I’m a furniture designer – here’s how I transformed my home near Skipton, now listed for £850,000
In the home of Richard Mason, owner of Yorkshire-based cabinet making firm The Secret Drawer, nothing is ever quite as it seems. Hidden behind seamless joinery and fine craftsmanship are secret compartments so expertly concealed that they might never be found.
“Each project we do has a secret drawer. We don’t tell the clients where they are and we try to make them as hard as possible to find,” says Richard. “Some are still looking.”
At his own home in Cononley, near Skipton, he, his wife Katie, and their daughters Clara, 14, and Matilda,10, live among no fewer than 12 of these secret drawers, cleverly tucked into the furniture he’s designed himself.
“We use some of them,” he says. “Mainly to hide sweets.”
Set over three floors, the 1960s four-bedroom property, named Milford, has undergone a huge transformation since Richard and Katie bought it 10 years ago.
“We moved from Glusburn to Cononley to be nearer to grandparents. It’s where I grew up and it’s perfect really,” he says.
"It’s surrounded by green fields, it’s got a great primary school, two pubs, a lovely shop, a thriving sports club, a railway station and it has a lovely community feel.”
Richard adds: “Milford caught our eye because it was in the right position and we could see its potential. By using the skills within The Secret Drawer we brought it to life.”
The couple knocked down an old conservatory to regain more garden, extended the property, replaced and removed both staircases, and renovated every part of the house, adding bespoke Secret Drawer furniture to each room.
Richard’s meticulous attention to detail even extended to the roof where he added five false chimneys to give it ‘a better proportion’. “Nice houses have nice chimneys,” he says. “I’ll admire those chimneys for the next 20 or 30 years whenever I drive past the house. I’ll always be glad I spent that money.”
In the hallway is a cupboard that was built about 25 years ago and featured in the company’s first showroom. “It was built as a larder cabinet but we fill it with boots and shoes,” says Richard. “It features one of the first secret drawers we ever created. It was also the first piece where I started doing inlaid hinges, which you very rarely see these days.”
The kitchen includes fitted units by The Secret Drawer, integrated Miele appliances, and a central island with hidden storage, as well as the family’s favourite piece of furniture, the dining booth, which is a focal point of their home.
Bi-fold doors in the lounge open onto a balcony, linking to the dining area. The lower ground floor features a cinema room, games room, bathroom, and laundry area.
Upstairs, three bedrooms share two en-suites, while the main bedroom has its own bathroom and valley views.
Outside, there’s off-street parking, a part garage, tiered lawns, and a ha-ha overlooking a recreational area. The gate is inspired by those at one of the couple’s favourite places in Northumberland, Howick Hall.
Milford is filled with experiments for new design ideas for The Secret Drawer, including the first games ottoman that converts into a chess board, backgammon board, draughts board, and scrabble board, plus a flower ottoman with an inset circular vase.
"Milford has allowed me more time to work on designs,” says Richard. “It’s definitely easier doing work for my own house because I haven’t got a specific deadline.
"The games ottoman was a hit first time and we’re lucky enough to have two of them at home. Our fluted panelling was also born here.”
He adds: “A lot of the furniture orientates around the need for beautiful things but also the need for things to be practical.
"The starting point in terms of design is thinking, I need a room or a space to do this for me. Then I’m working on its proportion, its height, its depth and its width to make sure it meets its envionment in the correct way.
"At work, that involves talking to clients but at home I have to talk to myself because if I ask Katie or the girls they’ll normally say ‘just do what you think’.”
Richard discovered his passion for furniture making at the age of 13. “It was almost like being struck by lightning,” he recalls. “Suddenly I knew I wanted to be a furniture maker, so I bought some books and built a bench in my mum and dad’s garage.”
He later took up an apprenticeship with a local firm, quickly gaining recognition for his craftsmanship and winning several awards.
After working independently from a small workshop, he bought a former butcher’s unit in Cononley, converting the ground floor into his first showroom while living above it.
The Secret Drawer launched in 1998 and now employs 27 people across Skipton and Ilkley.
Though they hadn’t planned to leave Milford, the family is relocating to accommodate space for the girls’ ponies.
Richard intends to carry some favourite features of their current home into the next one, including their beloved kitchen booth, the ottomans, the cinema room, and the house hideaway cupboard.
Milford is on the market with a guide price of £850,000 with dacres.co.uk or call 01756 701010.