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cheshire.greatbritishlife.co.uk May 2011
Building a bright future for
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Making
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232 Cream of the crop The Tarporley
farmers who overcame adversity
and now produce brie with milk
from their Guernsey cows
274 Fashion addict
A personal shopper
and stylist shares the secrets of her
dressing table
236 Under review Our reviewers visit
restaurants in Manchester and
Macclesfield
Society
Shopping & fashion
184 Lovely inside and out Tour
the Nether Alderley farmhouse
which could be the perfect family
home
192 A glass act The self-taught artist
from Stockport who put himself in
the frame when he lost his job
198 The Big Picture Inspirational ideas
for your house from a family home
in Altrincham
206 From the salesrooms Our review
of antique sales around the county
212 A fruitful garden Helpful advice
for budding gardeners who want
to get more from their plot
Gourmet Life
222 They’ve Dun well The
latest Cheshire Life
lunch was held at the
Dun Cow in Ollerton
227 Favourite five A
Manchester college
principal selects her top
five restaurants
228 Party time Cooking is child’s
play for a Waverton woman
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247 Ship shape Don’t be a sight for
shore eyes - the nautical look is in
this season
252 Retail heaven Some of the stylish
treats we’ve found in the shops this
month
254 Shopping in Tarporley Great
shopping doesn’t have to mean a
trip to a big city
17 A pirates and pearls evening for
the MS Society
31 East Cheshire Hospice celebrate
47 The Whitworth Gallery’s gala
evening at Capesthorne Hall
59 A champagne event at the
Alderley Edge Hotel
286 An Altrincham school’s 75th
anniversary ball
Readers’ events and
information
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Calderstone Park, Liverpool
258 Bags of talent The
Manchester couple who
create beautiful bags in their
basement
202 Win one of two family trips to
Madame Tussauds Blackpool,
including dinner, bed and breakfast
at The Hilton
262 Theatrical fashion
Amanda Wakeley was at
Manchester’s Midland
Hotel in support of the
Royal Exchange
Theatre
218 Claim your free copy of the English
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266 Say it with
flowers Floral prints
are on trend this
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272 Get the look
The beauty
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226 Join us at The Midland Hotel in
Manchester to celebrate the best
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250 Win £1,000 to spend at Osprey
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CHESHIRE LIFE May 2011 5
HOMES
Making a
house a home
Kate and Andy Snell have filled their Nether Alderley
house with personal trinkets and treasures to create
the perfect family home for their two daughters.
Emma Mayoh reports
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOHN COCKS
Above: Kate has
added feminine
touches to the
kitchen
Right: Harriet and
Claudia Snell on the
play equipment they
love so much
Kate and Andy Snell
184 CHESHIRE LIFE May 2011
cheshire.greatbritishlife.co.uk
Kate and Andy Snell
bought Mere Farm just
over 18 months ago
H
arriet and Claudia
Snell are never
happier than when
they are at home.
The youngsters can
play pirates on the adventure
trail their dad Andy built for them and
explore the big garden. Their bedrooms
are filled with girly treats and trinkets
and one room of the house is solely
theirs to have fun in.
And their mum Kate knew the
white-washed farmhouse would be the
perfect family home the first time she
saw it.
‘I knew this area pretty well but I
didn’t know this lane existed,’ she said.
‘As I approached it, I loved it. I just
knew it was going to be great for our
family.
‘We had sold two houses we had in
Portugal to raise more money for our
perfect home. It was a dream
opportunity when we realised we could
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afford something
like this.
‘We found out
later that Andy’s
stepfather, Dave,
used to live around
here. He really sold this area to us and
he told us all about what it used to be
like. That was it, we were having it.’
Parts of the house are more than 100
years old and over the years various
owners have added and extended Mere
Farm. The house is built on land once
owned by the Ministry of Defence and
a dozen or so barns which lined the
single track lane were used to store
ammunition during World War Two
and were linked by railway lines.
The lines have now gone from
around Kate and Andy’s property but at
the back of their home they have views
over a lake, which was once a working
quarry.
