COUNTRY conversion

Emily Hutchings and Raymond Seager gave a 300-year-old farm building an eco-friendly update

- VIVIENNE AYRES

Having spent every family holiday in Devon since she was four, Emily Hutchings was eager to escape the rat race in London and move to the county. The dream was to run a holiday accommodation business with husband Raymond Seager, and give their children, Archie, six, and Lottie, four, new life in the country.

In London, Emily had a career in publishing, which wasn’t compatible with living in Devon, so she retrained as a reflexologist and acupuncturist. Raymond, too, was keen to leave his job as a consultant in the City. The search for a suitable house with an outbuilding that could be converted into a holiday let began, with weekends spent travelling from London to Devon. ‘It was an intensive search because we were so clear about what we wanted to achieve,’ remembers Emily.