Salmestone Grange, Margate, Kent | Enchanted By Design - Timorous Beasties

There are interiors that simply decorate a space, and then there are interiors that completely transform how a building feels. At Salmestone Grange, the latter is unmistakably true. Nestled on the Kent coast just outside Margate, the historic house wears its age beautifully, a little weathered, deeply atmospheric and entirely alive with character. Rather than restoring away its quirks, owner Jenny Pelly has embraced them, creating rooms that feel immersive, layered and emotionally resonant.

Central to that vision is a selection of Timorous Beasties’ wallpapers and fabrics which have become woven into the identity of the Grange itself. Their designs, romantic yet shadowed, botanical yet untamed, sit effortlessly within the breathing, slightly crumbling beauty of the building.

“I like designs that really bring nature and animals inside without looking twee,” says Jenny. “The designs somehow manage to capture the beauty of nature but never lose the sense that it’s finite and precious. They have a bit of a darkness to them and that matches the breathing, at points crumbling, building we are working with.”

Jenny has returned to Timorous Beasties time and again throughout the house, drawn not only to the artistry of the designs but to the confidence they inspire within a historic setting.

“I have used Timorous Beasties several times now and I feel very confident choosing because I know that whatever is chosen is going to be spectacular. Any decision will be the right one.”

Perhaps nowhere is that more enchanting than within the staircase wrapped in Indie Wood. The wallpaper transforms what could have been a narrow transitional space into something entirely transportive. Dense with flora and fauna, moths, beetles and woodland detail, the design draws the eye upward like an imagined forest canopy.

“Our house has a Tree Protection Order and some of the trees are very special,” Jenny explains. “The Indie Wood design gives a sense of bringing the trees inside, and with a feeling of height this design gives; a boring pokey staircase (albeit with a high ceiling) is turned into an enchanted forest when I drag the children to bed. Everyone, young and old is captivated by it.”

Elsewhere, the Grange’s reverence for craftsmanship and heritage comes beautifully to life in the Bloomsbury Garden room. The chapel at Salmestone Grange features extraordinary windows designed by John Trinick, who trained under William Morris, and that Arts & Crafts lineage subtly echoes throughout the interiors.

“The house has Arts and Crafts at its heart and Bloomsbury Gardens was selected before I realised the Morris inspiration,” says Jenny. “Guests book this room for the wallpaper. It is just so beautiful, it is old, but re-imagined, natural but cosy, it is everything we are looking to do with our house. I actually bought the material for the cushions and the bedspread before the room was built. The room was designed around that wallpaper.”

The connection feels serendipitous. Bloomsbury Garden, inspired by William Morris and the Victorian Arts & Crafts movement, swarms with briars, fruiting vines, butterflies and beetles rendered in extraordinary detail. It is romantic without becoming nostalgic, historic without feeling frozen in time. There is depth, movement and richness to the print that gives the room its unmistakable cocooning charm.

In another bedroom, the Pheasant Wallpaper introduces a softer but equally characterful layer to the house’s visual language. Hand-drawn pheasants framed by branches and florals create a repeating composition that feels elegant yet playful, while layered foliage adds a richness perfectly suited to the Grange’s period bones. It is decorative storytelling at its finest, a little eccentric, entirely charming and endlessly inviting.

And the best part? You can actually stay there!