COMFORT & JOY

Interior designer Olivia Ruckley's home in rural Sussex is full of Christmas cheer and makes a cosy hub for family gatherings during the festive season

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Pulling up to Olivia Ruckley's house in the village of Ripe in East Sussex, you can see why she and husband Cameron were lured to this idyllic setting.

Just around the corner, there's a church dating back to the 12th century, and the streets are lined with quintessential English cottages. Olivia's own Edwardian home doesn't disappoint, with its peg-tiled facade and gingham bow adorning the front door.

The couple were previously based in Reigate, but they yearned for somewhere more rural to raise a family. They snapped up the property in 2021 – it was small but ideal for that stage in their lives. However, when their daughter arrived, they knew they needed more space. Not wanting to leave either their home or the village, they set about obtaining planning permission to add another bedroom and bathroom, and to open up the ground floor at the rear to create a large kitchen-diner that was more conducive to family living.

The main challenge was the staircase running through the middle of the property. Interior designer Olivia worked with a local architect to reconfigure the layout, moving the stairs to the rear of the property in the new extension. 'This allowed us to add an extra bedroom and bathroom and extend the kitchen,' she says. 'It also meant the old dining room could be made into a utility room, a new downstairs loo and hallway.'