We started with how we wanted you to feel.
Before colours, furniture or finishing touches, we thought about how it would feel to stay here.
To sleep deeply. To wake slowly. To notice the morning light through the windows, the view outside and the quiet of the countryside around you.
That thinking shaped many of the choices we made afterwards.
Some are things you will notice. Others simply do their job quietly in the background.
Sleep well
A beautiful room means very little if you don't sleep well in it.
The bed was one of the first things we chose for Lead & Linen — and one of the things we were least willing to compromise on.
We found what we were looking for surprisingly close to home. Naturalmat has been making beds and mattresses here in Devon for more than 25 years, using natural materials and traditional craftsmanship. Choosing something made here in Devon felt completely right for Lead & Linen.
We fell for their Budleigh Bed because of its wonderfully soft, oversized headboard. Somewhere to lean back with a morning coffee, read for a while or simply stay in bed a little longer.
Surrounded by so much greenery, we wanted to bring some of that feeling inside too. The soft green upholstery felt naturally at home in the rooms.
But what you can't see mattered just as much.
Each bed is paired with Naturalmat's Superb mattress, handmade using natural materials including organic wool, natural latex and organic cotton, with individually nested pocket springs for support.
And we didn't want the thinking to stop at the mattress.
We chose cotton and linen bedding, with Naturalmat's goose-down duvets and duck-down surround pillows completing the bed — layers chosen not simply for how they look, but for how they feel when you finally climb into them.
From the bed itself to the last layer of linen, sleep was something we chose to invest in.
A house that works with nature
Long before Lead & Linen existed, the house was designed to make thoughtful use of the world around it.
Rainwater is harvested here, solar energy helps provide hot water and heating, and the wood burner is connected into the house's heating system.
Rather than trying to impose something completely new, we've worked with what was already here and allowed Lead & Linen to evolve with the house.
Much of it happens quietly in the background. We think that's how it should be.
Made, found and chosen
Not everything here needed to be new.
Some things were made for the house. Others were discovered in antique shops, markets and places we've found while exploring Devon.
We've chosen things slowly — for their craftsmanship, their story, or simply because they made us stop and look twice.
Over time, they've become part of the character of the house.
Through Andy's lens
Many of the photographs you see here were taken by Andy.
Since moving here, the landscape around us has become part of he photographs — the coast, woodland and moors, changing weather and those brief moments of light that make somewhere familiar look completely different.
You'll find his landscape photography around Lead & Linen too, with selected images available as prints.
Dogs are another favourite subject. Photography sessions can be arranged during your stay, outside in the countryside rather than in a studio.
Just your dog, being your dog.
Explore Andy's photography →