A stately Cornish home reimagined by Salvesen Graham

HOUSE TOUR | ROOMS & GARDENS | WORLD OF CABANA

This Grade I listed house has been in the same family for centuries, but when it was taken over by its current custodians they decided to change its part-public, part-private design for a house that will be used in its entirety by their young family. Cue an ambitious but sensitive renovation by British designers Salvesen Graham, which remains respectful to the property’s heritage but works in tandem with modern life.

BY BUSOLA EVANS | ROOMS & GARDENS | 20 JUNE 2025

Guest bathroom featuring walls in 'Ipswich Sprig' from Adelphi Paper Hangings, wash basin by Balineum and ‘Purbeck’ wall lights from Besselink and Jones © Simon Upton. A New English Style: Timeless Interiors by Salvesen Graham.

Built of Pentewan granite, with classical Palladian symmetry, Trewithen is one of Cornwall’s finest houses and considered one of the most refined examples of 18th century architecture in the entire county. Its historical weight is substantial: Trewithen was first mentioned in the Domesday Survey, a record about property ownership across England, in 1086. In 1715, it was bought by Philip Hawkins, a wealthy local attorney and remodelled by London architect Thomas Edwards. Then from 1740, it was enlarged by eminent architect Sir Robert Taylor. Remarkably, the house has remained within the Hawkins family and its descendants for ten generations – more than 300 years.

So when current custodians, Sam Galsworthy, co-founder of Sipsmith Gin, his wife Kitty and their three young children inherited the Grade I listed house, they knew it was a responsibility they could not take lightly. Trewithen had been Sam’s childhood home; growing up, his family had largely lived in the west wing of the house while the rest of the building was open to the public. But now, Sam decided to do things differently.

The kitchen, with walls in Paint and Paper Library’s ‘Leather III’, island in ‘Invisible Green’ by Little Greene and roman blinds in ‘Lustmore’ by Jean Monro; © Simon Upton. A New English Style: Timeless Interiors by Salvesen Graham.

While he wished the building to remain open to visitors, he also wanted the family to have the full run of the house and use all the spaces effectively. In order to achieve this, Sam and Kitty drafted a dynamo team with a deep understanding of historical houses, which included Somerset-based architect Martin Llewellyn, landscape historian Tim Mowl and interior design studio Salvesen Graham.

Salvesen Graham – designers Nicole Salvesen and Mary Graham – is known for its layered, joyful classicism, and the pair were acutely aware of treading the delicate balance of respecting Trewithen’s rich heritage while gently coaxing it into a modern era.“ Sam really subscribed to the view that if a house like this is going to survive and thrive, it needs to be used and lived in, and not kept as a museum,” says Mary. “Also the house had been untouched for about 50 years and part of the brief was for the decoration to last at least another generation.” One of the key considerations were the new spaces in which the family were going to be living in for the first time.

All images by Simon Upton. A New English Style: Timeless Interiors by Salvesen Graham, written by David Nicholls (Quadrille). 

“Before, there were rooms that were open to the public on certain days of the year and the door was closed on them the rest of the year,” says Nicole. “What the owner wanted to do was expand the area that the family were living in. So we had to create rooms that still maintained the historic fabric that the house was known for but where the family could genuinely live day-to-day.” The ground floor saw some careful reordering to rationalise the flow – the kitchen, which had been a sitting room for 40 years, was reinstated in its original location with freestanding pieces true to its history.

The new kitchen also allowed for the creation of supporting back-of-house areas such as the boot room, utility and the vibrant yellow pantry to replace what had been a series of odd spaces located in an incongruous 80s extension. “It wasn't the original layout of the house so what it enabled us to do was create something that still feels sympathetic to the rest of the house, but has a slightly more modern feel,” Nicole says.

Guest bathroom featuring armchair with ‘Isabella Paisley’ cushion fabric from de Le Cuona, bath by Drummonds and fenders upholstered in Guy Goodfellow’s Roussillon © Simon Upton. A New English Style: Timeless Interiors by Salvesen Graham. 

The original drawing room had been too small while the dining room had been a formidable size and as a consequence, rarely used by the family. Salvesen Graham’s solution was to swap both so the drawing room had more presence and also connected to the garden. With its ionic columns, plaster swags and fanciful curlicue, this powder pink ‘Grand Saloon’ has now become the house’s most impressive room.

Trewithen was already teeming with antiques so Mary and Nicole made use of these and occasionally when required, invested in more. “But what we absolutely love doing is repurposing and finding a way to reuse something that's there,” says Nicole. Most rooms called for reupholstered furniture – blousy Jean Monro mixes with oversized checks in Kitty’s study for instance. In a former ‘smoking room’, now a family snug, the walls are clad in green velvet which helps preserve the panelling underneath.

Guest bedroom featuring an antique blue armchair (client's own), Bloomsbury Square wallpaper (above mantelpiece) from Hamilton Weston, curtain fabric from Claremont and fenders upholstered in Gulnaar by Namay Samay © Simon Upton. A New English Style: Timeless Interiors by Salvesen Graham.

Upstairs, a couple of bedrooms became bathrooms, which had been lacking. “We did not want the feeling of en suites, which is like a hotel and not synonymous with an English country house.” explains Mary. “We would rather sacrifice a whole bedroom and make it into a bathroom than carve out one from somewhere.”

Turning the guest bedroom into a bathroom meant that the couple’s sleeping and dressing quarters had sole use of one of the house’s three staircases. The bedrooms and bathrooms are pattern-rich. Florals – such as the canopy in the couple’s bedroom – are balanced with neutral backdrops and dark wood. And an impressive guest bathroom is papered with diminutive print which gives it a traditional yet fresh feel.

Thanks to an interplay of formality and familiarity, Salvesen Graham has created a home that feels grand but never stiff and is poised for generations to come. “It really felt like we were playing a part in the history of Trewithen and the community,” says Mary. “Normally someone buys a country house and wants you to do it up, and there's no further context to it. So to be part of something that felt so much bigger was really a delight.”

Family snug featuring walls clad in Military Green ‘Velours Calder’ from Nobilis and sofa from George Smith in ‘Tessitura di Rovezzano Sassi’ fabric from Tissus d'Helene © Simon Upton. A New English Style: Timeless Interiors by Salvesen Graham.

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A New English Style: Timeless Interiors by Salvesen Graham is available now, written by David Nicholls, with photography by Christopher Horwood. Published by Quadrille.