THE COMFORT ZONE

Relaxed family living in a Grade II-listed Sussex property gave designer Alex Willcock the inspiration for a father and son furniture business

- SARA EMSLIE

Living room Artwork casually placed on slender wooden shelves and a row of vintage terracotta pots filled with scented lavender create a relaxed country feel. Marnie sofa in Malachite linen; Song sofa in Sunstone linen, Maker&Son

Exterior With its elegant facade and woodland setting, Kemps House is an enchanting sight. Topiary trees line the path that leads to the front door

AT HOME WITH

Owner Alex Willcock lives here, with his children Felix, Coco, Song, Otter and Hero visiting at weekends. Alex runs Maker&Son, a luxury furniture business, with his son Felix Conran.

Property A Grade II-listed house dating back to the 1660s, with six bedrooms.

The idea of a comfortable life in the country may conjure up a quaint rural idyll and a slower pace of life. For cabinetmaker and furniture designer Alex Willcock, 16 years of family life in Kemps House, a Grade Il-listed property in rural Sussex, proved instead to be the catalyst for a new business venture - one that has put any notion of a gentler pace of living firmly on the back burner.

'In many ways, the house is the third founder of Maker&Son, laughs Alex, referring to the luxury furniture brand that he created with his eldest son, Felix, which purports to make the comfiest sofas in the world. 'Comfort has always been a real priority to us as a family, and it's the house that has enabled this way of life and given birth to all that we do.

Having returned to the UK from a stint in Australia, where he met Felix's mother, Sophie Conran, Alex headed the creative, buying and marketing departments at The Conran Shop before launching his own design agency in London. Kemps House was the perfect retreat at the end of a busy day.