Photography courtesy of The Modern House.
Discovered on The Modern House: St. Francis House, a monastic retreat transformed into “an exceptionally chic modern home.” Located in Cambridgeshire, a 45-minute train journey from London, the late-Georgian structure was built as a country estate.
Anna, who runs AU Bespoke, is an interiors stylist and sourcing specialist, and Willie is a developer—talents that enabled them to envision a new life for all 8,500-square feet.
The brick house is set on one-and-a-half acres in the heart of the historic village of Hemingford Grey, 15 miles northwest of Cambridge.
“It was pretty much a hostel when we got it, so there was a fair amount of structural work to do,” Willie told The Modern House.
“The remodel took two years–we lived in one side of the house while the other was being finished and vice-versa,” Anna tells us.
Among the things that got added: French doors, bespoke interior doors paneled with antiqued mirrors (from Rough Old Glass), and a vast herringbone floor (from reclaimed parquet specialists Eco Flooring UK) salvaged from the M15’s old London headquarters in Thames House on the Strand.
The low-slung sofas are from Caravane.
The couple imported two 18th-century stone mantels from France.
Anna slipcovered the furniture in vintage Hungarian linen “so everything is washable—important in a busy house with children and dogs.” The hanging lights are Tom Dixon’s Mirror Balls.
The herringbone floor extends into the dining room and adjacent kitchen.
The new kitchen, installed in place of the religious order’s canteen, has custom cabinets painted Farrow & Ball Setting Plaster.
The Corian counters have undermount hammered copper sinks from The French House. The range is tucked into a hearth; the backsplash is made of the same Rough Old Glass mirror used on the doors.
Opposite a classic china cupboard, the breakfast area veers modern with a Saarinen Table and Panton Chairs.
The stair with under cupboard is one of the few original details in the house.
A linen-upholstered bed and sofa—both from Caravane—in a guest room.
Accessories hang from vintage ceramic butcher’s hooks in the guest bath.
The master bath is tiled in gray-veined marble that rises to enclose the tub.
The estate’s original chapel remains—the wood floor is original; Anna and Willie had the walls plastered.
Willie currently uses the space as a gym, but, says Anna, “we’ve left it as a blank slate for the next owners. A cinema room, a yoga room, a library—it could be so many things.”