Cool, crisp and contemporary. Not usually the words used to describe a countryside bolthole, but then again, this home’s owner, Brigitta Spinocchia Freund, is always keen to lean into the unexpected. At the London-based interior designer’s Sussex family retreat, a converted barn she shares with her husband and three tweens, the vibe may be ‘easy, cosy and comfortable,’ she says, ‘but it has been decorated with love and style in mind’.
Buying post-pandemic in 2021, Brigitta was drawn to the area near Lewes to be closer to one of her best friends. ‘There is a different energy there – lots of amazing, interesting people, biodynamic farm shops, good gastropubs,’ she explains. ‘It was the perfect antidote to escaping the busyness of London. It has a sense of wholesomeness that really grounds all of us and encourages the kids to get into the fresh air and away from their screens.’
Already converted by a previous owner, the house, says Brigitta, ‘was a clean space, but in fact too clean’ – and therefore ripe for a rethink. With a career spanning almost two decades in design and property development, having first honed her craft as creative director of Candy & Candy (which she also helped to found with brothers Christian and Nick Candy in 1999) before going out on her own, the designer is no stranger to high-end luxury. Yet here, the house’s laid-back look and feel was distinctly driven by her children.
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Surrounded by rolling hills, with windows looking out onto lush, verdant meadows and rooms flooded with abundant natural light from both front and back, the house was intended to be filled with ‘easy, intimate spaces that feel really comfortable,’ she explains. ‘When we first looked at this place, the kids loved it because it was cosy, with a gas fire, and it was somewhere we could all be together, literally in each other’s pockets. The last thing they wanted it to be was fancy,’ the designer laughs.
Although it has five bedrooms, the scale is ‘very modest’, Brigitta says of its cosseting charm. The whitewashed walls were lent warmth when repainted in custom colours imbued with subtle shades of pale green, buttery yellow and cool taupe. The beams were scrubbed back to bring out the grain, and the kitchen was given an update with freshly painted cupboards and a wooden island.
Otherwise ‘it was all thrown together on a budget,’ she asserts. ‘We said to ourselves, let’s not try to reinvent the wheel and redo everything; let’s just make it simple, relaxed and very comfortable.’ This didn’t mean compromising, however, on Brigitta’s love of characterful original mid-century classics, such as the 1940s sheepskin Philip Arctander ‘Clam’ chair and curved ‘Soriana’ sofa designed by Afra and Tobia Scarpa for Cassina in the living room, and the set of sharply silhouetted Jean Prouvé ‘Standard’ chairs adorning the dining space.
As with her recent projects, including the impressive five-storey, six-bedroom Collector’s House she has decorated in London’s multimillion-pound Chelsea Barracks development, and the upcoming ‘Curator’s Room’ in collaboration with Stark Carpets for this year’s WOW!House at Design Centre Chelsea Harbour, Brigitta’s focus is always on collectibles. ‘I don’t want to spend loads of money on buying new furniture,’ she says.
‘My theory is that I’d rather have three or four pieces that are really well done, and then compromise on things like the beds (the bases, not the mattresses),’ she says. With collectibles, originals rather than re-editions, ‘at least you can reupholster or resell them. I feel there’s more value in that’.
In the living room, for example, Brigitta wanted one sofa to be really long, to fit the family of five. She found the relatively inexpensive, three-metre, vintage Perspex- sided sofa online, repaired its base, which had started to sag a little and reupholstered it in sheepskin. ‘I always buy key staples first and then work out where they’ll go. Obviously I wouldn’t buy something that doesn’t fit, but there always has to be a comfort element to it, as well as a sense of provenance to help tell a story.’
Into this mix, the designer has added soft, squishy rugs that everyone loves to lie on, quirky vintage finds, like a 1970s rattan and Perspex drinks table, as well as contemporary touches, such as a bronze side table by the Campana Brothers and ‘Mawu’ kitchen chairs designed by Laura Gonzalez.
A 50s bookcase cleverly partitions the living room from the dining space, market-find vases and framed art by the children bring pops of colour, and the Charlotte Perriand coffee table (a Spinocchia Freund favourite) works perfectly with the streamlined seating. ‘A lot of life happens at ground level, such as playing cards,’ Brigitta says.
The only possible faux pas, she laughingly admits, was having everything in the living room in shades of white and cream. ‘My friend said, you have three children and three dogs, are you mad? This will be a nightmare,’ she remembers. ‘I was, like, it will be fine. I’m not that precious. If it gets dirty, what’s the worst thing that can happen? A sofa needs reupholstering or we have to change a rug.’ spinocchiafreund.com
