Interior designer Rita Konig has turned her farmhouse into a fabulous rural retreat

Playing it safe has clearly never been in Rita Konig’s design vocabulary. Her ability to mix wildly different patterns, colours and styles shows confidence, verve and skill.

Some of this, she accepts, must be genetic. She is the daughter of Nina Campbell but has forged her own distinctive look and it is one that has made her one of the most sought-after interior designers in Britain and beyond.

One of the best examples of her work is at North Farm on the Yorkshire/Durham Dales border. The property, near Piercebridge, is part of an estate that has been in her husband’s family since the late 1700s.

They recently changed the Victorian farmhouse from a long-term let into a holiday home after Rita was captivated by the beauty and tranquility of Teesdale and its easy access to Yorkshire, Northumberland and the Lake District.

“I went up to see the house and was astounded by how pretty the area was and how accessible it was from London. It took two-and-a-half hours on the train and then a 15-minute drive to North Farm. I just thought the house was a gift, something to be enjoyed.”

She and her husband, the biographer Philip Eades, and their young daughter, Margot, now use the seven-bedroom, five bathroom property as a holiday home and also let it to others via Niche Retreats.

“We absolutely love it. It’s such a peaceful place and gives us a complete change from our home in London. Philip grew up in the country so it’s become very important to him and it’s somewhere our family and friends can get together and have holidays,” she says. “We decided to let it when we aren’t using it so that it generates an income and, hopefully, opens people’s eyes to a wonderful area that not a lot of people know about.

“It’s a great base. It’s close to Barnard Castle, half-an-hour from the lovely market town of Richmond, which has the brilliant Wilfred Deli and Pantry, 40 minutes to the beaches in Northumberland and an hour from the Lakes. Sometimes it’s lovely just staying here and enjoying the landscape and popping into Piercebridge, which has a great farm shop.”

Many might argue that it would also be worth staying in to enjoy the visual feast that Rita has created. What sets North Farm apart from most holiday properties is that it has not been decorated with letting in mind.

“I think a lot of holiday lets lack the depth and intimacy that a true family home has but this is an exception because I decorated it for us. It’s definitely not ‘vanilla’ in style,” says Rita, who renovated the farmhouse and made some major structural changes, including knocking down walls and levelling and replacing floors, to improve the useability and flow.

“We invested a lot of money in it because it is our home and we hired Harland Builders from Northallerton who did a great job,” says Rita, who adds that Philip was nervous about the decor.

“He was worried that it might be too snazzy so I put a Pinterest board together to show him that I understood the difference between a Chelsea townhouse and a farmhouse in the Durham Dales. My plan was to create a cosy country home with warmth and rich colours where families could relax.

“Old houses like this can take an awful lot of different styles and that’s where the magic lies. Doing it that way makes them look like they have evolved rather than designed in an afternoon.”

Furniture and furnishings are a mix of old and new. Some came from her own home and from mother, Nina, who had kept some in storage. The stand-out piece in the library is a bright yellow Nina Campbell sofa in Tissus d’Hélène corduroy, along with an ottoman in place of a coffee table.

Friends, including the late William Yeoward, also contributed. The stunning, handbuilt kitchen is from Plain English and there’s a white Aga, which Philip insisted on and which they all love, though there is also a back-up electric cooker.

The stone flooring is from Knaresborough-based Lapicida and the 19th-century Italian dining table was from York-based Tall Boy Interiors. The large-scale artichoke art is by Sarah Graham and the walls are in Edward Bulmer’s Lilac Pink with sparkle from a Pooky star pendant light.

“I do a lot of shopping via Instagram because I follow a lot of antique dealers. I also found some good antique shops in Barnard Castle,” says Rita, who paid much attention to the beds, adding feather toppers plus linen from Soak and Sleep.

“It doesn’t matter how pretty a place looks, if it is uncomfortable no-one will want to come back. It’s the same with hot water. I made sure that there is plenty of it even if all the bathrooms are used at the same time.”

The walls are in a gorgeous, eclectic mix of Edward Bulmer’s eco-friendly paints, along with wallpapers by Pierre Frey, Nina Campbell and Colefax and Fowler, among others.

Rita has nothing but praise for local decorator Andrew McLean.

“The house is just how I envisioned it and we love staying here and sharing it with others,” says Rita. “I hope it will help others to discover this very special area.”

North Farm has seven bedrooms and five bathrooms and is bookable through Niche Retreats, www.nicheretreats.co.uk, 0333 3058 404.

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