MID SUMMER DREAM

Bringing together their love of mending, making and salvaging, Chris and Neil Myers have injected warmth and character into their Edwardian country home

- ALICE ROBERTON

White painted brick and walls, a New England-style porch, and a garden filled with roses, hydrangeas and handmade sheds all point to the hard work Chris and Neil Myers have put into making The Warren their home.

From knocking through rooms to clocking up hundreds of hours in the garden and using salvaged materials where possible, no corner has been left untouched. It looked so unloved when we bought it,' says Chris, who has hand made soft furnishings, restored furniture and transformed an outdoor wilderness into a wonderful cottage garden.

House and garden become one in the summer, and I take great delight in being able to step out of the door and cut fresh flowers daily.' She adds, 'Neil is very practical and during the warmer weather he spends much of his time making and fixing in the Crooked Workshop, a small building he cleverly made using a tin roof from a WW2 Anderson shelter.' 

In 2004 Chris and Neil added a two-storey extension - a playroom with a porch for their then young sons, with a loft-style bedroom above. Nowadays, Chris uses the ground floor space - now resembling an old general store for creative workshops and selling handmade and vintage items.