Why I moved from London to the wilds of North Yorkshire, says artist and food writer Rosie Ramsden

“We loved the house as soon as we walked through the door. It was a farmhouse with uneven walls and breeze blowing under the doorframe and its fair share of indoor spiders and slugs,” the artist and food writer adds.

“Though charming in every way, the damp was evident quickly even in the summer, so our priority was keeping the heat in and bringing more light in.” The couple employed local builder Hawkridges and set about adapting the old farmhouse to their modern needs while maintaining the character they loved.

“With the brilliant work of Hawkridges, we opened up the enclosed stairwell, added glazing to an old door, added insulation and renewed carpets. We repainted to make it our own, and gave the kitchen a lift as, being cooks, that is where we spend most of our time. It has made such a huge difference to the flow of the house without changing the original feel and shape.”

Being an artist, light and colour is very important to Rosie but she didn’t want to rush into anything.

“I am rather obsessed by colour. We lived in the house for a year and a half before any changes were made and I began to fall in love with its cream paintwork but it didn’t work for every room. It made sense to me to bring the outdoor palette – hay, plaster, greeny grey – inside but with an overall warm tone to counteract cool Yorkshire weather.”

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As for furniture, much of it they brought with them from London. “We collected furniture throughout our London years and luckily everything we brought with us seemed to fit. There are baskets everywhere, sofas to slump on and beloved paintings but the magic is made by connecting spaces with low, warm lamp light and complementary tones.

“Almost all of our furniture is bought second hand – apart from good sofas [Loaf] and mattresses [Eve]. Origins vary from salvage fairs and charity shops to antique shops and family pieces. The eall hangings and cushions are from Sessions & Co. The curtains were made by a wonderful Yorkshire-based mother and daughter team – Alice and Judy – which bring so much warmth and softness to each room.”

So what’s her favourite piece? “James found a wonderful large freestanding table from Vinterior which takes up most of the kitchen but doubles up so well as a prep station and somewhere to prop up with a glass of wine and a larger space to host larger numbers for weekend lunches,” says Rosie.

“I also love our integrated cupboards in the hallway made by local joiner Mark Wilkinson – you barely notice them but they store all of our kitchen equipment and spices and cake tins and and and… He also made some beautiful bedroom cupboards and the porch through to the main door.”

Rosie’s favourite room in the house is the heart of the home – the kitchen. “I love how the kitchen now flows into the sitting room connected by a double sided wood burner. It comes into its own in winter when you can light the fire and chat to whoever’s cooking from the large armchair in the next room. This side of the house gets the morning light but loses it by the evening, allowing for candlelight and cosiness.

“Our style is to try to be as warm and welcoming as possible. Soft seating, worn in furniture, warm calm colours and wherever you look there’s something curious to linger on. There is a mix of utilitarian and comfort but nothing too precious, and all furniture is freestanding to scratch my itch for changing the position of furniture. It’s a family space to be lived in and encourage creativity.”

As well as being a food writer and food stylist, Rosie is an artist who takes inspiration from the Yorkshire countryside around their home. Her work in oil and watercolours reflects the move from city life to rural.

“My studio is hidden in one of the barns. It’s a quiet space, rough around the edges, great for getting messy. It didn’t take long to morph into a working studio but paintings started to flourish more when we removed the ceiling to reveal a loft space and made the loft door into a window.

“It looks out onto the stableyard andthrough an arch into our newly planted orchard. The spaces offers so much inspiration which inevitably makes its way into my oil paintings. Spare wall space in the house allows me to hang some of them next to other favourite collected artworks,” says Rosie who also runs online and in-person art classes and a super club (charcoalartclub.co.uk). The farmhouse is also used for photo-shoots.

“When we lived in London, we found our house naturally doubled up as a shoot space. I am a food stylist as well as a painter and James is a chef, so it came hand in hand to share our home for photography.”

Rosie has been a food stylist and recipe writer for 15 years. She has styled over 15 cookbooks including Thomasina Miers’ Home Cook. “We love the idea of luring shoots from cities into a rural location and it makes so much sense to be able to use the inside as much as the outside for cookbooks and lifestyle shoots and we’re lucky to be able to offer that. We don’t mind our house being full of people, so long as there is a creative buzz. We often find the fridge full of interesting morsels after a shoot, too, which we love.”

www.rosieramsden.com/

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