As the owner of The Beckford Arms, a traditional inn with country charm in Wiltshire, Charlie Luxton knows a thing or two about creating an environment that’s a pleasure to spend time in. Visit in summer and you can enjoy the sun-drenched terrace and warm walks across the rolling grasslands to Fonthill Arch; in winter, settle by the roaring fire in the sitting room with a book from the characterful library. Whatever the season, The Beckford Arms feels like a home away from home. It’s this comforting yet considered atmosphere that defines Charlie’s other ventures as owner of Beckford Group and his nearby home, too: a farmhouse he shares with his wife Chloe, founder of Bramley, his three children, two dogs, numerous chickens, and a couple of bantams.

Built in 1699, as the quaint sign above the door reads, the house has never been shy of personality, yet it lacked open space so often associated with modern living. Calling for light renovation, Charlie and Chloe were careful not to rid their farmhouse of rustic charm; they connected the rooms on the ground floor and added a contemporary extension that leads out to the garden, where their much-loved chickens run freely. But Charlie hasn’t always led such a country life: a former metropolitan man, he uprooted from his maisonette in Ladbroke Grove, west London, after falling in love with the lush landscape of Wiltshire in 2015. Here, he tells us about swapping the urban skyline for pastoral views, his ever-growing collection of Cornish oil paintings and antique furniture, and why he’s a fan of a good supper – rather than dinner – party.

Charlie: “Wiltshire is an extraordinary area. It’s wonderfully undeveloped and underpopulated yet has a surprising number of things going on. Messum’s Wiltshire art gallery has some amazing exhibitions under the UK’s largest expanse of thatch, there’s the Old Wardour Castle, restaurant Pythouse Kitchen Garden, plus Bruton, Salisbury Cathedral and Stonehenge are all nearby.

“I had finished working as the operations director of Soho House when a friend from Wiltshire called up and said he had an interesting pub going. I’d never been to Wiltshire before, so I drove down through the middle of an incredible parkland – I thought, if the pub is anywhere near here, it’s a winner. At that point, I asked myself, what am I doing in London? I was 41, getting married, having children, and when I saw this pub, everything clicked into place. The pub is very handsome, and the backdrop was wonderful. It wasn’t hugely planned but it felt like the right thing to do.

“It was October 2015 when my wife Chloe and I bought the home. Chloe was on time for the viewing while I was late; by the time I had hunted her out on the second floor, I had decided this was the house for us – luckily, she thought the same. At the time, Chloe was seven months pregnant, so we moved in straight away.

“We were instantly attracted to the space. I love the uniformity of the front of the house. Above the door, there is a stone that reads “1699”, which is one of my favourite parts. It also has an acre and a half of land and bizarrely six garages, which are useful for storing the pub’s bits and pieces plus any antiques – I boringly spend a lot of time looking at auction houses and hugely enjoy finding deals.

“Like so many houses, it has been extended over time. It had previously been lived in for some time by some slightly older people and they probably hadn’t done much to it since the 1980s or ’90s. We gave it a light refurbish – it’s become a much more open-plan, modern style of living.

“The house at the rear was ruined by a thin, badly insulated, 1980s glass walkway which felt colder on the inside than the outside most of the time. We wanted to quadruple the size of the space which squared up the building so connected the kitchen to the extension, allowing it to become a perfect eating and living space with several of the ground floor rooms feeding off it.

“We replaced all the carpets and repainted the home throughout. We made the rather formal dining room into a study, added a dividing wall to make the sitting room into a playroom, and added a garden room by Charlie Luxton Designs with a large seating and dining area.

“We specified Crittall windows – we had them in Soho House, and I just like the continuity of them. They feel slightly Georgian. We have a five-metre stretch of window that looks onto the garden.

“The work took three months. The house has been transformed from a working farmhouse to a modern space with interconnecting rooms, with a vastly improved flow.

“Interiors are one of my passions. A good interior should relax and pique an interest; it should surprise yet calm. I like simplicity. The colours here are generally unchallenging, but the art on the walls is brave and interesting and the furniture is eclectic. I always buy quality items that have something different about them. We have Georgian oak Windsor chairs, mid-century lights, Berber rugs, 1950s dining room chairs and traditional sofas. I don’t like too much colour flying around. I think people bring colour into a space and design shouldn’t conflict with that.

“We had art before, but we’ve bought a large amount over the past six months. I collect Cornish art – my family comes from Penzance – particularly oil paintings, most notably art by Jeremy Le Grice. We trawl saleroom.com, have several auction houses we visit, and whenever we go away we cannot resist a gallery.

“My favourite space in my home is my study. It contains my two 1960s tan leather chairs, a Tizio desk light and my favourite Peter Haigh painting. It feels cool and calm throughout the day. Decades ago, it used to be the kitchen, so it has a large fireplace and, being in the oldest part of the house, has hugely thick walls and relatively small windows.

“I retreat to my study whenever possible, but generally we live in the new extension which looks out onto the garden. Our boys hide away watching YouTube and playing on iPads in the sitting room and do their homework in the playroom.

“As I run a hospitality business, I am often socialised-out when I come home but if we do host it is very informal with simple food and good wine – never a dinner party, always a supper party. Supper’s more casual. We’d have something to share to start, then we might put a stew in the middle of the table, and everyone helps themselves. Otherwise, it means the people hosting the party spend most of their time cooking and clearing. With the food in the middle, it’s a more communal and sociable way of eating.

“My life has utterly, totally and completely changed since I left London. I bought an estate car, I’ve got three children, two dogs, a house with a nice big garden. We have chickens everywhere –sometimes less when the fox is out and about. They’re the most expensive eggs the world has ever seen! We get ex-battery chickens and give them a nice home. I live a complete country life.”

Charlie, what do you think it means to live in a modern way?

“Simplicity, efficiency and economically. Built with thought and environmental awareness. Modern living spaces are a physical and mental pleasure to live in.”

Is there a home on The Modern House website that’s caught your eye?

“Lansdown Place West looks perfect for a city pad and is just two minutes from my restaurant The Beckford Bottle Shop. It has fantastic light, glorious Georgian proportions and sharp finishes. It’s perfect to escape from the country.”