BBC personality to bring 'objects of desire' to Norfolk home

The event is inspired by traditional country house sales and will take place on Friday, November 25 and Saturday, November 26, featuring a range of antiques and brocante items, as well as floral installations, festive candles and decorative 'objects of desire' from Jo Roberts of the BBC's Bidding Room.

The event is run by Janine Price at her home in Saxlingham Nethergate. She and her husband, Chris, moved to the property in 2000, after swapping their old farmhouse in Warwickshire for the Elizabethan hall. At the time they didn't even know anyone from Norfolk.

Janine Price and her husband Chris moved to The Old Hall in Saxlingham Nethergate in 2000 (Image: Janine Price)

“We were lured by The Old Hall,” Janine says. “We found the house on the internet and came and had a look. I can’t even remember us having a proper conversation about it.

"We came to view her on a sunny August bank holiday and moved in 10 weeks later in a torrential downpour. We didn’t even know where the nearest supermarket was.” 

The property needed work, but it wasn’t derelict or in disrepair – it was exactly the scale of project they wanted. “It’s a proper Elizabethan house allowed to age gracefully,” she explains. “It just exudes history and a sense of place from every room. 

“We had viewed so many houses which looked wonderful on paper but in reality were bearing the scars of inappropriate additions or over-restoration. Here we were packed with original features: oak boards, moulded beams, leaded light windows with 17th century glass and fabulous fireplaces and despite needing lots of love – as well as new plumbing, heating and electrics – it had that special feeling.” 

The event, which will take place this Friday and Saturday, November 25-26, will show the house dressed for Christmas (Image: Simon Buck Photography)

That Christmas, Janine says they invited friends to celebrate with them. “We hadn’t upgraded the heating by then so we had very large log fires and lots of party games to keep warm,” she says. But even then, it still felt magical. 

The couple took around two years to do the renovations, which cost them time, money and energy. When it came to furnishing, they stayed traditional in their tastes, reflecting not only the age and style of the property, which is Grade II star-listed and dates back to the early 17th century, but because it was a style they liked and were already familiar with. 

“My husband has always been interested in period oak, antique textiles and tribal rugs, so we brought some of those with us and they form the backbone of how we’ve dressed the house,” Janine explains. 

“We’ve added good pieces as and when budget has allowed, but we’ve also trawled local auctions and antiques fairs for more affordable items that we love, to give the house that welcoming, layered, lived-in feel. For me, it’s not about having expensive things; it’s about having things you love.” 

The Old Hall in Saxlingham Nethergate will be decorated for Christmas, with antiques dealers bringing their wares to display in situ (Image: Simon Buck Photography)

Today, their home is the epitome of English country style, offering eight bedrooms which they let out to guests for short stays. It’s a genuine country house, nestled in 17 acres, which includes a heated swimming pool and a tennis court, and offers three grand reception rooms. It also includes a great dining hall and a country-style kitchen. 

But it’s the interiors Janine is most passionate about. In 2019, she began hosting a series of traditional country house sales, inviting local and London-based vendors to her home to display and sell their wares to the public. They were “really, really successful” she says, but had to stop during Covid.  

Now they’re returning to the calendar, with the next one – the first since 2019 – taking place later this week and described as a real twist on a modern antique fair. 

“I’m old enough to still remember being able to go along to proper country house sales, where they were selling everything,” Janine says. “The whole contents of the house would be for sale and there’s something quite magical about wandering around the house, seeing things in the position that they’ve been in for years and being able to buy things. 

Janine says she remembers visiting country house interior sales before, and found the experience of walking around them magical (Image: Janice Issitt)

“That was probably the inspiration for doing the country house events. It’s completely different to a normal antiques sale, in that we have a number of dealers who will basically bring their things and style the house.

“It’s nice for people to be able to come around and see how things look, rather than seeing it in a shop or showroom or at an antiques fair.” 

The event will be a sharing of ideas as much as a chance to buy or sell, allowing visitors the opportunity to go around the house and see how vintage, brocante and antique items can work in different settings.  

“As time has moved on, my interior tastes have changed and I’ve become more confident mixing vintage and brocante finds in with more period pieces that you’d expect to find in a house like this. That’s why our events are so wonderful – by inviting other people to style the house with their antique and vintage finds, it changes the look and feel of the house and gives you endless inspiration.” 

Janine hopes people will be inspired by the set-up, with different looks layered together, in situ, to reflect how rooms can be lived in and to make people think about how they might be able to use antique and vintage items in their own spaces – whatever space that might be. She says it even encourages her to think about how to use her own house differently, too. 

Janine, who owns The Old Hall and is running the event, says she hopes people will be inspired by the displays (Image: Janice Issitt)

“The house is Grade II star-listed and one of the reasons that it’s got its two-star listing is that we have a very, very pretty panelled sitting room,” she explains. Previous owners had painted it in white gloss paint but when they moved in, Janine and her husband redecorated it with something more in-keeping: ‘babouche’ – a sort of ochre-hued yellow – by Farrow & Ball.  

“Lots of things work against that colour,” she says. “We have it as a sitting room with pretty silk sofas and big wing chairs but at the last event we did in 2019, we changed it into a dining room. We had a great big circular table there. We did an amazing sort of tablescape, with all sorts of crockery and cutlery and glass – that definitely makes you think differently about that space, because that’s a room that we very rarely used as a sitting room. It’s a fresh pair of eyes.” 

The event will be a collaborative effort and include a mix of styles, from more traditional English furniture to vintage art and brocante.  

Janine says everything will be dressed with a bit of festive sparkle for this year's event, with vendors bringing their wares to showcase in situ (Image: Janice Issitt)

There will be objects for the kitchen, garden and a range of textiles, Janine says. “We’ve got a mixture of people – things that you would maybe expect to find in a house like that, and then maybe some things that you wouldn’t.” 

There will also be fresh and dried flowers from Jo Flowers and Natalie Boon – who did last year’s kitchen display at Holkham Estate – as well as some of Janine’s favourite dealers from across Norfolk and Suffolk and decorative artefacts from Jo Roberts, who many may recognise from the BBC’s Bidding Room. 

And everything will be sprinkled with a touch of festive sparkle – with vintage baubles and scented candles also available. 

“People seem to really enjoy it,” Janine says. “It becomes a day out for people – it’s quite a nice way to kick off the festive season, really.” 

Tickets are available from £9.50. For more information, visit countryhouse-interiors.co.uk. You can also find out more by finding @theoldhallnorfolk on Instagram.