Innehållsförteckning för March 2023 från 25 Beautiful Homes

EDITOR’S LETTER Putting this issue together has been truly exciting as we can reveal the WINNER of the READER HOME AWARDS. We were thrilled to photograph Diana Irving’s winning home and to discover how she and her husband Andy transformed their modern, but rather soulless, property into a delightful NEW ENGLAND-STYLE abode (page 78). America also provided INSPIRATION for artist Cleo Barbour. She brought her love of MIAMI’S SOUTH BEACH into her mews house with VIBRANT COLOUR choices and tropical prints (page 98). One couple looked closer to home when it came to finding a look they loved. Originally from France, Amandine and Julien Vanhaesebroucke embraced le style Anglais when decorating their Victorian terrace. Take a tour around this seriously CHIC home on page 18.…

SITTING ROOM FOCUSno. 6 PROJECT DETAILS OWNERS Georgina and Ed Sargent PROPERTY Early 19th-century detached rectory WORK The home needed updating to better suit the needs of a modern family LOCATION Norfolk Putting a living space where a kitchen used to be was always going to be a big job, so Georgina and Ed called in interior designer Naomi Astley Clarke to work on the layout and create a scheme that would feel classic but fun 1 PLAN YOUR SCHEME ‘Working with the clients we came up with a pretty yet practical design scheme,’ says Naomi. ‘The sitting room now reflects the status and architectural integrity of the house, yet embraces contemporary life. Throughout the ground floor I’ve created large, family-friendly spaces that are well connected to each other with…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Mid-terrace house dating from the Victorian era ROOMS Sitting room, dining room, kitchen, two bedrooms, bathroom, studio room LOCATION Somerset Living above our shop was handy in many ways, but we knew we wanted to start a family, so a house with a garden became a priority,’ explains illustrator and designer Mary Kilvert. Mary and her husband Simon found what they were looking for two months before Milly, now seven, was born. ‘The house was quite dated, but it had light, space and, as so often with Victorian properties, lots of potential,’ says Mary. The couple had just enough time to sand the floorboards, remove the woodchip and replaster the walls before moving in. ‘We lived with it like that for a bit, working out what…

no. 7 HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY A newly built 220sq m apartment with balcony ROOMS Sitting room/dining area, kitchen, TV room, cloakroom, four bedrooms (one en suite), dressing room, bathroom LOCATION Lisbon WHY DID YOUR CLIENTS BUY THIS PROPERTY? They’re an entrepreneurial couple in their thirties with a three-year-old son and wanted a second home in a serene and sophisticated residential neighbourhood. In 2020 they found this newly built apartment in front of the Tagus river. The astonishing view is definitely one of the most attractive features. CAN YOU DESCRIBE THEIR BRIEF? The clients have a contemporary style and wanted a light and modern home with a twist. A former client had recommended us, and they liked that blend between classic and modern which is our signature. They wanted somewhere…

no. 13 HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Victorian terraced house ROOMS Sitting room, kitchen-diner, four bedrooms (one en suite), bathroom LOCATION East London ‘A SMALL SIDE INFILL EXTENSION HAS COMPLETELY TRANSFORMED THE KITCHEN - WE COULDN’T EAT IN HERE BEFORE’ After the arrival of their two children, now aged six and three, Lydia Hutchinson and Andrew Long wondered if they had outgrown their three-bedroom terrace in east London. ‘The house was quite big but it didn’t necessarily feel that way because the kitchen wasn’t large enough to eat in, which meant that one half of the double reception space was a dining area,’ says Lydia. ‘We also felt the need for a dedicated home office.’ The couple began looking for a larger property further out of London, and approached Matthew Whittaker…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY A custom-built two-storey home ROOMS Living room, family room, dining room, kitchen, breakfast nook, office, four bedrooms (one en suite), two bathrooms LOCATION Vancouver, Canada Located in a forested area outside of downtown Vancouver, this home beautifully combines contemporary design and functional family living for Sarika, her husband and their two children (a nine-year-old daughter and an eight-year-old son). ‘When we came to see the lot, it was winter and I remember just seeing snow-capped trees and falling in love with that backdrop’, says Sarika, who then trusted her brother-in-law, Ben Leavitt, co-founder of PlaidFox, to create everything from scratch. ‘We started off with this vision of what we wanted our home to look like and somehow Ben achieved that perfectly,’ says Sarika. ‘We were flying…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY A former post office built in 1905 ROOMS Kitchen/reading room, garden room, snug, study, four bedrooms (one en suite), bathroom LOCATION Nottinghamshire Surrounded by beautiful countryside, Ashley Graham’s elegant Edwardian home sits in a medieval village in rural Nottinghamshire – a quintessentially English setting that stole her heart in 2008. Working and living close to the city centre for many years, Ashley and her late husband, David, were keen to move to the country to find more balance with their demanding jobs. ‘It was time for a change and village life had always appealed,’ says Ashley. The couple’s hunt led them to an ex-post office dating to 1905. ‘I’ve always loved Edwardian architecture and although in a poor state of repair, we loved the well-proportioned rooms,…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY 1970s detached house ROOMS Sitting room, kitchen-diner, cloakroom, four bedrooms, three bathrooms, plus a pool house with sitting room and shower room LOCATION Netherlands The pandemic proved the catalyst for a lot of home renovations; this 1970s house in the Netherlands was no exception. Situated in the east of the country, the property had belonged to the same Amsterdam-based family for a number of years, but it had become outdated and the owners found they were using it less and less. ‘During the lockdown, they decided they wanted to spend more time outside of the city and wanted to renovate the house,’ says Mabel Muijres, whose company, Mabella Artisans, was tasked with the project. ‘My clients wanted to give the place a holiday feel.’ When Mabel…

