‘Romanticism of the Ruin’: Leila El-Kayem and Sophie Mayer’s Art-Filled Devon Home and Studio

Inspired by Margot’s post last week on the stellar, nontraditional kitchens she spotted on the websites of European real estate firms, I found myself perusing the listings of my favorite U.K. agency, The Modern House, and there, I came across an especially dreamy offering: a rambling two-acre, multi-building property purchased by a pair of artists, Leila El-Kayem and Sophie Mayer, who lovingly transformed the dilapidated Victorian walled garden into a stylish retreat that’s appealingly rough around the edges.

The two creatives (Leila is a conceptual artist and poet; Sophie is a painter) enlisted architecture firm McClean Quinlan to help them transform the garden into a two-bedroom home that taps into the “feral” landscape of the area. “There’s something about walking into an untamed space that gives you permission to become untamed yourself,” Sophie told The Modern House’s Journal. “It reduced us back to an instinctive way of living, and that became very humbling and formative for both of us.”

“We wanted to retain as much as possible of what was already here,” continued Leila. “So we worked with the existing materials to make sure that we honoured what came before us, preserving the romanticism of the ruin. We haven’t knocked anything down. We just tried to keep the integrity of what’s here and slowly repair it.”

Here’s a peek at their loved, lived-in retreat. Head here for the full interview and here for the listing.

Photography by Paul Whitbread, courtesy of The Modern House.

Above: Pictured here is the main building on the property, “a bothy” that Leila and Sophie had converted into a living space. Also on the grounds is a greenhouse and a painting studio that was once the site of a squash court. Above: The entrance leads right into this long open kitchen and dining room. Above: A row of stainless steel cabinets make up the kitchen. (See Kitchen(s) of the Week: 12 Cook Spaces in Stylish Stainless Steel.) Above: Skylights and a wall of windows usher in natural light. Above: Looking out the front door. “Because of where the bothy is, in the northern corner of the garden, it’s the space that receives the most and longest sunlight. Just in front, we’ve got a gravelled terrace where we sit…. Spending time there, in the colder months in front of a fire, or in the warmer months with a cold beer allows you to look into the vastness of the world. That’s one of my favourite spots in the garden,” Leila told The Modern House. Above: Artful storage. To the right is the living room. Above: The cozy living room with a log-burning stove. Above: Off the living room is an office where Leila does much of her writing. The home stays warm via radiant floor heating. Above: The simple bedroom. Much of the home was built using local stone and brick. For a similar DIY headboard hack, head here. Above: Sophie’s painting studio was once used as a squash court. The couple retained many of the original features, including the double-height ceiling, and added a mezzanine. “The larger scale of the studio has allowed me to increase the size of my paintings and bring a larger gestural act and a physicality to the works themselves. It’s increased my confidence, giving me space, time and permission to be brave,” Sophie shared. Above: A beautiful mess. Above: The floorplan.

See also:

• Rehab Diary: Architect Ben Daly and Family at Home in a Converted Sheep Shed
• Indoor-Outdoor Living in Paris: A Windowless Warehouse Converted into a Family Loft, Central Courtyard Included
• Hooked on a Ruin: A Remote Barn Conversion in Rural Iceland