Sarah de Graaff-Hunter
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Living Rooms
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The main living room of this country house constructed in 2002 was
designed by Sarah as her home to look like an authentic Spanish
Cortijo or farmhouse. The double height room incorporates a Minstrels
Gallery which is used as a painting studio and library. The supporting
ceiling beams are varnished Spanish chestnut, milled locally, and the
gallery's huge oak supporting beam and banisters sourced from a disused
olive mill were made by a local craftsman joiner. The bookcase under the
gallery was constructed by the builder from plastered masonry, with
lattice wood doors below and those of the libary on the gallery
entirely made of wood by a local carpenter. The antique panelled and
carved oak doors were found by Sarah some years before and originate
from Northern Spain. The furnishings are a mixture of family items with
rugs and painted tables from Morocco, Turkey and India. The paintings
are some of Sarah's own work and from her art collection.
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A typical fireplace created by Sarah from a traditional Andalucian
design, with plaster mouldings which decorate the wide chimney breast.
The cushions and cream throws were bought during one of Sarah’s many
visits to Morocco and were made from local textiles and kelim rugs and
the two poufs ,covered by her upholsterer, also with kelims and indian
cotton. The white and black Berber rug came from the high Atlas
mountains. Over the minstrels gallery railing hang antique kelims which
are too delicate to lay on the floor, they are from one of Sarah’s
buying trips to Istanbul.
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This winter sitting snug in the huge main space of a olive mill
converted by Sarah in the Ronda mountains has a comfortable seating area
in the area of the old grinding stone, and the original massive cast
iron olive press, still in place, gives the room a special scuptural
feature. The impressive fireplace was built to an old design with
moulded chimney breast and bench seating either side. The unusual arched
shelving, with concealed lighting, is made of local hand-made bricks in
the Moorish 'Mudejar' style. The walls are limewashed in yellow ochre, a
traditional Andaluz colour, and the two sofas, specially commissioned
and designed by Sarah, were made in Meknes, Morocco from individually
carved ’moucharabi’ spindles. The cushions are also from Morocco and
decorate the sofas which are draped with Turkish textiles to give a
rich, soft look.
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The small sitting room is in a village house belonging formerly to the
Miller whose Olive Mill was next door. The fireplace was totally rebuilt
to Sarah’s design and her special fireplace formula was used
internally, so that it worked perfectly and didn't smoke, but it was
constructed exactly as it was externally and visually as the builder
followed and recreated the exact moulding and proportions of the
original mantelpiece. The panelled window, with studded, internal
shutters was restored and painted the same green as the original beamed
and planked ceiling, and a window seat built beneath it to create a cosy
sitting area.
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This living room was created by Sarah and built above an old village
olive mill 10 years ago using local hand made terracotta floor tiles,
limewashed chestnut beams and walls and masonry plastered bookshelves
either side of the fireplace. The arches over the window and door
openings were taken from an old design. The furnishings are an elegant
but comfortable mixture of Italian, French and Spanish antiques with
Moroccan rugs and textiles. The oil still life paintings were specially
commissioned and painted by Liz Bayer after the style of the Spanish Old
Master painter, Zurburan.
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