Guided tour of the country house of Edie Campbell in Northampothire<

Lifestylele Top Edie Campbell was looking for a place of retirement in the countryside when she found land in Northampothire, with two lakes.The next step was to design and build a house ... with his mother.

By Ellie Pithers

Do you want to test the strength of the relationship with your mother?So do like Edie Campbell: draw and build your house with her."We are never so well spoken, nor as well understood," says the model, extended in a deckchair on the terrace of the Northampothire house that she has just finished building with her mother, Sophie Hicks."Before, we were not really tender with each other, because we are always harder with his mother than with his friends.But it was enough that we work together to bury the ax of war.»

This sudden harmony is not the result of chance: graduate in art history, accustomed to the countryside Fendi or Versace and pages of Vogue, the 30 -year top model acquired a solid knowledge of contemporary architecture.As for Sophie Hicks, 60, former fashion editor of English Vogue, is today a recognized and awarded architect, whose talent consists in particular in associating ergonomics and elegance, a rigorous style that we find in his achievements forChloé and Paul Smith shops, or in the houses of Simon Le Bon, the singer of Duran Duran. Quinze mois de labeur et quelques confinements plus tard, la mère et la fille sont ravies de cette “maison entre deux lacs», qui leur a donc aussi permis de renforcer leur lien. “Maman a des avis sur tout», nous confie Edie Campbell avec tendresse."But I know what I like, I don't let myself be influenced. Et au fond ça nous a aidées : moi je devais savoir ce que je voulais, et elle devait le mettre en œuvre».Sophie Hicks, for her part, describes her daughter as the ideal client.“It was a pleasure to work with Edie because she knows how to make decisions.Once she made a choice, she stands there. C’est ce qu’il y a de plus efficace».

After thirty years spent in London and fifteen years of international career in fashion, on podiums around the world, Edie Campbell felt the need to get green for some time.She chose the Northampothire, a little-known and underestimated county in eastern midlands, already because she knew the place well (her mother has rented a cottage in the region since 1985 and the family spends all her summers)But also because it is an ideal spot for national horse racing competitions.Since adolescence, Edie Campbell has indeed been on horseback and participates in semi-professional competitions with her own horses, in a nearby boarding.

The young woman, visited dozens of places before falling on this old brick career in the middle of the fields. Le propriétaire précédent avait fabriqué quelques bâtisses, creusé deux lacs qu’il avait peuplés de brochets, avant de se lancer dans un petit business de “coarse fishing» [une forme de pêche de loisir].Edie Campbell fell in love. “Les lieux avaient une belle énergie, c’était super calme».And above all there was enough space to build stables and paddocks.In May 2018, the land was her.

A tired bungalow, a ruined hangar ... you had to start shaving all the buildings. Pour autant Edie Campbell était catégorique : elle ne voulait surtout rien de “lisse, brillant et graphique» qui puisse ressembler à la “villégiature champêtre d’un dirigeant de hedge-fund» ou au “repaire d’un méchant de James Bond».By caressing Pam, his Schnocker (Cross Schnauzer Miniature and Cocker Spaniel), Edie Campbell designates the long house, covered with wavy wood fiber, which could almost pass for a local hangar.She wanted her house to be authentic, but that she still presents a real singularity. “Bon, c’est sûr qu’elle est très différente de celles du coin» dit-elle, “mais je n’allais quand même pas faire construire un vieux cottage en pierre de pays».

An authentic but singular house

Sophie Hicks first asked Edie to write a little 200 -words text that describes the daily life she imagined to live in her future house. “J’étais surprise», se rappelle Edie Campbell.“I did not suspect that my mother's creative approach could be so romantic.» Mais c’est justement l’enjeu psychologique de l’habitat contemporain qui intéresse Sophie Hicks. “Chacun perçoit et habite les lieux à sa façon», nous dit Sophie Hicks. “En architecture, il faut savoir comprendre la personnalité et les habitudes des gens pour qui on travaille, de façon à créer pour eux l’environnement le plus confortable possible».Favor the opening to comfort, create a circulation between the interior and the exterior, ensuring that we can see horses from the house: the description of Edie was a real manifesto. “Elle ne voulait pas d’une maison d’architecte, elle a été très claire sur ce point», se souvient Sophie Hicks."I also don't like the architecture that appears.I like discretion and parsimony, that everything is in its place and is based in the environment. J’ai tout de suite compris ce qu’elle voulait».

