Indholdsfortegnelse for December 2025 i 25 Beautiful Homes

Sparkling wintry whites, a cosy rustic aesthetic, monochrome minimalism or traditional red and green? We all have a favourite Christmas look and, in this issue, there are so many inspirational ideas for whatever your seasonal style is. If you are looking for some traditional Christmas indulgence, check out the Victorian properties of Carla Isolano (p76) and Sara Austin (p91). The home Sophie Pringle designed (p8) feels welcoming all year long and uses an abundance of foliage for festive cheer. There’s also a Carolean manor house (p129) that’s the epitome of Yuletide elegance. Here’s to a happy Christmas.…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Villa built in the late 1800s ROOMS Sitting room, dining room, kitchen, four bedrooms, bathroom, LOCATION Denmark My style is very minimalistic,’ says homeowner and interior designer Vivi Bang. ‘I like the clean look – when it’s the architecture of a space that catches the eye, rather than the decor.’ It’s a sentiment you might think is hard to marry with a fun-for-all-the-family approach to festive decoration, where garlands and candlesticks and pomegranates jostle for centre stage. But, actually, Vivi has perfected the art of the perfect calming Christmas without holding back on the ornaments and dressings. ‘The trick is to put your usual things away,’ she says, having sent much of her well-edited collection of objets into boxes in the basement. ‘I used to just…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Victorian house, built around 1900 ROOMS Sitting room, snug, open-plan kitchen and dining room, utility room, cloakroom, five bedrooms, two bathrooms LOCATION Shropshire when Carla Isolano and her husband Ben, a sales director, decided to leave the West Midlands in 2016 with their two children, Aria, now seven and Luca, now 11, Shropshire felt like the perfect place to start a new chapter. ‘It’s such a beautiful county, with rolling hills and historic towns,’ says Carla. ‘It meant Ben would be closer to work and the children would have the chance to grow up surrounded by nature. For us, it really did feel like the best of both worlds.’ They found their dream home almost straight away – a striking, red-bricked Victorian property – and knew…

PROJECT DETAILS OWNERS Helen Cathcart and Chris Mason PROPERTY A 1940s semidetached house WORK Installation of a new bathroom LOCATION North London After moving into their new home, interiors photographer Helen Cathcart and her husband, finance director Chris Mason, knew they needed to replace the bathroom. ‘It was tiny with a shower that trickled above a small bath,’ says Helen. 1 ALL CHANGE It was their builder who suggested converting their six-year-old son Freddie’s bedroom into a new bathroom with space for both a walk-in shower and free-standing tub. ‘The room was just that bit bigger and gave us the potential to create a luxurious retreat, even though it meant moving Freddie’s bedroom into the spare room, used as my office, and building a new home office in the garden,’…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Grade II-listed manor house ROOMS Hallway/living area, sitting room, dining room, kitchen, games room, snug, five bedrooms, three bathrooms LOCATION West Sussex Picture an ideal place to spend a country Christmas and this idyllic Carolean manor house in Sussex would surely be a top contender. The ancient Grade II-listed property has undergone a substantial renovation and celebrating its bones, while coaxing it into the 21st century, was the challenge that faced interior design studio K&H Design. The clients had fallen in love with the enchanting building, but wanted to evolve it into a practical, as well as beautiful, family home. ‘The brief was to restore and enhance its DNA and make it fit for modern living,’ says K&H Design’s founder Katie Glaister. ‘This involved respecting the…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Victorian property ROOMS Kitchen, sitting room, cocktail room, snug/library, utility room, boot room, four bedrooms, four bathrooms LOCATION West London Step across the threshold of Charles and Alice Holt’s west London home over the festive period and you know you’re in for a good time. Keen entertainers, the couple love nothing more than hosting an evening of champagne, cocktails and carols, complete with resident piano player, in a tradition passed down from Alice’s mother. ‘It brings together every generation and lots of friends,’ says the literary agent. The couple moved here in 2020 with their three children – Freddie, now 15, Isabella, 13 and Olivia, nine – and realised that in order to strike the right balance between form and function, a reconfiguration was required. So…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Five-storey Victorian townhouse ROOMS Kitchendiner, utility, nanny suite, cloakroom, family snug, study, double sitting room, five bedrooms, four bathrooms LOCATION Northwest London ZULUFISH IS AN ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN AND BUILD PRACTICE WITH INTERIOR DESIGN SERVICES – DID YOU MANAGE THE RENOVATION FROM START TO FINISH? Yes. The clients are a family with two young girls and they’re from the Middle East, which is also where they live. As a second home, they wanted one point of contact in London. As well as the design and building work, we handled all the interior decoration and the bespoke joinery, too. WHY DID THE CLIENTS CHOOSE THIS HOUSE? They’re self-confessed anglophiles and loved the vibrant cafes, restaurants and shops in this part of northwest London. They were looking for a…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY New-build barn-style detached house ROOMS Kitchen-diner, sitting room, study, laundry room, boot room, cloakroom, four bedrooms, four bathrooms, dressing room LOCATION Herefordshire ‘DON’T BE SCARED TO DESIGN YOUR OWN HOME – WE’VE SHOWN THAT IF YOU PUT YOUR MIND TO IT YOU CAN DO IT’ Building their own home had always been a dream for Sue Smith, a swimming teacher, and her husband Greg, a sales director, but they never expected it to become a reality. ‘Our plan was to buy a holiday flat in Devon, but we were shocked at how expensive it would be,’ says Sue, ‘and that’s when we began to think the time was right to build our own home somewhere. Though we had no location in mind.’ The couple began exploring…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Early-20th-century home ROOMS Entrance hall, cloakroom, dining room, sitting room, breakfast room, kitchen, family room, five bedrooms, five bathrooms, games room, gym LOCATION Kansas City ‘THIS HOME IS OVER 100 YEARS OLD – IT’S ONE OF A KIND, RETAINING ALL ITS ORIGINAL DETAILS AND SCALE, INCLUDING THE MOST AMAZING AND ORNATE MOULDINGS’ HOW DID YOU COME TO BE INVOLVED IN THE PROJECT? Elizabeth: We met the clients through a referral. To begin with, they were unsure of what their style was or even if they had one. As a studio, we try to ensure every home feels uniquely like that client, not necessarily like our look, so we did what we call our ‘DNA session’, where we showed the clients lots of imagery to figure out…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Villa built in 1921 ROOMS Sitting room, kitchen-dining area, three bedrooms, two bathrooms, dressing room LOCATION Denmark ‘The Christmas table is decorated with glass ornaments and crystals originally part of a family chandelier’ When textile designer Helene Blanche moved into her beautiful villa north of Copenhagen, the first thing she and her husband Jannik did was knock down the walls dividing the original dining room and kitchen. In this new kitchen-dining area they laid Douglas fir planks and added two doors at the southern side to allow for direct access to the garden. The walls were adorned with deep matt colours taken from across the spectrum – dark petroleum blue, deep mustard yellow, midnight blue and a delicious putty white. Jannik and Helene’s wonderful colour choices…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Semidetached house built in the 1930s ROOMS Sitting room, kitchen, living room/dining area, four bedrooms, two bathrooms LOCATION Southeast London WHY WERE YOU LOOKING FOR A NEW HOME? We’d been renting a modern townhouse for four years, which was a lovely home but with limited street parking and a small, shared garden we were keen to buy somewhere with a drive, more outside space and the potential to renovate. When the government introduced the stamp duty holiday during the Covid pandemic, that was our opportunity to get our foot firmly on the property ladder. WHAT FACTORS MADE YOU CHOOSE THIS HOUSE? It was a spacious three-bedroom 1930s semi-detached house, with its own parking and a huge 100ft garden that had beautiful woods behind, accessible through a…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Victorian villa ROOMS Sitting room, kitchen, dining area, playroom, library, gym, cloakroom, five bedrooms, three bathrooms LOCATION North London The idea of a designer wanting to create spaces that give people solace is quite an unusual one, but that’s the main aim of the London-based designer Cat Dal – to create a sense of being held, nurtured and comforted. ‘I like to use colour palettes to evoke emotional responses, to fill homes with natural, tactile materials and to make sure there is enough storage so that the home never feels cluttered,’ Cat says. ‘If your home can soothe you and give you lovely moments every day then, yes, it can become a place of solace.’ Her work, in collaboration with architects Scandi Studio, on this four-storey…

