Cream Of The Crop

A creative eye and a love of soft hues helped Pauline Fox turn a dark and dreary property into a light-filled country idyll

- Annabelle Grundy

Moving from London to the country was little more than a thought at the back of Pauline Fox’s mind, until she visited a spot in rural Essex and fell in love with it. ‘It all happened so fast,’ she recalls. ‘I looked around the village and, before I knew it, I’d made an offer on a property.’

The home that proved irresistible to Pauline was part of a substantial Victorian vicarage that had been converted into several residences. ‘There weren’t many options in my price range, and this was such an unusual place,’ she explains. ‘A period property was a must for me, and here was a share of a beautiful old building with wonderful communal grounds in a lovely setting.’