When Andy and Kate moved in just ➝
Mere Farm's garden is filled with play equipment
made at Andy's business, Pentagon Sport
The house's
main bathroom
Kate and Andy's
bedroom
CHESHIRE LIFE May 2011 185
over 18 months ago, they left behind a
new-build townhouse in Wilmslow.
Since then, Kate has transformed the
property into the family home they had
all hoped for.
The previous owners had put a lot of
love, care and attention into the house
but, like most homebuyers, they wanted
to put their own stamp on their new
home.
Kate’s passion for interiors can be
seen all around the house. Gorgeous
cross-stitch pieces made by the 36-yearold and her mum, Sue Williams, feature
around the house. Padded hearts, made
with girly fabric by sister, Jane
Clements, are also in abundance. Jane
186 CHESHIRE LIFE May 2011
also donated an illustrated canvas she
created at college which now hangs in
Harriet’s en-suite bathroom.
Both Harriet and Claudia also have
two small chairs in their bedrooms,
painstakingly restored and painted by
their mum when they were born. There
are also lots of colourful pieces around
the house that the women in the family
have sourced from local boutiques,
including The Lavender Tree in
Alderley Edge.
Holidays have also had a great
influence on the interior design. Large
photographs of places where Kate and
Andy have travelled act as mementos of
a round the world trip. Ceramics
bought on their regular holiday to
Cornwall are also dotted around the
place as well as an art work of a fish,
bought in St Ives using money
bequeathed to Kate by her grandfather.
These personal items sit alongside
dozens of photographs of Harriet and
Claudia as well as pictures from
Andrew and Kate’s wedding 12 years
ago.
But if Kate has had free-rein on the
interior, the outside of the property is
Andy’s realm.
He has used his business experience
to give the whole family their dream
garden. The company he owns makes
and builds children’s play equipment for ➝
cheshire.greatbritishlife.co.uk
Left: Kate and Andy's
bathroom
Below: Think pink Harriet's bedroom and
en-suite bathroom
with canvas done by
Kate's sister, Jane
Top: The lounge at Mere Farm
Above: A seating area on the
upstairs landing is decorated with
neutral colours
Right: Kate restored and painted
these chairs for Harriet and Claudia
when they were born
Bottom right: The dining room
looks out onto the garden
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CHESHIRE LIFE May 2011 187
schools across the country. As well as
the adventure trail that six-year-old
Harriet and Claudia, three, love playing
on so much, there’s also a wooden
gazebo which gives the adults their
playground.
Andy, also 36, said said: ‘We are really
looking forward to sitting out there in
the nice weather. We can sit and have a
glass of wine and watch the girls
playing. I think it’s something we’ll get
a lot of enjoyment from.
‘Our move was very much about the
outdoor space here. Our previous house
was nice but the garden wasn’t very big.
We want Harriet and Claudia to be
able to enjoy the outdoors, come home
from school and get straight out there
and have fun.
‘We don’t want them to be glued to a
computer. It’s also a pretty good
football pitch for me too. We couldn’t
have asked for anything better. I love
the outdoors. Kate fell in love with the
house, for me it was the outside.’
188 CHESHIRE LIFE May 2011
And Kate added: ‘We know this was
the right move for us. The girls
absolutely love it here. We’ve already
thought when they grow up we will be
able to have marquees in the back
garden for their weddings.
‘We feel so happy here and feel very
settled. I have loved decorating the
house and putting together all the things
that have made it special and personal to
us. We love our home and we couldn’t
ask for any better than that.’ ■
Top: Claudia's girly bedroom
Above: The girls' play room
Do you have a beautiful home that you
would like to be featured on the pages of
Cheshire Life? Contact Emma Mayoh at
[email protected] or at Cheshire
Life, 3 Tustin Court, Port Way, Preston, PR2
2YQ. For more interiors features and design
inspiration go to our website
cheshire.greatbritishlife.co.uk.
cheshire.greatbritishlife.co.uk