The gas-fired Nestor Martin stove in the room was sourced by Country Cookers & Stoves of Kirk Michael and stands high on a plinth of stone from Pooil Vaaish Quarry. The chandelier – which has to be lowered from the ceiling with a pulley and takes real candles, not light-bulbs – and the metalwork for the staircase were both the creation of Eddie Leece of Leece & Havercroft on the quay in Peel.
The airy look of the room is enhanced by large and comfortable sofas and an armchair, all loose-covered in ivory linen. Pale ivory cotton weave linen curtains, with sheer inner voiles, were made by the House & Home Design Studio
Leading off the ground floor, on either side of the galleried staircase, are two double bedrooms, each with its own fully tiled en suite bathroom. When you go into the guest bedroom you realise that what appeared to be a porch from the outside of the house is in fact a little light-filled annexe opening off it, where there is a comfortable small sofa and from which another French window leads out into the garden.
The first floor gallery opens onto three ‘rooms’, a sitting room, dining room and kitchen, quite distinct from each other but open-plan effect. The gallery and the first two areas are floored in ash, the kitchen, which is on the sea side of the house, has sleek modern Chippendale units (bought from Skillicorn’s of Laxey before they closed down) and a steel-effect fridge and other accessories.
The dining room and upper sitting room are cosier and more traditional in effect, with dark furniture and warm colours. In the dining room area a long table from Cubbin & Bregazzi is surrounded by a harlequin set of chairs in ivory slip covers made to measure by Castletown Textiles. There are two dark red sofas in the sitting room, with a coal-effect fire from Key Fireplaces set into a white marble surround from Pooilvaish, and chests and other occasional pieces from William Shippee’s India collection at Fine Furnishings of Onchan.
