Festive & FORAGED

AN IDYLLIC WOODLAND SETTING MEANS AUTHOR AND CONTENT CREATOR LYDIA MILLEN'S HOUSE IS BEAUTIFULLY DECKED WITH BRANCHES OF HER EVERGREEN FAVOURITES

- SARA EMSLIE

Living room

"It's quite a dark green that we've gone for in here because I wanted it to feel cosy and quite dramatic. The dogs love sitting on the sofa, so we went for basic Ikea sofas with washable covers from Designers Guild."

BUY THE KEY PIECES

Walls in Hornblende pure flat emulsion, £62 for 2.5ltr, Paint & Paper Library

Seven years ago, Lydia Millen and Ali Gordon found this cottage while looking for a new project in the countryside of Northamptonshire.

Since then, they have transformed it into a magically festive Christmas home.

WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO MOVE?

‘We've always lived quite close to the countryside and we just felt that when everybody in our social circle was moving to London, we had this overwhelming urge to move further away and be even more remote.’

DID IT TAKE LONG TO FIND?

‘We'd fallen in love with an old nunnery and I'd set my heart on it, but we couldn't get it. So, the estate agent brought us to this house on a Saturday night in the dark, we couldn't even see the woods and how beautiful it was around here, but we fell in love. Then we came back on the Sunday in the daylight, and viewed all of the countryside around, and put an offer in the following day. That was seven years ago.’

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?