ANTIQUES ROAD TRIP

When Sheryl Mills turned 50 she moved her life and antiques business from rural Herefordshire to rural Mayenne, and her decision has proved to be more midlife miracle than midlife crisis, as Melissa Raton learns

- Melissa Raton

Sheryl Mills looks at home inside her cider barn brocante as she sits on a French-style metal school chair with wooden back and seat, writing up price tags on Kraft paper for new gardenalia and linens. To her left is the barn’s main opening, which leads out to a courtyard filled with old farm equipment including butter makers, carts, cider flagons, fruit picking ladders, and milk churns.

Sheryl lives in Mayenne, in the northern part of the Pays de la Loire region which borders southern Normandy, and these faded historical items are a reminder of this area’s cider-producing and dairy-farming roots. The courtyard leads to Sheryl’s farmhouse with its hexagonal tiled terrace, galvanised steel flowerpot trays, and decorative white tables and chairs. To the right of where Sheryl is sitting is the main shop frontage, which displays antique furniture, chandeliers, mirrors, rugs and vintage kitchenalia. The lighting is warm and highlights the natural wood grains of the many bedside cabinets, cupboards, dressers, sideboards, and washstands that line the thick stone walls.

ALADDIN’S CAVE

The brocante sign, written on a broken roof slate and resting on a beautifully upholstered armchair, encapsulates the shop’s tasteful look. This barn still houses the old cider press and is one of the many outbuildings here that keeps the property’s history alive. At the back of the barn is a small cottage that would once have accommodated the cider-maker’s staff each season and is currently being redeveloped as a gîte.