Indholdsfortegnelse for May 2024 i 25 Beautiful Homes

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Detached house ROOMS Open-plan kitchen-diner, family room, library/snug, utility/boot room, cloakroom, five bedrooms, three bathrooms LOCATION South London What started as a helping hand transforming Angus and Laura Stanning’s dated dining area turned into a full-blown renovation project for interior designer Charlotte Fox of Foxglove House. The couple wanted a comfortable and stylish family-friendly home that would work for them and their son Ali. ‘We weren’t after a show home and Charlotte understood that straight away; as a mother herself, she knew how vital storage would be and suggested realistic options for furniture,’ explains Laura. ‘I liked her ideas so much that the project developed from changing just one space to making over every room in the house! Charlotte gave us the confidence to see we…

PROJECT DETAILS DESIGNER Sean Symington (seansymington.com) PROPERTY A Georgian villa WORK Sitting room design, as part of a whole-house interior renovation LOCATION Somerset ‘My clients had just purchased their dream home – a Georgian villa set back from the road in a picturesque Somerset village, with the most gorgeous landscaped grounds and gardens,’ says Sean Symington. ‘My brief was to bring the garden feeling indoors.’ 1 OPEN UP THE SPACE ‘We kept the structure of the room as it was before, but added alcove units on either side of the fireplace. We spent a great deal of time considering the furniture layout before adding a large Kingcome Fairfax sofa facing the fireplace with a pair of chairs flanking the alcoves. This was to underline the Georgian symmetry of the property…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Waterfront home, built in 2012 ROOMS Sitting room, dining room, kitchen, laundry room, pantry, cloakroom, mud room, five bedrooms, four bathrooms LOCATION Seattle HOW DID YOU COME TO BE INVOLVED IN THIS PROJECT? The clients, a couple with 11-year-old twins, initially came to us for interior architecture input on a new build they were developing. As they moved through the process, they pivoted and purchased this property instead. Hoedemaker Pfeiffer’s scope then became a full renovation project. WHAT WAS THE BRIEF? The property’s interior architecture had been done in an inauthentic fashion. We looked to give the home a more cohesive coastal SoCal design, removing the French country details. HOW INVOLVED WERE THE HOMEOWNERS? They shared a desire for an adventurous colourful palette. We focused on…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Detached gated house built in 1996 ROOMS Sitting room, snug, kitchen, utility room, cloakroom, office, three bedrooms, three en-suite bathrooms, plus a separate two-bedroom annexe LOCATION Hertfordshire Lovingly built in the 1990s by the previous owners, this handsome detached property was an instant hit with interior designer Sinead Kelly-Herbert, who was searching for a house with a gorgeous garden. For seven years, Sinead and her now husband, Paul, had maintained a long-distance relationship between Ireland and Hertfordshire, where he was based. So, when Sinead finally made the move to join him, she was eager to find a home where they could carve a life together as a married couple – and have space for her grown-up daughter, Aoife, to come and visit. ‘We wanted to stay…

KITCHEN FOCUSno. 15 PROJECT DETAILS DESIGNER Tony Lister, Simon Taylor Furniture (simon-taylor.co.uk) PROPERTY Victorian cottage WORK A new kitchen LOCATION Buckinghamshire The owners of this Victorian country cottage asked Simon Taylor Furniture to replace the dated, tired kitchen with a new design. ‘The owners wanted something suited to the beautiful setting and in keeping with the character of the property,’ explains senior designer Tony Lister. 1 STYLE AND SUBSTANCE ‘They wanted a fresh and light feel, with a sense of refined elegance, but with warmth and characterful elements to suit the country setting,’ recalls Tony. ‘They also wanted to improve the flow around the space, since a small peninsula jutted out into the room, close to the door to the dining room, causing an obstruction.’ In addition, a freestanding butcher’s…

