Within the house, the living room has been wonderfully
transformed and heightened by opening up the ceiling
to reveal the interior roof structure, buttressed in turn
by new wooden trusses, painted cream, like all the
joinery in the house. French doors give onto balconies,
so that one may revel in the splendid western views
of rolling country and distant hills. An imposing new
chimneybreast stands proud of the south wall, creating
interesting recesses for antique white bookcases on
either side.
Hugh Henry of the Mlinaric firm supervised all the
interior decoration work. Henry's CV is formidable,
including many an historic London or English
country house—Spencer House, Heveningham Hall,
Boughton House, Brocklesby and Wormsley Park,
not to mention galleries at the V & A and National
Gallery--after graduating, in the late 1960s, from the
Glasgow School of Art. Indeed, his own inspiration
for Phantom Fox's interior was the Scottish "highland
home," a quality he perceived in the existing house.
Henry sought to create rooms that were neither too
sophisticated nor folksy, furnished simply with good
family antiques such as the dining room sideboard,
cabinet and chairs. The walls are hung with the owner's
important collection of equestrian paintings by the
British Edwardian artist, Alfred Munnings.
Henry used, in draperies and upholstery, fabrics from,
among others, Rogers & Goffigon, famous for their
HYLAND