1 FESTIVE FOLIAGE Decorating with natural greenery, as Caroline has, can look every bit as festive as baubles and glitter. To ensure fresh foliage lasts for longer, keeping it hydrated is a must. Give wreaths and garlands an overnight soak in cold water before hanging, then mist with water every other day. Top up water in vases and tree holders regularly and refresh as needed. And avoid positioning foliage near heat sources like radiators and fireplaces which can cause it to dry out. Garland (above right), from a florist; stockings, £23 each, Sophie Allport. 2 HANGING DECORATIONS An overhead display, like the stars above Charlotte’s table, makes a fabulous focal point. Choose a fixing suitable for the weight of items. For lightweight decorations, try mounting putty, invisible tape or self-adhesive…

THE PROPERTY A semi-detached late-Georgian house ROOMS Sitting room, kitchen/dining room, games room, library, three bedrooms, two bathrooms LOCATION Bristol For interior designer Emilie Heinonen, the idea of home is never static. Born in Helsinki, she spent her early years moving often, but her deepest sense of belonging still lies in a wooden cottage her grandparents built in Finland. ‘That cottage blends effortlessly with the forest,’ she says. ‘It’s all about harmony with nature. My current home couldn’t be more different.’ Today, Emilie lives in a semi-detached late-Georgian house in Bristol with her partner and their two children. The family moved back after a stint in Finland, craving city life with easy escapes to the countryside. ‘London wasn’t an option – it takes too long to get out,’ says Emilie.…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Semi-detached house ROOMS Kitchen-diner/living area, snug, study, utility room, cloakroom, four bedrooms, two bathrooms LOCATION South London WHAT WAS YOUR VISION FOR THE PROJECT? To reconfigure the ground floor area by redesigning the kitchen to improve the flow and create a more functional living area in the open-plan part of the house. Also, to extend to the side and utilise this space to house an independent utility room, cloakroom and study. In addition, we wanted to reimagine the loft room to create a light-filled main bedroom. Finally, we aimed to inject our personalities across the house by highlighting family heirlooms and key pieces of art. DESCRIBE YOUR STYLE. Contemporary eclectic. I am drawn to clean lines and the timeless functionality of the mid-century modern era. I’m…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Detached double-fronted Victorian house built in 1896 ROOMS Sitting room, dining room, kitchen-diner, study, playroom, cloakroom, snug, utility room, four bedrooms, two bathrooms LOCATION Northern Ireland Sara and Neil Austin have always lived in period properties and renovated their way up the property ladder in London from a flat to a terrace. However, when they decided to upsize again for their boys, Felix, now nine, and Ralph, six, they felt the pull back to their roots in Northern Ireland. ‘I didn’t want to be a slave to a bigger mortgage and wanted to spend more time with my children,’ says Sara, an interiors stylist and podcast host. ‘We were keen to find a period house on the coast we could renovate within easy reach of Belfast.’…