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'I won't let Vic's dark side spoil my sun room'
HER HUSBAND VIC REEVES LOVES STUFFED ANIMALS BUT NANCY SORRELL HAS BANNED ANYTHING GORY FROM THEIR CHIC CONSERVATORY… ALMOST
It was this bright conservatory that clinched it for model Nancy Sorrell, 33, and her comedian husband Vic Reeves when it came to buying their house five years ago.
But rather than decorating it with potted palms and cane furniture, Vic, 48, moved in his taxidermy collection.
“He loves stuffed animals,” says Nancy.
“I can’t say I’m a fan. I don’t mind the sheep skull in the corner, though I feel it goes with the room in a strange way.
"The worst was a big black crow, which had to go!”
Dead crow aside, the couple have similar tastes when it comes to furnishing their four-bedroom Victorian house in Charing, Kent.
“We never row about house things,” says Nancy.
“We agreed to stick to the original style, so we kept to traditional period furniture and classic William Morris-designed wallpaper.
"The conservatory is definitely my favourite room, though.”
Nancy and Vic’s boisterous twins Elizabeth and Nell will be two next month, but the conservatory’s a no-go zone for them.
Nancy explains: “It isn’t very child-friendly and we’re constantly telling them not to touch things in here they have a massive playroom where they can run wild.
"Vic and I come in here with friends once the kids have gone to bed. We often have a few drinks and a singalong. Our friend Jeff Beck, who’s a guitarist, and his wife Sandra were here the other night and we had a proper jamming session.”
All of which sounds very rock ’n’ roll –until Nancy admits the conservatory is also a great vantage point from which to admire their large, immaculate garden, complete with vegetable patch.
“We like to grow our own food,” she says, “although the patch is a bit bare at the moment because rabbits chomped their way through the lot.”
Let’s just hope Vic doesn’t get any ideas about a new taxidermy project…
Nancy and Vic are appearing on Mr & Mrs on Saturday May 3, 6.45pm, ITV1.
1. CACTUS “This was a present from Lenny Henry and Dawn French to thank Vic for appearing in one of her shows about a year ago. It’s perfect because we’re not great at remembering to water plants, and it looks after itself.”
2. CHAIR “We got this leather Egg chair by Danish designer Arne Jacobsen years ago. It’s one of only two in the country. A copy was used in the first Big Brother series.”
3. VASE “We chose this together. It’s from a small shop called Uredale Glass in North Yorkshire (Uredale.co.uk), and cost around £80.”
4. HIMALAYAN RAM'S HEAD “One of Vic’s quirky purchases! He got it in a shop called Get Stuffed in Islington, North London. (Thegetstuffed.co.uk)”
5. SCULPTURE “Vic bought this original Henry Moore sculpture 20 years ago in Leeds. Some people are tempted to use it as a foot rest and we have to stop them!”
NANCY'S STYLE TIPS
* Trawl the internet, as things are much cheaper online than in the shops. We bought William Morris wallpaper on the web and saved a fortune.
* Go child-friendly by taking up carpets and replacing them with wooden floors. Then, if the kids stomp through with muddy shoes, you can just mop it up.
* Splash out on a couple of unique pieces on your travels — they’ll remind you of good times together.
Words: Polly Graham; Compiled by Sally Gillam; Photography: Syriol Jones; Hair and Make-Up: Caroline Piasecki at Time Agency
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ANNA RYDER RICHARDSON (FEBRUARY 03)
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