What my home means to me Vanessa Anderson, head of design for M&S
Head of design for M&S Home, Vanessa, 45, lives in Islington, north London, with husband Chris Parks, a 3D film specialist, and twins Lucinda and Penelope, two, in a home full of warmth and memories
When we first spotted our house online in 2009, it was so covered in ivy we couldn’t see the building! The four-storey property was divided into flats. There was a crack running down the front steps, the ceilings were falling down in the basement and all the period features had been ripped out. But behind the ivy was a flat-fronted Victorian home complete with a portico – just what I’d always dreamed of.
We wanted to stay true to the history of this house,
so kept a smaller kitchen and a separate dining room on the lower floor. I love our warm and convivial dining room. Besides, I like to keep the kitchen as the engine room, so I don’t have to worry about the mess.
The ground-floor living room
runs from the front to the back of the house. In the front we have a charcoal grey velvet sofa and a white chaise lounge – which is less white now we have children – while the back has a library feel, with a desk, bookshelves and my old peach damask sofa, which the girls love to jump on.
I find it hard to throw things out.
I still treasure an old German Meissen vase I found in a flea market in Amsterdam when I was 16. It’s pink and gold with a cherub on top, cost £15 and sits in splendour on the mantelpiece in the spare room.
Upstairs we converted the fourth bedroom
into a bathroom, with a freestanding bath, separate shower and a massive piece of marble on the wall. We had to cut the marble in half to get it up the stairs! We have his-and-hers sinks either side of the chimney breast, with Art Deco-style square basins and two 1930s vintage mirrors.
Different shades of grey
feature in every room. My friends were shocked when I painted the girls’ bedroom with Farrow & Ball’s Lamp Room
Gray. But I covered one wall with peach and sherbet pom poms, and behind their cots hang resin animal heads in different colours – including an aqua moose with gold horns. Across the ceiling is coloured bunting. I’ve discovered that grey is the perfect backdrop for any display.
MY INFLUENCES
I’m driven by passion and impulse and always let my heart rule my head. I believe that if you fall in love with something you should buy it and make sacrifices elsewhere. I still regret not buying a painting I loved more than 20 years ago because £350 felt like too much money at the time.
Anything you love can be turned into a powerful display.
I adore coloured glass, so I have one mantelpiece in the living room covered in pink and plum glasses, and another one in the library displaying ambers and greens. My parents moved to Japan, Hong Kong, Kuwait and Holland when I was a child. Life felt transient – my mother never had a chance to accumulate her own furniture and I didn’t like the way we had no sense of history. Maybe that’s why I love hanging onto favourite pieces.
In my dining room I have Marks & Spencer candleholders, cakestands and statement serving pieces on a Victorian mahogany dining table. A huge trend for 2017 is cloches, and by the fireplace I have a beautiful glass one, which I’m constantly warning the girls not to touch!
Light is my main influence.
I like night light to be cosy and enveloping. My poor husband struggles to read the paper while I enjoy warm glows everywhere!
OUR FAMILY LIFE
Before our twins were born I threw loads of dinner parties. Now, I’m more of a family cook with roasts and casseroles, but I still love dressing the table with beautiful cutlery and plates to bring a sense of occasion.
Historical family photos
line the library section of our living room wall. Since the girls were small, they’ve loved studying the pictures. They’re a lovely visual display but also a reminder of our history, which the girls love.