Why this Yorkshire holiday lodge caught the eye of home and fashion brand Joules

Homeware and fashion brands have embraced collaboration like never before by making friends with everyone from influential Instagrammers to music stars and footballers. In what appears to be a savvy move, they have recently turned their attention to stylish holiday lets, where they have a captive audience for a sustained period of time.

A great example of this is in the Washburn Valley, a rural idyll in the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty that sits between Blubberhouses, Harrogate and Otley. Silver Birch, one of a pair of architect-designed timber lodges, has been chosen by Joules to showcase its homeware range, which includes screen prints, blankets, cushions, tea towels, crockery, bedding and candles among a host of other items.There are also sofas, chairs and a sumptuous Patterdale bed, from the Joules range at Yorkshire-based DFS.

“We were really pleased to be chosen. The company used the lodge for a photo shoot and their team furnished and decorated it with Joules products, which look great,” says co-owner John Flinn.

The reason the recently-built lodge won the hearts of the Joules marketing team and its photographers is clear. It ticks all the boxes for the brand’s target market, which is country-loving folk who like their wardrobe and home to look stylish.

The property’s contemporary design is exceptional and couldn’t be more different from the average timber lodge and its location is a tucked away rural idyll overlooking fields. The plan to self-build Silver Birch and its first-born twin White Willow Lodge was hatched when John, a landscape architect with a degree in furniture design, and Steve Wilkinson, a surveyor, bought a farmhouse, barn and adjoining land in the Washburn Valley seven years ago.

The idea was to renovate the farmhouse for Steve and his family and turn the barn into a HQ for Steve’s architectural and surveying practice, Dryden Wilkinson. They managed to secure planning permission for two lodges on the site but after researching off-the-peg options, they opted to design and build their own.

The attention to detail shows in everything from the orientation and layout to the interiors and usability. The initial idea was to build one lodge as a holiday let and a second to sell. “We did so well with White Willow Lodge that we decided that we would let Silver Birch, rather than sell it. It works really well because it gives extended family groups the option to book the lodges together,” says John.

The handbuilt properties are almost exact replicas and have timber frames clad with Siberian larch and packed with insulation. They are topped with a reconstructed stone, which fits in with the barn and farmhouse roofs nearby. Large expanses of glazing flood the rooms with light and views.

“It wasn’t the cheapest option. An off-the-peg lodge would’ve cost about £50,000 each. These cost well over double that but it has been worth the expense as they are built to last,” adds John, who took charge of the layout and interiors using his architectural skills and his design degree to great effect.

He and Steve project managed the build and John’s wife Hannah and Steve’s wife Sandra also got involved with the project, helping source furniture and accessories while making some of the curtains and blinds.

Both properties have the same layout. On the ground floor, there is a double-height entrance, a shower room, two bedrooms and a large, open-plan living area with kitchen, sitting and dining zones warmed by a wood-burning stove. On the first floor is an enormous master suite with a decked balcony with spectacular views, a large bathroom and a laundry room. Outside, there is a decked verandah with a hot tub.

“The only alteration we made on the second lodge, Silver Birch, was to move the fire,” says John. “In the first lodge it isn’t in the seating area as we had placed the TV there so there was a conflict between the fire and TV, so in the second lodge we moved the windows so we could put the fire in the sitting area and the TV in the corner so guests can sit and enjoy both.”

Along with the location and style, attention to detail has been crucial in the success of the business venture. “Steve’s wife Sandra is fantastic at attention to detail so everything is immaculate and we also have a great team of cleaners from Harrogate Cleaning Company,” says John.

The all-important welcome pack includes Yorkshire produce and the fire is freshly laid ready for lighting. “You have to exceed expectations and we managed that. We were told to expect 50 per cent occupancy in the first year of trading but we got 90 per cent,” says John, who has ambitions to expand the offering. I would love to build a tree house or hobbit house holiday let at some point.”

White Willow Lodge and Silver Birch Lodge holiday lets are in the Washburn Valley. Visit www.gorgeouscottages.com and follow them on Instagram at “washburnvalleylodges”. For more about Joules homeware visit www.joules.co.uk.

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James Mitchinson