Hi I’m Georgie, and I own and run Flore House, an eclectic Grade II listed Jacobean Country House set in 19 acres of Parkland in Northamptonshire.
We offer luxury stays, we’re a film and photoshoot location, the house can be hired for private and corporate events and we also have a Floristry school based here.
We moved to Flore House 7 years ago. Prior to that the house had stood empty for over a year. It had massive water damage in some of the main rooms, lead had been stripped from the roof, there was no working heating, the garden was a jungle and there was not a single light in the house, just wires hanging from the walls and ceilings. However, all this was quickly forgotten, when on the first night at the house I stood in a very dark bathroom and just a foot away from me was a barn owl watching me from the windowsill … magical! … and what do they say the rest is history! Well not quite …
I have always been creative and had a real passion for textiles, so when I left school, I did an Art Foundation course. During this year I became really interested in interiors, so being let loose in Flore House has been a dream come true!
When we move in, we decided to live in the house for at least 6 months before I started making any significant changes, this was so important as I found out how we used the space and what would work for us. I absolutely love the juxtaposition of classic with modern to produce an eclectic style and this seems to be the style I have adopted throughout the house with the interiors. I felt we needed to give a nod to the classical architecture, original features and history of the house in the design and style of the interiors, however we are a family with 5 children, in the 21st century so need the house to work for us as well.
When tackling a new room or project in the house, it is mainly fuelled by tea, I drink excessive amounts of the stuff! I usually have a starting point, this might be a colour or fabric swatch, from which I create a mood board. I’m also quite impulsive, and love a quick project to transform a space or room … the family go off to school and work and when they come home, I’ve painted the bath in the family bathroom bright pink! I love to use vibrant colours and striking patterns with different textures and marry these with classic style to create my eclectic mix.
When asked what’s your favourite room? … I find this such a hard one … I always find it’s the room I’m working on at that moment. Currently it’s the Boot Room. This was originally the Gardener’s shed and had about 100 years worth of gardening rubbish in it. When stripping it back we found a beautiful old stove fireplace and I have used this as my inspiration for the room.
In rooms of the house that are predominantly family used I always steer towards a neutral colour palette and this time I have gone for Farrow & Ball - Shaded White No. 201, I then use accessories such as prints, artwork and soft furnishings to add colour. In the Boot Room I have chosen reclaimed oak grain store flooring to make the benches, welly stands and coat racks and a reclaimed York stone for the floor. The wood and the stone add amazing textures and a warmth to the room. I also have a thing about lights … I absolutely bl**dy love them! And for the Boot room I have chosen a 1940’s ex munitions factory pendant, that actually came out of a WWII Worcestershire munitions factory.
I’m counting down the days until the muddy wellies, excessive amount of winter coats and bike helmets can leave my downstairs cloakroom!
There is never two days the same at the house (apart from Lockdown 3.0 where some days have felt like Groundhog day!) as we have such a mix of things happening here. So I decided to write a blog ‘A day in the life of …’ where I talk about my latest renovation and decoration projects, my impulse buys and ideas and what goes on at the house day to day … from music videos to Joules Christmas catalogue photoshoots in August … if you fancy knowing a little more about the behind the scenes, go check it out Blog | Flore House or follow us on Instagram @flore_house