But for once, the mother and the daughter released on the site of the house.Rather than building on the basics of the home of the former owner, now transformed into a merry -go -round for horses, they have flashed in a place a thousand times more romantic: the narrow tongue of earth between the two lakes.Sophie Hicks has buried crosspieces over eighteen meters in the swampy soil, then she united a steel frame there in order to obtain a simple modular structure.For the rest, glazing, wood fiber coating, prefabricated concrete plates for the ceiling and floors, it has opted for standard materials. A l’exception d’une sorte de “visière» ajoutée aux panneaux du toit pour en adoucir la pente et empêcher la pluie de s’écouler directement sur les baies vitrées, et de deux murs intérieurs courbes, faits en sable brut et ciment couleur rose mastic, qui dissimulent la cuisine fonctionnelle en inox à une extrémité de la maison et les chambres de l'autre. “J’avais peur que la maison ressemble à une cellule de prison si les pièces étaient toutes à angle droit», explique Edie Campbell. “C’est un cauchemar pour y accrocher des œuvres d’art mais c’est très agréable à vivre au quotidien».

Tastefully reused materials

Campbells are rather the frugal type and have held on a reasonable budget.Sophie Hicks never throws anything away and has reused materials from old houses, stored for decades in countless Granges in the countryside.She recycled old shelves and oak cupboards, which adorned Edie's childhood house in the west of London, to furnish the living room and the bedrooms, while a brass door that she recovered on asite in the 90s comes to add, with its golden patina, an authentic majesty at the entrance.

In the living room, the feet sofa is a donation from Edie Campbell's father and the chairs, which were found on the site of The-Saleroom auction.com, each cost less than 6 €.It’s the most expensive decor.Edie Campbell's best friend, Christabel Macgreevy, created sculptural ceiling lights inspired by Franz West, discovered during an exhibition at Tate Modern in 2019.The low tables have been made with large pine trunks that come directly from the property of designer James Shaw.

Resolutely sober and unadorned, the house is today clear and spacious.Edie Campbell and her girlfriend, journalist Hanna Hanra, get up early every morning to admire the sunrise. Elles nettoient les écuries, cueillent les fruits et légumes de leur serre et font travailler les chevaux – Bruno, Tinker, Dolly, Ed et un poney qui n’a pas encore de nom, cadeau d’Edie Campbell à Hanna Hanra pour ses 40 ans, vivent aujourd’hui dans un véritable “palace pour chevaux», un vaste champ situé derrière le plus grand des deux lacs.Edie Campbell and Hanna Hanra spend their summer afternoons leafing through the Lonely Planet of Guatemala (they plan to go there soon), bathe in the lake or take sunbathing on the inflatable unicorn, relic of aRecent Pool Party. “Trois fermiers se sont pointés !» nous raconte Edie Campbell en riant, sans oublier d’ajouter que la fête a eu lieu en plein air et que tout le monde a respecté les gestes barrières. “Ils étaient tellement gentils que je leur ai proposé de rester».When night falls, the two women settle near the fireplace and assiduously watch the films named at the 2021 Oscars on a TV ingeniously hidden in the slaughter of an Ottoman.

A cocoon transformed into a real sanctuary

This house has become the sanctuary of Edie Campbell.As a reminder, the model was the victim of a serious cerebral lesion after falling from horse in May 2019. “Pile pendant la semaine de sensibilisation aux lésions cérébrales, parfait timing !» nous dit-elle, caustique.It took him over six months to recover. “J’ai recommencé les compétitions, ce qui est une bonne chose, mais je suis encore très distraite». Edie Campbell paraît pourtant avoir retrouvé toutes ses capacités intellectuelles et semble n’avoir rien perdu de son sens de l’autodérision quand elle nous montre une rose Eglantyne en pleine floraison : “Je suis obsédée par les noms de roses ces derniers temps, je deviens une vraie petite vieille».

Speaking of roses, even if Sophie Hicks and Edie Campbell wanted to leave the ground around the house relatively wild, it was still necessary to do some cleaning.They had the brambles and brush cuts, before planting cherry trees, damask, alder, birch, wild apple trees and hawthorn, typical of Northampionshire.Under the terrace, they also placed ferns and aquatic mint.In a few years, wild flowers and grasses will grow along the career alley that leads to the entrance. “Patience et longueur de temps…», s’amuse Edie Campbell, “Ça ne me ressemble pas trop ! J’ai toujours vécu dans l’immédiat, dans des choses qui se font, c’est maintenant ou jamais». “Il faut que tu partes à New York ce soir !» C’était ça ma vie.So it's really new for me to let nature follow its course, to arm yourself with patience. Mais j’adore ça».

The video “Objects of affection” with Edie Campbell:

Photographs: Simon Watsonstyism: Tabitha Simmonscoiffure: Alfie SackettMaquillage: Ciara O'Sheasittings Editor: Miranda Brooksproduction: Susannah Phillipsdigital Artwork: Digitalfilm

Translation by Rachel Bordenave

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Behind the scenes of Vogue shoot with Edie Campbell and Mikael Jansson

17 indiscreet questions to Edie Campbell

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