The pure, light-filled spaces of a Cornish house by Marion Lichtig

In today's fast-paced world, many interior designers are taxed with punishingly short deadlines. But when the London-based Marion Lichtig was asked to design her clients’ Cornish holiday home, she was faced with the opposite scenario. “Planning permission was drawn out and, even after the first dig, the project took three years,” she says. As a result, the job evolved organically, which is just how Marion likes to work. Patience was the key.

Today, the stone house stands squarely in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, its quartet of french windows facing south-west across landscaped lawns to the Camel estuary. The clients bought the site in 2000 and originally wanted a state-of-the-art modern house there, but the planners turned that down in favour of the second option, a traditional Cornish structure. Marion was brought in early, so she and the architect, Duncan Mackenzie of Mackenzie Wheeler, were able to collaborate closely. “The aim was for a seaside-meets-country mood, emphasising the wonderful light,” Marion says. The owner concurs: “We wanted pure spaces that wouldn’t fight with the views beyond.”

The client and her family are London based, so this was intended as a comfortable holiday retreat. “My husband grew up in Cornwall and this really is home,” she says. “We already had a major commitment to the area.” And that commitment came early on. The minute that planning permission was granted, local stone for the house was quarried from a nearby farm and old Delabole slate, used for the hall floor, was sourced from local reclamation yards. As a result, the house feels genuinely part of the landscape. “I was able to choose all the surfaces, including the amazing Dinesen floor boards,” says Marion. Cut from 20-metre-high Douglas fir trees, the planks are extra long, and have a soft white bloom.

The long build process was a bonus. Early on, Marion commenced furniture shopping with her client. “We were squirrelling things away long before the first dig,” she says. “If you wait until all the decoration is done, it’s too late. It takes time to amass all the perfect things.” Marion and her client had originally met in 2000 and since then Marion had designed the client’s Chelsea home and her chalet in Verbier, so stylistically they were in tune. “She knew my look and she trusted me,” says Marion. So when, on occasion, she emailed her client with a photograph of a particular piece and the words “We have to have it”, the answer, every time, was a “Yes”. The furniture came mostly from London shops and antiques fairs.

A walk through the house reveals it has a brilliantly planned layout that really works. On the ground floor there is a hall, kitchen/dining room, drawing room, family room, boot room and cloakroom, while upstairs there are five en-suite bedrooms. The large kitchen is the owner's favourite room. “It is fantastic for entertaining and is simple without feeling cold,” she says. Marion chose a Bulthaup kitchen and teamed it with a custom-made table built from the same Dinesen floorboards. “It is actually two tables, which gives flexibility for entertaining,” she says. The bathrooms are deliberately streamlined, in wood or Italian limestone.

Marion has worked as an interior designer for more than 25 years and prior to that studied fashion at what is now Central Saint Martins. She has an encyclopaedic knowledge of fabrics and a fondness for natural fibres. Early on, she bought armfuls of French vintage linen sheets, some of which were made into curtains, others into quilts and throws. She had one splurge in the main bedroom, where there are curtains in a glamorous silk from Tissus d'Hélène. “I enjoy that juxtaposition of a simple curtain style teamed with grand fabric,” she says. Decorative details are subtle. Marion’s characteristically muted palette – bone white to oatmeal – works perfectly with the Cornish light. Walls are painted throughout in ‘Quiet White’ from Papers and Paints – “My secret weapon”, confides Marion – with ceilings in a brilliant white. “That contrast gives a visual break,” she says.

Once the clients were ready to move in, the house was furnished in a trice. “Before I met Marion, I always wanted modern things,” the owner says. “She showed me that mixing antique and modern gives softness and depth.” The drawing room has a delightful combination of periods and silhouettes. One gently sloping Georgian armchair has been upholstered in vintage linen. “That was one of the ‘must have’ buys,” says Marion. So too was the scallop backed nineteenth-century chair, “because it reminded me of the sea.” As a neat contrast, the sofa is linear, designed by Marion and custom-made. “Design isn’t just about choosing fabrics,” she says. “It is also about movement and atmosphere, and everything working in the right space.”

MAY WE SUGGEST: A Cornish cottage decked out in nautical blue and white by Paolo Moschino

When it came to certain details, however, Marion took her time. Originally, the drawing room curtains were made up in sheer linen. “But they didn’t drape properly, so we took them down and had them lined,” she says. Ever the perfectionist, she also had the nineteenth-century hall sofa reupholstered a second time, after the specified leather looked “hideous”. Above all, it is the owner who appreciates her attention to detail. “Marion is good at telling you when not to buy,” she says. “Then she takes care to find the right things.” For a holiday home that will be revisited time and time again, this quiet patience has certainly paid off. “It is simple, practical and comfortable,” concludes Marion. “My client wanted the house to be full of family and friends. And it is.”

Marion Lichtig: marionlichtig.com
Mackenzie Wheeler: mackenziewheeler.co.uk

Marion Lichtig is a member of The List by House & Garden, our essential directory of design professionals. Find her profile here.