Indholdsfortegnelse for August 2024 i 25 Beautiful Homes

PROJECT DETAILS DESIGNER Rebecca Hughes, creative director, Rebecca Hughes Interiors (rebeccahughesinteriors.com) PROPERTY Georgian townhouse WORK Sitting room renovation LOCATION North London Rebecca Hughes runs a successful design studio helping people bring personality into their homes. She was introduced to these homeowners, a young family, by a previous client and was asked to transform the space to reflect their own style. 1 MAKE IT PERSONAL ‘The homeowners are bold, so they wanted this space to be striking; a grown-up but fun look,’ says Rebecca. ‘They bought the house from a developer who had painted the entire house grey and installed some unattractive radiators and finishes,’ she adds. ‘Our brief was to add character and depth.’ 2 IN PROPORTION Despite being a Georgian townhouse, the previous owner had stripped out many of the original details,…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Semi-detached Victorian townhouse ROOMS Living room, open-plan kitchen-diner/snug, home office, utility room, cloakroom, four bedrooms, fifth bedroom/study, three bathrooms, basement guest suite LOCATION West London ‘OPTING FOR BESPOKE STORAGE WILL ENSURE YOU MAKE THE BEST USE OF ALL YOUR SPACE’ Once an average Victorian semi, this newly refurbished family home couldn’t tick any more boxes for the way we want to live now. Light and open, yet with spaces that can be closed off for cosiness or privacy (the living room and home office), and with a kitchen-seamlessly-meets-garden rear extension, plus inventive ideas like a double-height atrium in the entrance, it has a wow sensation the moment you enter. Needless to say, the owners – whose main requirement was for a ‘bright, warm yet practical family home’ – are…

‘When you come to a place like this you want to relax and recharge your batteries – I think the calming schemes encourage this’ HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY New-build beach house ROOMS Kitchen-diner/sitting room, TV room, utility, five bedrooms, five bathrooms, sauna LOCATION North Cornwall it was a video of a sunset that sold this beach house to Nataliya Sedler and her husband, John. ‘The previous owners sent us a short clip of the living space,’ she recounts. ‘They had reggae music playing in the background and as the sun went down, the whole room was suddenly bathed in a pink light – it was astonishing.’ The couple, who have been coming to Cornwall ever since they started their own family, decided to look for a property early last year. ‘We…

PROJECT DETAILS OWNERS Rumy Moosajee, husband Alif and their daughter Anni PROPERTY Edwardian house WORK Renovation, extension and new kitchen LOCATION Leicestershire After living in a flat, Rumy and Alif Moosajee were keen to find a larger home to share with daughter, Anni, 12. ‘Houses here are hard to come by,’ says Rumy. ‘So when the local estate agent mentioned a property about to come on the market, I said we’d buy it before I’d even seen it.’ 1 PROJECT BEGINNINGS The spacious three-storey home had been lived in by the same family for many years. ‘It had a nice energy and felt so welcoming,’ says Rumy. While the house needed renovating throughout, the kitchen soon became a priority, since Rumy loves cooking and the family enjoy entertaining and hanging out there with their…

PROJECT DETAILS DESIGNER Samantha Watkins McRae (samwatkinsmcrae.com) PROPERTY A detached five- bedroom Victorian house WORK Bathroom renovation LOCATION North London The owners of this family home asked designer Sam Watkins McRae to transform their first-floor bathroom as part of a whole-house refurbishment by Delano London. ‘Their brief was for a comfortable, creative, warm and welcoming space,’ explains Sam. 1 PLEASING EVERYONE ‘Previously there was a cumbersome, hard-to-access vanity unit, a leaking shower and an ugly toilet that looked like a throne with open glass shelves above,’ recalls Sam. ‘The whole family use this room and each had their own ideas of what they wanted.’ The clients, who both love William Morris, wanted a sanctuary escape and were keen to keep the freestanding bath, while their three teenage daughters needed ample storage for beauty items.…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Detached self-build house ROOMS Living/dining area/kitchen, utility room, boot room, four bedrooms, two bathrooms, dressing room LOCATION Helsinki, Finland Building a house with their three young children, Erkka, eight, Okko, six, and Renne, four, was a challenging prospect, but as this was Pirkko and Pasi Alanen’s third consecutive construction project, it had almost become a way of life for them. WHY DID YOU BUILD THIS HOUSE? ‘A few years after our previous house project was completed, we realised that we needed another bedroom. So when this larger 540 square metre plot of land came up for sale near schools and a park, we didn’t think twice. My must-haves were a double-height space in the main living area to add some drama and air conditioning, which we’d appreciated…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY A new build utilising the existing footprint in modern New England style ROOMS Sitting room, dining room, TV room, kitchen, laundry room, office, gym, five bedrooms, four bathrooms LOCATION Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts Perched on a cliff overlooking the beach below, this charming cottage surrounded by nature offers spectacular views and the perfect escape. Located on the quiet Massachusetts island of Martha’s Vineyard, the holiday refuge of a couple with two daughters is in a one-of-a-kind location. The house (created by architectural designer Travis Ritchie from R+D Studio), which features simple forms and structures in cottage style and scale, is a new take on New England vernacular. The materials – which include cedar, metal and stone – were chosen to withstand the changing weather with humidity, salty air and…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Detached, converted and extended house built in the 1960s ROOMS Entrance hall, sitting room, kitchen-diner, pantry, playroom, utility room, eight bedrooms, eight bathrooms LOCATION Anglesey, north Wales A chance conversation prompted Sarah Cross to seize a golden opportunity to buy the house next door and breathe new life into the coastal property. ‘When my neighbour mentioned that a For Sale sign would be appearing on their home, I was surprised and excited,’ Sarah says. ‘I had just started searching for my second project in Anglesey, never imagining that the perfect house would be a stone’s throw away.’ Back in 2016, Sarah had successfully remodelled Llain y Brenin – a tired property in the coastal village of Rhoscolyn. ‘Captivated by the natural beauty of Rhoscolyn, my grandmother first visited this…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Grade II-listed 16th-century house with additions in the 17th century ROOMS Sitting room, snug, kitchen-diner/living area, four bedrooms, five bathrooms LOCATION Worcestershire Upgrading a historic house that has been in his family for more than 80 years proved to be a very personal project for David Reade. ‘I grew up here, but my parents, John and Margaret, who ran a market garden from the land behind the house, carried on living here for the rest of their lives.’ After his mother’s death, the empty house, whose origins can be traced right back to the Elizabethan era, started to go downhill. ‘It had no central heating, with the water heated by a coal-fired Rayburn, so it was always cold. A large water leak five years ago meant…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Detached house built in 1910 ROOMS Kitchen, dining room, sitting room, utility, boot room, cloakroom, four bedrooms, two bathrooms, office, music room, playroom LOCATION South Oxfordshire ‘Matching curtains to wallpaper creates a wonderfully cocooning feel, especially when the curtains are closed’ Chloe Payne never had a burning desire to take on a project, but falling in love with an Arts and Crafts-style house changed everything. ‘I spotted the sale board after taking my daughter to a youth group in a nearby village hall, and had to book a viewing,’ says Chloe. ‘It had such a warm feeling and felt like a family home.’ Although Chloe and her husband David were happy in their semi-detached home, daughters, Isabel, 12, and Maggie, nine, needed bigger bedrooms and the garden was small.…

