Yorkshire Life - January 2009

Giving up the glamorous fast-paced world of polo for a far flung North Yorkshire small-holding could have been one move too far for former polo manager Oliver Whiteley but he had no intention of living a quiet life when he moved back to his remote Georgian farmhouse, North Dockenbush, at Brearton near Harrogate, to be closer to friends and family.

Within a year he had renovated the neglected property from top to bottom, turning the tired old house into an elegant country home. And although it's isolated, Oliver's home life is busier than ever. Last year he decided to combine his love of the outdoors and country pursuits with special Bed and Breakfast accomodation, earning high acclaim from Alistair Sawday who described the house as a 'boutique farmhouse' offering a new concept in B&B.

'It's a great place to relax' he says 'People come to us from all over the UK because they like the comfort in a rural location, and the fact that I grow most of my own produce, rear meat for the table and produce home cooked food'.

Finding the right place took longer than he thought - 'I had been looking for about a year when a friend tipped me off about this house' says Oliver, who is an events manager. 'It was indescribably awful - almost derelict. No money had been spent on it for about 20 years but I loved the location, the fact that there is space for my horses and dogs, and that the house is large enough for people to stay without them getting under my feet.'

So Oliver moved in, sleeping on a mattress on the floor for the first few months while the structural work - creating en-suite bedrooms, updating services, building a new firplace in the sitting room and replastering was completed. 'One of the first things that I did was pull up and burn the flea ridden carpets,' says Oliver. 'It had been a working farmhouse and had taken a lot of knocks over the years but, structurally, it's as sound as the day it was built. A lot of the work was cosmetic.'

Oliver knew from the outset that he wanted his home to reflect it's rural location and his love of the countryside. Rich tones of red, brown, beige, green and blue feature throughout, along with antique wooden furniture handed down the family, stone flagged heavy floors, original floorboards and luxurious heavy fabrics. The house is full of animal prints and paintings, books relating to food, vegetable growing and country lifestyles, and the high-ceiling farmhouse kitchen is a magnet for two and four legged visitors. 'I like people to walk in and feel instantly at home' says Oliver. 'I knew how I wanted the rooms to look and I have a great friend in an increadibly talented interior designer Zoe Holmes, www.zoeholmes.co.uk who knew where to find everything and helped steer me in the right direction, the only room we disagreed on was the dining room - I thought it too modern and not really me so we swapped the furniture for some family heirlooms and bought a richer curtain fabric and created a look I could live with.'

The result is a house which is a very personal combination of timeless country warmth and clean modern lines. Most visitors find themselves ushered straight into the kitchen, fitted with floor to ceiling shelves crammed with cookware and crockery, and a large kitchen table where everyone sits for fresh bacon, eggs and coffee. The sitting room is definitly for evenings. full of rich colours and opulent fabrics. Olivers flamboyant personality and his work in events management is reflected in the huge stone and timber fireplace and twin giant- sized storm lanterns standing on either side. Upstairs, each of the five bedrooms has it's own distinct character, ranging from boutique chic to opulent French-style blue and cream.

'It's a very different house to the one I moved into a year ago,' says Oliver, who has his housekeeper Jacquie Coude to thank for keeping it in order. 'It was neglected and soulless, now it's always full of people who want to sit round the table and eat, drink and talk to the early hours.  It's a house with a heart again.'