Who’d live in a house like this? (From Living Northeast)

Who’d live in a house like this?

1:32pm Tuesday 17th March 2009 in

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The owner of this Teesdale house has already had the TV Through The Keyhole treatment. JENNY LAUE follows in Loyd Grossman’s footsteps to discover more.

WHAT kind of house would you expect a former antiques dealer to live in? A big old, draughty pile of stones, with dark colours and every corner stuffed with antique furniture, perhaps?

In the case of TV personality David Harper, nothing could be further from the truth. The Teesdale home he shares with wife Wendy, daughter Henrietta, and Button the dog, is a comfortable, converted cow byre. Not at all draughty or stuffy, it is all natural light, neutral colours and cosy furniture.

But it wasn’t always like this. When the Harpers moved into the byre eight years ago, it was more or less a shell. “It was like a long thing, like a caravan, with room after room after room,” remembers David.

“When you convert an 18th Century barn, there is so much work involved, like drainage and electricity. We were lucky, though, because this had partly been converted; the electric was already in and the roof had been done, but that was about it.

“We lived in a skip for a long time,” says Wendy.

“We even had some of the cow stalls left in the bedrooms. We had to do all the cosmetic work, like hanging doors, the light switches, skirting boards, everything.”

They loved doing all the decorating, though, David assures me. “And what’s also great about it is the fantastic location. It’s practical for the A1, Barnard Castle and Darlington, and it has some land and a paddock for the horses. In fact, since we bought this house I’ve got really into gardening. We’ve had to put every single plant in ourselves and it’s been a bit of a revelation. I love it.”

But even with all the decorating done, the Harpers haven’t stopped. The latest home improvement is a new extension to the back of the house, a kind of entrance vestibule – “somewhere to take off your wellies when you come in” – which was finished only two days before my visit.

Despite being long and thin and having no upstairs, the cottage provides ample space for a family of three, a dog and any guests. It has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a guest loo and a large conservatory.

The conservatory was added two years ago. By knocking through a wall and extending into the garden, the couple have doubled the size of their living room.

With its huge French doors and glass roof, it is a great place to sit and chat and enjoy some of the great sculptures, ceramics and paintings David has picked up over the years on his travels for TV shows such as The One Show, Bargain Hunt and Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is.

There are also squashy leather sofas, a large upholstered stool instead of a coffee table and one or two comfy chairs in which to recline and watch the nights draw in.

The connection with the front room is smooth, helped by the natural carpet laid throughout the house.

This room has a really cosy feel to it, too. Particularly eye-catching are the marquetry display cabinet and the circular gold-leaf mirror above the cream sofa.

But there’s something missing – a television – which is strange considering it’s the medium in which David earns his living.

The couple have a portable set which they rig up in the kitchen if they want to watch anything.

The study is housed in another extension and is a charming, higgledy-piggledy mixture of old furniture and new office equipment. The computer, for instance, sits on an old-fashioned, dark wood desk and chair, and the grey metal filing cabinet stands happily next to a chest of drawers from an auction room. David’s trophy for winning the Ready, Steady, Cook challenge and the golden Through the Keyhole key, with which all guests of the show are presented, take pride of place.

But the heart of the house, according to the couple, is the kitchen – and it is immediately clear why. It is big, bright and warm. The walls are painted a neutral cream, as are the country-style kitchen cupboards, which have plain wooden knobs.

The reclaimed oak wood floorboards add an element of warmth to the space, with left-over planks used as worktops. The 200-year-old dining table in the middle of the kitchen seats up to eight people comfortably, yet there is enough room to fit in a double cooking range, a sideboard and an elegant, three-seater sofa, which is upholstered in a classic, light-blue, stripy fabric.

David’s love for furniture and sculpture clearly shines through in all the cottage’s rooms and I wonder if the couple have had to compromise a great deal over the decor. “Lucky, not too much,” laughs Wendy, “though if David had his way, we would have much more furniture.”

What is nice about theirs converted barn is that it is a real family home. Yes, the couple have furnished it with some exquisite pieces, but they don’t seem to be too precious about them and they have succeeded in infusing their little cow byre with real cottagey character.

■ Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is will be back in the new year. David also writes a regular column for Period House magazine and is an antique expert contributor for The Times newspaper. davidharper-tv.co.uk