Indholdsfortegnelse for May-2018 i 25 Beautiful Homes

When I look at the houses under construction near where we live, I see that most are being built in brick, with a few in stone. I’m therefore always interested in any that stand out, because they’re clad in wood, for example, but especially if they include generous expanses of glass. I don’t live in a city but I know that for new urban builds the use of glazing is on the up. The exciting aspect of having large glass walls in your home – aside from the fact that they allow maximum natural light to flood in – is that they demand a different approach to organising the space, both inside and out. So if you’ve just bought a house, or are planning an extension or a major redesign,…

Nikki Brown favours a contemporary look and could not wait to turn her Aberdeen house into the perfect home for herself and husband Mark. ‘We’ve moved 10 times and have always redecorated, as we prefer a modern style with a luxurious hotel feel,’ says Nikki, who runs Westholme Interiors, an online homewares shop. ‘I love statement pieces and like each room to feature something unique.’ At first, Nikki wasn’t keen on the property’s exterior, but the inside felt larger than she had expected. The previous owners had renovated and added an extension, but the decor was not to the couple’s taste. So Mark, a property developer, replaced the existing pine joinery with white-painted wood. ‘The knock-on effect meant replastering some walls,’ says Nikki. ‘Then we discovered the electrics and plumbing…

Finally ready to take a step onto the property ladder, Zafeer Ahmed was determined to find an unusual place to call home. An 18-month search for the perfect pad ensued, and the result has delivered in more ways than one ‘My apartment is in a former Royal Mail sorting house,’ says Zafeer. ‘The building has bags of character and that’s what first attracted me to it. The façade was so grand and commanding, I couldn’t wait to see inside.’ Built in 1908, this rare example of Beaux-Arts design is a listed building. ‘The flat needed some TLC, but the large windows and high ceilings were a real draw,’ says Zafeer. ‘The views are amazing – to the left, I can see across to The Shard and central London, while to…

The French idiom coup de foudre (which literally means ‘bolt of lightning’) describes the moment of falling in love, and it perfectly captures the emotion that Debrah Smith and her husband Peter experienced when they found their home in the south of France. The pair had visited two other houses in the Occitanie region and found both disappointing, but as they were dejectedly driving away they received a call from an estate agent friend. ‘He said, “I’ve just seen a house and it’s the one for you”,’ recalls Debrah, ‘and when he told us where it was, by chance we were driving past the very same village. We put the indicator on, turned, and there it was – love at first sight.’ Debrah had long held a fantasy of what…

Tricia Roeser has always been passionate about colour and pattern. ‘I’ve never been afraid of them, as I believe they make any home feel warm and inviting,’ she says. This is certainly reflected in the 19th-century Cotswolds home Tricia shares with husband Joachim. At the time when the couple bought their Victorian cottage, nestled within a secluded, walled garden, it was never their intention to live permanently in the UK. ‘We’d bought the house in July 2002 while we were working in Paris, living in an apartment on the Left Bank,’ says Tricia. ‘It was intended to be used as a bolthole and a UK base, but when our professional circumstances changed in 2006, we were happy to move back and settle here for good.’ The cottage had already been…

Fashion designer Marie Nigrelli remembers house hunting in the quiet, leafy street where she now lives, posting notes through the doors of the handsome, bay-fronted Twenties properties to ask if anyone was thinking of selling. She could hardly believe her luck when the owner of her favourite replied: he was having a house built and looking to move. They agreed a deal, but his new home was delayed and the sale fell through. ‘I was heartbroken,’ says Marie. ‘At that time it was more or less the original building with all its period features.’ Fast forward 12 years, the property was back on the market and this time Marie was determined to make it hers. ‘It was the weirdest feeling, as if it was meant to be mine,’ she says.…

‘Building this house was our way of downsizing without leaving the place that feels like home,’ says Wendy Greenlees. She and her husband George had lived for more than 40 years in a Victorian rectory in a Leicestershire village, where they had brought up their son and daughter and made good friends. ‘I think it’s a mistake to move somewhere completely different when you retire,’ says Wendy. ‘So we looked into building a new house within the grounds of the old rectory. And I think we’ve ended up with the best of both worlds.’ The couple decided on a design that cleverly combines a more traditional portion at the front with contemporary spaces behind, including a garden room and snug. ‘The idea was that the house should look as if…

