Welcome to my home

“It’s been wonderful seeing our ideas come to life and we know we’ll be happy here for a long time”

Kate Kozina, co-founder of Fine Stems London (finestems.co.uk) lives here with her husband, Gregory, a stockbroker, and daughters, Varvara, six, and Stefania, four.

The property

A three-bedroom Victorian terrace near Richmond, London.

The Value

Bought in 2016 for £940,000; now valued at around £970,000.

Kate and Gregory couldn’t believe their luck when a house on one of their favourite streets in their local neighbourhood went on the market within their budget. ‘It was in close proximity to one of the local outstanding primary schools, too, which was at the top of our priority list,’ explains Kate. ‘The house offered the space we needed and the scope to put our own stamp on it without the need for much renovation,’ she says.

Structurally, all the couple did was remove the downstairs loo to open up and connect the living, dining and kitchen areas. ‘We knew that an openplan layout would be best for our young family,’ says Kate. ‘We love to host friends and family, too, so linking the spaces was important so we can all be together when one of us is cooking,’ she says.

‘The kitchen was the biggest challenge as we had to work around the existing plumbing in a relatively small space and design something that would flow into the new open-plan area.’ The finished space is divided into two zones: one with the oven and fridge; the other with the sink and storage.

When it came to the decor, the couple decided to get expert help and hired interior designer Elena Creswell (elenacreswell.com) to make it work. ‘We wanted to create a modern family home with a cottage feel that suits the age of the property and the area we live in.’ They briefed Elena to come up with a look combining Scandi and modern-country styles. ‘Seeing inspiration boards from Elena helped me to visualise each room,’ says Kate. ‘It was helpful to see how the colours, furniture and texture would work together, so I could understand what the end result would look like.’