PROJECT DETAILS OWNER Anna Hart PROPERTY A detached six bedroom house built in 1899-1904 WORK Transforming a large, poorly laid out bathroom LOCATION Hertfordshire Located above a double garage, Anna Hart’s en suite was a shoddy 1970s addition to a period house that had never worked, aesthetically nor practically. After much TLC, a luxurious and calming new bathroom has emerged. 1 CHANGE OF SPACE Three exterior walls, an under-roof location and a shoddy DIY makeover by previous owners, meant that Anna Hart’s en suite was cold, uncomfortable and not fit for purpose. She had a clear vision for the new space: one that felt special, but not over-designed. 2 HOTEL INSPIRATION With the help of Simply Bathrooms, Anna took the room back to its bare bones, keeping only the recently…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Victorian terrace ROOMS Kitchen-diner/living space, cloakroom, utility room, four bedrooms, two bathrooms LOCATION West London ‘FLIPPING THE KITCHEN AND LIVING SPACE AROUND ENABLED US TO OPEN UP THE WHOLE OF THE DOWNSTAIRS’ Passionate property enthusiasts, Barbara and David Hall found themselves moving on unexpectedly after receiving an offer they couldn’t refuse on their newly renovated house. Fortunately they had six months to complete. ‘We’d just started our first commercial renovation with our property solutions business Bunny Hall, so we changed tack using the six months to finish so we could move in instead,’ says Barbara, a sports marketing director. ‘In the end, this house turned out to be a far better place to live with our newborn, Willow, now two.’ Barbara and David, who works in…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY 16th-century manor house ROOMS Kitchen-diner, sitting room, snug, conservatory, playroom, six bedrooms, four bathrooms LOCATION Somerset A run-down manor full of nooks and crannies not only ticked the right boxes for interior designer Sarah Southwell, but for sons, Rafferty, seven, Rufus, six and Rocco, four, too. Keen to move to the country to give the boys what she calls a ‘free-range’ childhood, with space and fresh air, Sarah and her husband Nick also wanted an interior that delivered on intrigue – a magical space that would nurture young imaginations. Having sold their previous home in London, the family rented for almost a year until the Grade II-listed manor house in Somerset came on the market. ‘We decided we wanted it before we had even gone inside,’…

