Tamsin extended into the attic to create a large, light-filled bedroom and ensuite bathroom, accessed by a narrow staircase. The panelled walls are painted a soft off-white with green undertones, and the room is sparsely decorated, with just a few small paintings that feel almost incidental. ‘I love art — but up here, the views mean that the windows are the paintings on the wall. I’m drawn to the colours of the leaves and the sky. When what’s inside is in harmony with what’s outside, you don’t feel in any way enclosed.’
Tucked away at the end of the garden, hidden by fig, apple and sambucus trees, the shed feels as if it had quietly grown out of the garden itself. None of the planting was there when Tamsin arrived. The structure was designed around the base of a chestnut tree, with a clearing in front where they eat in the shade of the fig tree and catch the last low rays of the sun in summer. ‘That’s where the last light falls in the evening,’ she explains.
Tamsin’s love of colour and pattern is evident in the rear garden room, where vintage textiles, art and antiques come together in a way that feels layered and relaxed.
Christopher Horwood
Built from reclaimed wood, the shed is full of gentle details, such as a finely carved door from a Victorian folly and the patterns that Freya painted on the walls and around the windows, drawing inspiration from seed heads and carvings from the Alhambra and a Cornish church.
With a thoughtful renovation complete and the garden now in full bloom, what makes Tamsin’s cottage truly special is the irresistible sense that everything in it has been brought together not for effect, but out of instinct, memory and emotion. It’s the same layered, intuitive approach that defines her work as a designer. ‘Every home I work on is a portrait of the people who live there, their experiences, what they love. That’s why I called my business Home and Found, not Tamsin Saunders. For me, home should feel natural and true — a place where house, garden and contents have evolved organically over time, shaped by their setting and the lives of those who live there.’
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