1 WIRE WORKS Cage light, £16.99, HomeSense 2 TIME FOR CHANGE Hampton wall clock, £35, Next 3 FAIREST OF THEM ALL Fox & Ivy vintage mirror, £15, Tesco 4 GO WITH THE GRAIN Gray & Willow Acacia paddle, £22, House of Fraser 5 TABLE TALK Marlow coffee table, £550, Debenhams 6 WHITE HOT Stoneware pot, £19.99, H&M Home 7 COSY NUMBER Jersey cushion, £29, Marks & Spencer 8 SHINE ON Copper tri-ply casserole, £30, Wilko 9 CHIC SERVER Whitewashed round rattan tray, £45, The White Company 10 IT’S A WRAP Teal knit throw, £27, Morrisons…

Having each sold a house, Jonathan Hazlett, a lawyer, and his partner Dominic O’Sullivan, a dentist, began to look for a home of their own in Bath. ‘There wasn’t much available so we eventually viewed a three-storey Edwardian villa, which had been on the market for quite some time,’ says Jonathan. It soon became obvious why. ‘The amount of work it needed had clearly put most people off,’ continues Jonathan. ‘It was very tired and run down. There was woodchip wallpaper everywhere and carpets in an unappealing pink. And despite there being six bedrooms, there was only one bathroom, which was abysmal. The kitchen was very small, too.’ However, the couple were looking for something to do up so they could put their own stamp on it. ‘It did have…

Finding your ideal home is never easy, but Emma and Leyton Ede did just that – and more. ‘We fell in love with the house from the first moment we saw it,’ says Emma, ‘and discovering it was previously owned by architect and designer Natalie Blackshaw proved an added bonus.’ To the delight of Emma and Leyton, who have twins Maisie and Lola, 8, the house, in southeast London, had original period features, and Natalie had even drawn up plans for a contemporary kitchen extension. ‘By chance, we were looking for a similar project but knew that creating a kitchen and family room opening onto the garden was a major job,’ says Emma. ‘All of which made us realise Natalie was the right person to project manage the build, given…

Rural Northumberland is a special place for Rachel Scheffer. ‘I spent a lot of my childhood here,’ she says, ‘and for me and my husband Ron, the drama of this countryside and coast speaks volumes to us. To have a place here that we can come and enjoy when we want is wonderful.’ Within metres of their seaside retreat is a beautiful beach, edged with sun-bleached grass. Beyond, the North Sea stretches out to the distant Farne Islands. ‘Our inspiration for the decor here came from what we can see outside,’ says Rachel. A purple chair takes its cue from irises behind the house, a green sofa references the fields, and the taupes and blues of walls and fabrics allude to the beach and sea. Even the matt black chosen…

Changing jobs is never simple, so when Carol and Cris Towner decided to relocate their work from the northwest of England to Berkshire, they wanted to make life easy for themselves by buying a home that was similar to their previous Victorian property. But in the end, the house that caught their eye was a Sixties Span design. With huge windows, an open-plan ground floor and soaring ceilings in the bedrooms, it was the complete opposite of their last home. ‘We were really impressed by the layout and loved the light that flooded through the windows all day,’ says Carol. ‘We had never heard of Span housing or of the architect, Eric Lyons, whose concept was to blur the edges between indoor and outdoor space. But it appealed to us,…

When Mark Camillin and Liam Denny bought a 200-year-old house in Devon, they fell for the location but, as architects, they knew they could create a more energy-efficient house on the same spot. The 19th-century farm cottage was a bit of a mishmash owing to numerous extensions and alterations in the Seventies and Eighties. It was damp, the windows were uPVC and the whole house had been sprayed with concrete and painted a garish yellow. ‘It no longer resembled a Victorian cottage,’ says Mark, ‘and all its character had gone.’ The couple lived in the house for a year while they considered ways to salvage it. But during this time a host of problems emerged, including the boiler, light switches, door locks, windows, toilet and cooker all breaking. ‘We’d wanted…

