Return to splendour

Unable to turn down a renovation opportunity, Charlotte and Simon Drinkall used all their experience to bring this Victorian farmhouse back to life

- AMELIA THORPE

After receiving a too-good-to-refuse offer for their refurbished house in one of Surrey’s most desirable villages, Charlotte and Simon Drinkall chose to do it all over again with another major renovation. Charlotte, founder of interior design studio Shere Madness, and Simon, who has a background in engineering, say they enjoy the opportunity to flex their creative and practical skills to put their own stamp on a property. 'We just don't like to sit still,’ admits Charlotte.

This time they bought a rambling three-storey Victorian farmhouse with an acre of garden, swimming pool and outbuildings, not far from their previous home. ‘It needed a lot of work - possibly more than we first realised,’ she says. ‘When we moved in, I leant on the shed that was supposed to be the pool house and it collapsed.’