of baubles she has bought or made and those she has inherited from her grandma. She also has baubles dangling from ribbon pinned to the mantelpiece.

Her favourite festive buy this month was a reindeer skin rug for £85 from the Ridgeway Leather stall on Skipton market and it looks splendid in front of the fireplace. It will be a year-round feature in the 16th-century house, which Liz and husband Andy bought seven years ago.

The couple, who have two children, Archie, five, and Libby, four, fell in love with the property but it was a project both inside and out.

Outside, they have reinstated stone walls and created a garden and a smallholding with pigs, turkeys, ducks, chickens and sheep. Inside, they have almost completely refurbished and the biggest challenge was to bring light into the ground-floor rooms. They are dark thanks to the property’s position and its mullioned windows.

Liz’s solution was to paint the walls in Farrow and Ball neutrals and to devise an ingenious lighting scheme, with lamps and little spotlights on the beams directed to the stonewalls and dark corners. “We even have the lights on in the day because it’s so dark but the spots make a huge difference and they are all on dimmers so you can create a lovely atmosphere in the evening,” she says.

The furniture is a mix of new and old. Liz loves flea markets, antique fairs at Newark, Swinderby and Wetherby and is a regular at the Rose and Brown Vintage fairs in Saltaire and at the Ilkley Vintage Bazaar.

She also volunteers at Birdcage, a shop selling pre-loved fashion and homeware, which raises money for the domestic abuse charity Behind Closed Doors .

“I love it there. They have some great stock and it’s full of really creative people. They also have craft workshops.”

Much-loved bargains include an old railway bench from an antiques fair,  which is extra long and sits under the window and a retro plywood table, which is holding our mince pies and coffee. Contemporary designs include Kartell chairs teamed with a modern dining table from Heal’s and candle holders from Cox and Cox.

The walls are full of her favourite 1950s prints that she collects from old magazines and has framed at Weaverbird in Ilkley and there is a large collection of Whitefriars glassware.

Bespoke furniture also features thanks to Andy Day, from Carleton, near Skipton, who made the wine rack and shelves. “He is a brilliant builder and has helped us get the house to this stage,” says Liz.

The last jobs on the to-do list include the kitchen and ripping up the floorboards to expose the stone floor underneath.

In the meantime the old kitchen  will be put to good use before it is  finally laid to rest. There are cakes  and mince pies to make, not  forgetting mulled wine and where  better to enjoy them than snuggled  up by the fire toasting your toes to the sound of Bing Crosby’s White Christmas?