BEDROOM FOCUSno. 22 PROJECT DETAILS DESIGNER Carina Raymond (studioraymondinteriors.co.uk) PROPERTY Victorian duplex three-bedroom apartment, set over two floors WORK Main bedroom renovation LOCATION London When Carina Raymond took on a rental, she was determined to put her own stamp on the property for herself, her husband Juha and their family. ‘The main bedroom was a jaded white cube,’ she says. ‘I wanted to make it a calming sanctuary where I could unwind at the end of the day.’ 1 PICK A COLOUR ‘Right from the outset, I had my heart set on a blue and white scheme,’ says Carina. ‘It’s a classic combination I never tire of. Blue and white interiors have a calming ambience, perfect for creating a restful space.’ The starting point for the scheme was the striped feature wallpaper. ‘Stripes never go…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY A remodelled 1970s detached property ROOMS Kitchen-diner/living area, home office, snug, movie room, utility room, powder room, five bedrooms, two dressing rooms, three bathrooms LOCATION Essex ‘A SIMPLE FLOOR-TO-CEILING SHELVING UNIT DIVIDES THE OPEN-PLAN LIVING AND DINING AREAS, MAKING THEM MORE VERSATILE’ HOW DID YOU COME TO BE INVOLVED IN THIS PROJECT? The clients hadn’t used an interior designer before but came across our website/Instagram and liked our style. WHAT WAS THE BRIEF? To create a classic, homely interior; somewhere that showcased high-end materials and finishes but still with a welcoming vibe. DESCRIBE YOUR/THE HOMEOWNER’S STYLE Timeless, adding in beautiful period details such as panelling and cornices, which we love, too. WHAT WAS YOUR INSPIRATION FOR THE SCHEME? A classic English home with a contemporary edge,…

PROJECT DETAILS OWNER Katie Evans, marketing and business development director at Cameron Design House (camerondesignhouse.com) PROPERTY Victorian semi PROJECT Kitchen extension LOCATION South London Six years after moving into their home, Katie Evans and her husband upgraded their small, dated kitchen for a larger, more practical, more stylish design. Katie’s expertise in bespoke lighting and furniture gave her the edge when it came to choosing products for the space. 1 GETTING STARTED ‘We wanted something that would work for family life as well as for entertaining. It was to be a cosy, chic, country-style kitchen, but with pops of vibrant colour – hence the teal and pink shades – which bring what I call “a London edge” to the scheme,’ explains Katie. ‘For the cabinetry, we chose John Lewis of Hungerford. I like…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY 17th-century dower house ROOMS Entrance hall, lobby, utility/boot room, two cloakrooms, dining room and bar, snug, playroom, sitting room, seven bedrooms, dressing room, five bathrooms, coach house with a gym and two offices LOCATION Gloucestershire ‘The extension has frameless glazing to make the most of the amazing views’ As soon as we saw it, we knew it was the one,’ says Rebecca Hartley of the 17th-century dower house in Gloucestershire that she and her husband Nathaniel bought in 2021. ‘It had long been our dream to have a nice big family home.’ The rambling property appealed to the couple because of the views and breathtaking garden with its 750-year-old cedar of Lebanon tree. Built in 1690, the house, once the home of the novelist Henry Green, had…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Detached traditional-style house built in 1999 ROOMS Sitting room, family room, kitchen, dining room, four bedrooms, three bathrooms LOCATION California WHAT WERE THE BIGGEST PRIORITIES FOR BOTH YOU AND THE HOMEOWNER? To make sense of the layout of the home and to update the palette to be more warm and modern. I wanted to get our clients to truly live in all the rooms. The way they were using the space previously meant that the formal sitting room and dining rooms were never used. We brought the dining down to kitchen level and added a built-in banquette for eating and hanging out while cooking and entertaining. We then changed the dining room to a family snug with a TV and built-in super deep sofa for movie…