By returning to her Somerset roots, Sian Parry Jones was able to create her own relaxing retreat just a stone’s throw from her parents’ house. The barn conversion she calls home is metres from the farmhouse where she grew up. But it’s a far cry from how it used to look, and it has taken some years to get it to this stage. ‘When I first left home, I lived in the USA for two years,’ says Sian, ‘but then I moved back to Somerset and decided to convert one of my parents’ outbuildings, a barn where our family originally kept animals, hay and my dad’s vintage car. It took two years and was a basic renovation, but it was perfect for me and my son Morgan, now 23, before…

When Hedayat Taymour moved to London from Cairo with her husband Elwy, she knew she would bring a little bit of their Egyptian culture to their home. After a brief sojourn in Chelsea, the pair realised they needed a more family-orientated home for them and their three children, Gigi, now 12, Mymy, 10, and Alia, six, which they soon found in west London. ‘I fell in love with this place the moment we opened the door – it has a wonderful soul,’ says Hedayat. ‘We’d seen larger properties, but this felt like home.’ Straight away, Hedayat, an interior designer, founder of Jam Space UK and co-founder of Eklego Design Egypt, set about putting her stamp on the property. ‘I wanted to include references to Egypt in a mix of traditional…

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Memories of growing up in a special place often bring a person back to the same spot later in life. For Stephanie Kelly, the draw of a Cornish beach that she used to visit with her parents prompted her to return. ‘My husband Chris and I saw a bungalow for sale online,’ she says. ‘It had the best view of a favourite beach I knew as a child. Despite being pregnant with our second son, Luke, now 11, we drove from Guildford to Cornwall with our eldest son, Nathaniel, now 14.’ On the way, the agent rang to say the house had been sold, but Stephanie refused to take no for an answer. They drove on and met the owner, who agreed to let them buy it. It took the…

When they first walked into their historic Hampshire property, Alistair and Fiona Erskine were faced with a Sixties décor, unsympathetic updates and unrealised potential. However, they immediately realised they could create the family home of their dreams. Almost two decades later, they still call it their forever home. ‘I grew up nearby,’ says Alistair, ‘and was keen to leave London and our terraced house with its small garden. I wanted to make happy new memories here with our sons, Oliver and Edmund, who are now grown up. We wanted them to play in a spacious garden, be close to nature, and enjoy the benefits of a countryside upbringing.’ Thankfully, the volume of work required to transform the property did not daunt the Erskines. ‘I’m a decorative artist,’ says Alistair, ‘working…

Artist Rory Dobner’s creative flair can be seen quite clearly in the north London home he shares with his wife Claire and their two sons, Louie, 13, and Huxley, 10. ‘It’s a rabbit warren of rooms on a variety of levels that we fashioned together from two flats in a Victorian mansion block,’ explains Rory. Everywhere you turn you see weird and wonderful artwork, unique collections and eye-catching pieces the couple have amassed over the years. Although no corner is left bare, deft styling means the interior remains uncluttered. Rory and Claire’s aim was to create the feeling of another world with minimal effort and plenty of white space. ‘We stripped away all but the essential, most compelling elements,’ says Rory. ‘This way, the fine details pull you in, but…

With their classic looks and pared-back style, mid-century designs are enduringly popular. Spanning the decades between the Thirties and the Seventies, these shapes were inspired by earlier design movements, including the Bauhaus school in Germany. Materials such as moulded plastics allowed designers to explore new textures, colours and forms. Key features Mid-century style is characterised by clean straight lines and flowing organic curves. Simplicity in design and styling is key, along with a lack of ornamentation, plus a limited colour palette. Although mid-century style was driven by advances in technology, it was also inspired by the natural world, and wood is the most widely used material for furniture. Architecturally, structural features include wood-panelled walls, vaulted ceilings with exposed beams and chimney breasts built from exposed brick or stone. Walls are…

Design ideas CHAIN GUTTER Tricia and Joachim Roeser have opted for an attractive chain gutter for their home. Although quite rare in the UK, this type of guttering makes a great alternative to more traditional downpipes, and has been used for hundreds of years by the Japanese to collect water from their roofs for household usage. Here, the water is more likely to be directed into a drain. Often referred to as ‘rain chains’, they are usually made from aluminium or copper and are available in a plain link design (pictured above) or a chain and cup design. A chain gutter is not only functional but also complements the structure of a house and forms an attractive water feature in its own right. WALLPAPER EFFECT For country homes that are…