PROJECT DETAILS DESIGNER Nicole Yee of NY Interiors (nicoleyee.com) PROPERTY 1930s detached house WORK Bedroom renovation LOCATION California Anne and Jeff Swinney came to the realisation that while they weren’t crazy about the aesthetics of their house, they were really in love with its location. So when they decided to make this their forever home, they planned a major overhaul and asked interior designer Nicole Yee to help. 1 TIMELESS DESIGN The pair felt overwhelmed by their bedroom’s busy, dated design, which had a clashing palette of gold and lime green and heavy dark furniture. The plan was to create a restful retreat without going down the all-white route. They wanted the room to feel romantic, luxurious and dramatic. ‘My goal was to use colour in a calming way,’ says…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY A garden apartment in a Victorian property ROOMS Sitting room, kitchen-diner, utility room, three bedrooms, two bathrooms, plus outdoor studio with mezzanine and en-suite shower room LOCATION North London The tailored family home of interior designer Caz Myers of Caz Myers Design is a masterclass in spotting potential in the unexpected. The dated layout and interior of a grand Victorian garden apartment in north London has been impressively transformed into a spacious, light-filled contemporary home with access to a stunning garden. ‘It took me two years and many viewings to find a property with good proportions, outside space that isn’t overlooked and endless design possibilities,’ remembers Caz. ‘The apartment felt unusual and quirky and was bigger and more spacious than many of the houses I’d viewed.’…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY A renovated stone cottage ROOMS Kitchen-diner/living area, cloakroom, office, three bedrooms, two bathrooms, dressing room LOCATION Lake Lugano, Italy There is no trace of Lorenzo and Simona’s house on Google Maps. It is hidden among the trees and rocks of the glacial lake landscape on the northern Italian shore of Lake Lugano, a stone’s throw from the Swiss border. ‘We like the quietness of this place, it’s the best for our family,’ explain the couple, who are originally from the area and have two young sons, Leon and Andreas. When Lorenzo had the opportunity to fix up his maternal grandfather’s house, the pair didn’t give it a second thought, leaving town and moving in. The property, made of local stone, resembles a cabin and is built…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Victorian farmhouse ROOMS Kitchen-diner/living area, sitting room, playroom, study, cloakroom, four bedrooms, two bathrooms LOCATION Staffordshire Moving out of London for a rural lifestyle is a rite of passage for many young families. For Emily and Aaron Radford the move became a two-year passion project. Quitting their jobs within a day of each other, they purchased a period farmhouse with outbuildings on the Staffordshire/Shropshire borders that had seen service as an isolation hospital and then two council houses. The farmhouse had been untouched for decades and some serious renovation was needed – plus bucket-loads of hard work and ingenuity. The couple purchased the building just a few months before the first Covid lockdown and faced construction teams and architects being abruptly furloughed, supply problems, price hikes…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Victorian terraced house ROOMS Sitting room, cloakroom, kitchen, dining room, den, three bedrooms, two bathrooms, dressing area LOCATION Northeast London ‘BUILDING THE ISLAND ON LEGS, RATHER THAN A SOLID BASE, MAKES THE KITCHEN SEEM BIGGER’ When it comes to the more important feature in her freshly renovated Victorian home, Italian-born Martina Casonato is emphatic. ‘The heart and soul of our kitchen – and, in fact, the whole house – is the pantry,’ she explains. ‘It’s been a longstanding dream of mine to have a walk-in pantry, stocked to the brim, so this was one of the first things I planned – and it gives endless joy every day.’ When Martina and her English husband, Joe, moved into their traditional northeast London terraced home between lockdowns, it…

PROJECT DETAILS DESIGNERS Will Dewar and Martin Dowle, Sketch Architects (sketch-architects.co.uk) PROPERTY Edwardian home WORK Kitchen extension and entire ground floor renovation LOCATION London The owners of this townhouse, a couple with three teenagers, wanted a lifestyle centred around cooking and entertaining. With the help of Will Dewar and Martin Dowle at Sketch Architects, they realised that a rejig of the ground floor would unlock a more connected family life. 1 FINDING THE FLOW ‘The ground floor was very disjointed and lacked any kind of decent flow. The kitchen and dining room, down a long narrow hallway, were on separate levels. Previously the clients had only been able to entertain in summer when they would take the table outside. They are avid cooks so wanted a well-equipped, modern kitchen alongside…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Apartment in a Georgian townhouse ROOMS Sitting room, dining room, kitchen, snug, study, cloakroom, three bedrooms, two bathrooms, dressing area LOCATION Edinburgh We never dreamed we’d live here,’ says Heidi McPherson of the location of the elegant apartment in Edinburgh she lives in with her husband Kyle. Having been at university in the city, they had moved away for work and, on their return, spotted a spacious apartment over the top two floors of a Georgian townhouse. ‘We walked in and we thought, yes this is it!’ explains Heidi. ‘The decor wasn’t to our taste, but it is a really light and bright flat. There was more living space than bedrooms, which really appealed to us.’ The apartment had been on the market for a while,…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY A Victorian semi ROOMS Sitting room, kitchen-diner/living area, four bedrooms, two bathrooms LOCATION North Yorkshire Putting letters through doors and arranging an off-market deal can be a great way to get the home you want in a heated market, as first-time buyers Amelia and Damon Barrett discovered. Their four-bedroom Victorian semi in a popular North Yorkshire town had already had a loft conversion, but there was ample scope to extend at the rear and create the large kitchen-diner/living space they’d always dreamt of. ‘We’d been living with my parents, so stayed there for another six months after we bought the house while we started the work,’ says Amelia. ‘The big plan was to build a side return extension and knock through the middle living room and…