When a London client commissioned designer Sean Symington to makeover her weekend retreat in the English countryside, she requested something joyful, pretty, and full of florals… Something entirely different from her contemporary city home.

“A challenge for me was that we wanted it to be youthful, fun and colourful but the client had a lot of inherited brown furniture that she wanted to incorporate,” Sean told House & Garden. “We needed to lift it as it couldn’t all be antique so we mixed styles to keep it eclectic, adding in fresh touches in the fabrics, as well as accessories from the likes of Pooky and Vaughan.”

The house was in structurally sound condition, but it needed a major cosmetic facelift. Updates included freshening kitchen cabinets with “Red Earth” by Farrow & Ball, adding a pink rolltop cast iron tub in a bathroom, and enveloping each room with endless yards of bold and cheerful fabrics. “When it came to patterned fabrics, our client was happy to be adventurous with colour in this house as she’s not there all the time,” said Sean.

Let’s take a peek inside with photography by Chris Wakefield.

Sean Symington was born in Canada, where he worked until his early twenties. He moved to London and began working for Sam Todhunter and then David Collins, before establishing his own firm.  The Glam Pad adores that he prefers “older properties – they have more soul, character, life to them and history.” We look forward to sharing more of this up-and-coming designer’s work!

For additional information, please visit Sean Symington Interior Design and follow @seansymington on Instagram for ongoing inspiration.