To dip into the lives of the Gladstone family, even for a day, is to get a glimpse of happy chaos. The blend is delightfully unusual: six children and their two dynamic parents share their lives with five ponies, a retired police horse, two dogs, a small semi-resident staff made up of family and friends and a thriving mail order business.

All this is crammed into a rambling nineteenth-century shooting lodge, its

stables and its fabulous grounds in Glen Dye, south-west of Banchory in Kincardineshire. It's hectic but, says Charlie Gladstone with a wide grin, it's home.

He and his wife Caroline moved in more than 13 years ago when their oldest child Jack was just a baby and Charlie - a great, great grandson of former Prime Minister William Gladstone - was still a scout for Warner Brothers record label. He ''found'' The Charlatans and managed They Might Be Giants and Kingmaker until, fed up with commuting to London and LA, he resigned to stay home and start Pedlars, a successful clothing mail order business. Now in its sixth year, the autumn/winter 2003 catalogue sees a major departure into funky and functional merchandise for the home.

It's an incredible feat, considering the remoteness of their base. Although their office is situated in the stable building a few yards down the drive, as a unit they are still 10 single-track miles from the nearest town, Banchory. They rely solely on the kindness of friends (who do the admin, feature in the catalogue and help with the photography) and on the twice-daily visits from the Post Office special delivery van.

The building of their 15-bedroomed home began in 1803 and finished in 1890. When the Gladstones bought it after having come up from London for holidays every August for years, the decor hadn't been touched since the 1920s. Renovation and redecoration took five years. Now the

couple's own happy memories have been added along with the births of India, Tara, Xanthe, Kinvara, Felix - and a much-needed central heating system.

Thanks to their keen sense of style, the Gladstones' blend of old and new is

electrifying. Caroline was a designer with Laura Ashley ''when it was in its heyday'' and her eye for colour is strong. A blend of terracotta and sunny yellow in the reception hallway complements the stained wooden floorboards, oak table and antique antlers on the walls. The huge hall is painted in a Fired Earth jade green with a brilliant white cast iron and wood banister.

A sun-drenched glass inglenook off the hall houses an upright piano and music stand swamped by an overgrown angel fern, while a smaller room on the way to the kitchen is painted a deep shade of plum and lit with a starburst metal chandelier, overlooked by a clutch of red geraniums growing by the light of a tiny original sash window. This room boasts a huge wicker wheeled Post Office basket bought at auction in Montrose for (pounds) 25.

There are original porcelain sinks in almost every corner of the house. Upstairs, in the passageway separating the children's bedrooms, sits a low double sink unit

complete with child's toothbrushes and toothpaste. The piece de resistance in the study is the chair William Gladstone sat in when he was Prime Minister. It was made from dark, ornately carved mahogany. Its leather seat is worn, throwing out early

Victorian horsehair like a cough. Charlie uses it as his office chair.

''It's a great heirloom to have,'' says Charlie. ''I'll never have the seat repaired because it's nice to be able to see where the old man sat.'' Does he look like him? ''It's so very hard to tell, because all the portraits of him were done when he was older than I am,'' replies Charlie, 39.

The massive kitchen is clearly the heart of this entrancing home. It's dominated by a pine dresser, which elegantly lines an entire wall. It is original to the house, as is the concrete surround which once held the cooking range and where the double porcelain sinks are located. A huge island worktop means that Caroline, who does all the cooking for the family, and friends and colleagues when there's a catalogue shoot, can socialise while she's working.

When we meet, Caroline is a bit wobbly because her two older daughters, India,

12, and Tara, 10, have gone off to

boarding school at Ardvreck in Crieff. ''It's near enough

to remain in close contact, and they come home every three weeks, but it's still hard,'' she says.

Jack is also away at school. The other two girls, Xanthe, seven, and five-year-old Kinvara, go to the local primary. Three-year-old Felix - who shares a middle name with Charlie's musical hero Bob Marley - sits on his mum's knee smearing her Agnes B shirt with a banana.

Caroline is heavily involved in sourcing manufacturers, designers and fabrics for Pedlars. Some of their suppliers are

ex-Laura Ashley, and she retains her former boss as a consultant. But she is determined to be a full-time mother to their children. ''We decided very early on that my involvement with Pedlars would not impinge on my job or my duties as a mum,'' she says. ''It is not going to take away from that. When I'm designing a collection or organising a catalogue I do it outwith children's time. If that means getting up at 4am, I'll do it. Luckily, I'm the kind of person who doesn't need much sleep.''

She is well organised and runs colour coded diaries for all of the children, plus herself and Charlie. She shares the mighty task of the school run with her best friend, who is also Felix's godmother.

On top of organising the family, Caroline looks after her own horse and the girls' five ponies. Charlie prefers listening to music and has a wonderful system wired into the kitchen and library.

Caroline's favourite cooks are Nigel Slater, Nigella and Jamie Oliver, while Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is a friend: Charlie and he were at Eton together. Unfortunately, however, the Gladstones are unable to truly fulfil the rural dream. The ''beautiful'' chickens Caroline bought for Charlie's birthday two years ago were eaten by a goshawk before they'd laid an egg, and all their attempts at garden

produce were consumed by rabbits.

So instead, they source all food locally and have it delivered to the house. ''Living 10 miles from Banchory makes it difficult to shop,'' she says. They are keen on local farmers' markets and their favourite

suppliers are Sheridans of Ballater, Aboyne Fruit and Flowers, and an organic lamb farmer from Huntly.

''We're very big on staying local because we believe that small is beautiful. We are quite anti-label and pro-antiglobalisation,'' says Charlie. ''In many ways, that's the essence of Pedlars. We are only a tiny business with a turnover of (pounds) 1m, but that's how we want to keep it. We are determined to stick to our ethos of sourcing material that has been made by small British companies.''

The clothing range offers skirts, jumpers and scarves made in Elgin; jumpers knitted on a hand frame in Dundee; and trousers sewn in Ayr. Fleeces are made in London. Even the beaded dog collars are made by Masai women in Leeds. While Charlie insists that ''to make our clothes abroad would compromise our whole ethic'', he concedes that it is difficult to source well-made clothes in Britain.

They have increased their customer base from 15,000 to 20,000 in the last 18 months, and Charlie ascribes this growth to the introduction of merchandise.

Pedlars now offers a fun range of kitchen, garden and bathroom ware, and children's toys - a total of 150 pieces compared to 80 last year. General merchandise is not as easy to source locally, so they attend trade fairs in London and Paris - leaving the daily running of the business to Pamela and Richard, their best friends.

''Staying small has another benefit. It allows for a sociable, fun life. Otherwise it would be too easy to forget we're married to each other, not to all the things we've created,'' says Caroline, smiling.

l For a copy of the Pedlars Clothing and General Merchandise Ltd autumn/winter 2003 catalogue, tel: 01330 850 400, or visit www.pedlars.co.uk.

Won't be parted from ...

Post Office baskets

We got these at an auction in Montrose for around (pounds) 25 each. They're fabulous for storing sods and logs, and luckily they've got wheels. We're particularly fond of the enamel plaque on this one, which says: ''High Street Odds.''

American fireman's helmet

This was given to us by friends to

commemorate the two years it took us to rebuild the house after half of it burned

down six years ago. We love its superb

industrial design and amazing functionality.

Piotr Wojcik painting

Our Polish friend Piotr is a neighbour at our holiday home in Burgundy. He works with enormous canvases and has a very

unusual technique using glue and pigment rather than paint. We like animals almost

as much as he does.