Indholdsfortegnelse for January 2024 i 25 Beautiful Homes

As CHRISTMAS fast approaches, we’re here to provide that last-minute inspiration in case your home isn’t feeling as festive as you’d like. Why not follow in the footsteps of Paula Asple, whose characterful cottage has a seasonal STYLE that relies on the simplicity of greenery (p8)? If you’re all organised with your festive decorating, you may be thinking ahead to new year UPDATES. However big or small your project is, we have lots of inspirational ideas. We especially love the story of the Hounsell family, who restored a 1930s house in Hastings (p118). With planning and CREATIVITY, they managed to bring it up to date while also preserving the beautiful original features.…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Stone-built cottage, dating from around 1800 ROOMS Sitting/dining room, kitchen, boot room/utility, two bedrooms, two bathrooms LOCATION Lake District Compromise on style and comfort, in a holiday cottage? That was never going to happen in Katharine Pooley’s holiday home. If anything, the interior designer’s bijou cottage is all the more luxurious, with beautifully textured fabrics and tailored furniture. There are clever design details at every turn, all aimed at making life and holidays here more comfortable and cosy. ‘With a family home or a holiday home, I always look to design in a practical and long lasting way,’ says Katharine. The two-hundred-year-old cottage in the Lake District has changed dramatically from when Katharine, her husband Dan and their two sons rented it as a holiday home,…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Pair of cottages dated from 1675 now knocked in one with later additions ROOMS Sitting room, kitchen-diner, snug, utility/summer kitchen, porch/boot room, three bedrooms, two bathrooms LOCATION Buckinghamshire As a little girl, Gayle Scott was happiest flicking through her grandmother’s magazines, cutting out the pictures she liked. Fast forward and the pages she was cutting out came from interiors magazines as Gayle steadily built a vision of the home she dreamed of owning one day. At home with her husband Paul and grown-up son, Jake, Gayle has always had a soft spot for doing things up. ‘I had always had a bit of a creative streak and that was becoming more important for me before we came to look at this house,’ she says. ‘We ignored…

PROJECT DETAILS DESIGNER Tom Lipop, founder of A Fallen Poète (afallenpoete.com) PROPERTY Edwardian terrace villa WORK Knocking through a box room to create a larger bathroom LOCATION East London It’s no surprise that as a costume designer for film, Tom Lipop’s design for his family bathroom was going to be anything but ordinary. Tom and wife Emma yearned for a space where relaxation and rejuvenation could coexist in beautiful surroundings. 1 BE INSPIRED Given the property’s Edwardian roots, Tom sought inspiration from the Art Nouveau period to create a luxurious Parisian-style bathroom that epitomised serenity and style. ‘Our primary objective was to transform the tiny family bathroom into an indulgent haven with a vintage French feel. Our lifestyle had evolved during the pandemic, prompting the idea of incorporating a spa-like…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Grade II-listed village house originally built in the 17th century ROOMS Sitting room, drawing room, snug, kitchen-diner, four bedrooms, three bathrooms LOCATION Cotswolds Like many Londoners considering a full-time move into the country, interior designer Pippa Paton’s clients had eased their way into a rural lifestyle by owning a holiday home. ‘This is our second project with them, the first being a smaller cottage they bought five years previously. They were looking for a larger rural base where they could entertain and have guests to stay before eventually moving full-time to the country,’ says Pippa. ‘After finding the property, the clients asked us to join them on the second viewing to see what was possible,’ Pippa elaborates. The Grade II-listed village house dated from the mid-17th…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY A townhouse built in 1910 ROOMS Sitting room, dining room, kitchen/seating area, office, two bedrooms, bathroom LOCATION Rotterdam A house move was not on the agenda for Mariska Oldenburg and her boyfriend Ricardo, but everything changed when they spotted an elegant period property in the heart of their hometown of Rotterdam and fell instantly in love with it. ‘When we walked in, the sun was shining through the windows, highlighting all the beautiful, original features,’ says Mariska. ‘We weren’t really looking for a new home, but it felt as if the house had found us. This was our dream property.’ The house is over 100 years old, and its high ceilings, decorative plasterwork, stained-glass windows and black marble fireplaces enchanted the pair. It also held a…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Converted outbuilding in the garden of homeowner Amy Maynard ROOMS Kitchen-diner/living area, bedroom, corridor with sleeping area, shower room LOCATION Kent Back in 2015 when interior designer Amy Maynard viewed the house in Kent which she and her children Lottie and Theo (now 11 and nine) call home, she was more than taken with its layered history. ‘The oldest part dates to the 1700s, and in Victorian times it was the village hardware store,’ she says. ‘My then husband Charlie and I loved its character, and knew this would make a great home.’ There was, however, another reason why Amy was so captivated by the property. ‘In the garden was a ramshackle old building that had last been used as a carpentry workshop,’ she says. ‘I…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Detached, Cape-style new build with cedar shingles and a turret, built 10 years ago ROOMS Formal sitting room, dining room, kitchen, den, four bedrooms, three bathrooms, cloakroom, front porch, back porch, pool house and swimming pool LOCATION Long Island, New York ‘Two rows of three flush-mount lights in the kitchen look more decorative than standard spotlights’ HOW DID YOU BECOME INVOLVED IN THE PROJECT?The clients hired me to do their apartment in New York City and we worked so well together and had so much fun they asked if I’d work on this project. WHAT WAS YOUR INSPIRATION FOR THE SCHEME?Blue is a go-to for me, especially by the sea. I also treat blue as a neutral, so that was my base. Then, I thought how…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Detached house built in 1995 ROOMS Sitting room, kitchen-diner, home office/studio, cloakroom, four bedrooms, three bathrooms LOCATION North London WHAT DID YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE? To make our house feel like us and create a happy place for making memories with our kids. DESCRIBE YOUR STYLE. Both my husband and I love natural materials and light. We prefer things simple but meaningful, so everything tells a story or holds a memory. WHAT WERE YOUR MAIN PRIORITIES? To get the function right and open up rooms so light flows and interacts with the materials. We made spaces lighter and got rid of what was a dated look, so it feels like a bright, happy home. A harmonious, cohesive feel was created, which is exactly what we were…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY A late Victorian semi-detached house ROOMS Sitting room, snug, kitchen-diner/living area, six bedrooms, three bathrooms LOCATION Southwest London HOW IMPORTANT ARE FIRST IMPRESSIONS? I wanted the entrance to our home to be both welcoming and sophisticated. The original hallway was narrow, with a slim staircase and old doors leading to the cellar and snug, but it had great ceiling height. We closed off the doors, pinched some width from the front room to widen the whole area, then had a wider, elegant new staircase built. Glazed, double pocket doors were fitted between the hallway and sitting room, to allow light to flow, floor tiles were replaced, and a new front door installed. HOW MUCH STRUCTURAL WORK DID YOU NEED TO DO? Early in the planning stage,…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTYNew build, oak-framed, detached house ROOMS Sitting room, kitchen/dining area/snug, utility room, cloakroom, four bedrooms, four bathrooms, dressing room LOCATIONHerefordshire When it came to designing and building their own house, it was ‘third time lucky’ for Merry Albright and her husband Ben. ‘We’d struggled to find a house we wanted to buy in Herefordshire, so we decided to build from scratch,’ explains Merry. ‘We found a plot of land and chose a contemporary design which we thought would win approval from the planning authorities. But we were wrong.’ Second time around, the couple went for a traditional look, but that was also rejected. ‘We’ve always loved old barns, so with the help of our Border Oak architect, our dream home evolved, laid out as three barns joined…