no. 2 HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Victorian end-of-terrace house ROOMS Kitchen-diner, cloakroom, two offices, sitting room, family room, three bedrooms (one en suite), bathroom. Plus a lower ground flat with an open-plan living and kitchen space, a bedroom and a bathroom LOCATION West London When Amandine and Julien Vanhaesebroucke found their dream of a London Victorian terraced house three years ago, top of the list was to honour its heritage and make the most of its British roots. Having lived in the neighbourhood for 10 years, this French couple and their two boys, Gabriel, 15, and Camille, 11, have come to love le style Anglais. ‘Our design mantra for the house was eclectic, cosy and playful, a modern take on how people here restore period properties,’ says Amandine. ‘It had…

no. 5 HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Victorian ground-floor flat ROOMS Sitting room/kitchen, office, bedroom, bathroom LOCATION South London ‘BEIGE HAS A REPUTATION FOR BEING BLAND AND BORING BUT I LOVE THE VARIETY OF SHADES AND WARM TONES’ As an interior designer and founder of Topology Interiors, Athina Bluff (@topologyinteriors) is immersed in myriad ideas on a daily basis, which set her a challenge for choosing the scheme for her own home. ‘I’m good at focusing on what a client wants, but in my own projects I’m always changing things up,’ says Athina. ‘One constant in both work and home is my love of muted, earthy, relaxed neutrals. This has been a great base for the calming soft greens I chose here and my love of mixing vintage and contemporary looks.’…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Ground-floor apartment ROOMS Sitting room, kitchen, cloakroom, garden room/home office, three bedrooms (one en suite), bathroom LOCATION Amsterdam outskirts ‘WE ADDED GLAZED DOORS BETWEEN THIS SPACE AND THE SITTING ROOM SO THE LIVING AREA CAN BECOME A SEPARATE SNUG’ Interior designer Nicoline Beerkens and her husband Pieter van Herpen were living in central Amsterdam when they decided to relocate to a quieter neighbourhood on the outskirts of the city. ‘We were hoping to find a place where our young children, Georgia and Jack, could play on the street, but also within easy reach of the city centre and canals,’ says Nicoline. The couple soon found a 1930s ground-floor apartment that was sufficiently run-down to spark Nicoline’s imagination. ‘The interior was outdated, but I visualised a new…

no. 20 HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY A top-floor 1930s apartment ROOMS Sitting room, kitchen-diner, den, four bedrooms, two bathrooms LOCATION San Francisco WHY DID YOU BUY YOUR HOME? I was eight months pregnant with our first baby, and after looking for a long time with my husband Eli, a commercial real estate broker, we finally found this flat. We just figured it worked for now and we’d likely move in a few years. Now our daughter Jacqueline is 12 and her sister Cate is 10, so with a few minor design adjustments, it’s managed to work for us for a lot longer than expected. WAS ANY BUILDING WORK REQUIRED? The opening between the sitting room and the formal dining room was filled in. Doing this made our sitting room feel…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY A five-bedroom cottage, with parts dating back to the 18th century ROOMS Sitting room, kitchen, family room, library, boot room, laundry room, cloakroom, five bedrooms (two en suite), bathroom LOCATION Oxfordshire ‘I prefer traditional windows, which frame the garden views and add to the charm rather than seeing everything all at once’ Ailsa Richards took a slightly unconventional approach to choosing her family’s home in the country. While most house hunters start with how many bedrooms they want, and what the kitchen and sitting room are like, garden designer Ailsa was more concerned about the variety of trees in the garden and whether there was scope to encourage everything from pollinators to hedgehogs into the outside space. ‘As soon as I saw the gnarled old apple…

MODERN COUNTRY Streamlined silhouettes, sweet motifs and nostalgic patterns in a palette of pretty hedgerow pastels bring spring-inspired homeware to life PURE & SIMPLE Shapely forms and layered, tactile textures are the perfect choice for a calming interior that is rooted in slow living principles PERIOD CHARM Embrace a slice of heritage style with eclectic finds that refresh bygone designs with a pleasingly contemporary look…