The moment they opened the front door of this listed townhouse, Sophia and Harry Turner knew it was their forever home HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Grade II-listed townhouse ROOMS Sitting room, kitchen, two cloakrooms, two studies, four bedrooms, two bathrooms LOCATION Bristol When Sophia and Harry Taylor stumbled upon this stunning Georgian townhouse during their house search in Bristol, they knew it was the one. Previously based in a London flat, the couple needed to relocate for a new job opportunity and so the search for a long-term family home ensued. ‘What really caught our attention with this house was its unique character and charm,’ reveals Sophia. ‘From the moment we stepped inside, we were captivated by the beautiful natural light that filled all the rooms, as well as the…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Contemporary apartment ROOMS Open-plan kitchen/living space/study, bedroom, bathroom LOCATION London ‘The walls in the living space are painted in a limewash, which has added an essential softness and texture’ HOW DID YOU COME TO BE INVOLVED IN THIS PROJECT? My client, Alex Otto, bought this one-bedroom apartment in London in 2022, after living in a nondescript apartment nearby. Built by Richard Rogers of RSHP in 2012, it’s an iconic building with an amazing central location. He discovered my work through a platform called Design for Me, which connects homeowners to suitable architects and designers. HOW INVOLVED WAS THE HOMEOWNER?Alex was keen to learn more about his own personal taste and to be involved in the design process. However, he was very trusting of my opinions and…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Traditional Dutch Colonial home ROOMS Sitting/family room, kitchen, dining room, cloakroom, four bedrooms, three bathrooms LOCATION Seattle, USA WHY DID YOUR CLIENTS BUY THIS HOME?Our clients, Joseph and Janie Fillips, are both computer engineers at Amazon. Joseph bought the house in 2017 but, after he married Janie and they had their son, they wanted to decorate it together in their own style. The house had so much character and charm with classic cornices, lots of light and a great family floor plan with three bedrooms on the upper floor. HOW DID YOU COME TO BE INVOLVED IN THIS PROJECT? They had been working with a contractor and came to me in a bit of a panic as suddenly they had to pick all the finishes for…