COLOUR CONFIDENT
When Karen Robinson’s brother moved from London to Kent in 2011, it was only a matter of time before she was also lured by the prospect of more space for her family. From here, Karen and her partner Mark Skilton were able to work from home and commute into the capital when necessary. Having worked as a TV producer and director on several shows including Sarah Beeny’s Property Ladder, Karen retrained as an interior designer after her daughter Ruby, now 11, was born, while Mark works as a TV sound recordist.
‘I met Mark in China when we both worked on a martial arts show called Fight School,’ says Karen. ‘I loved doing location shoots but it wasn’t really conducive to family life and I didn’t fancy a desk-bound role either.’ So when Ruby started at nursery full-time, Karen embarked on a year-long diploma at The Interior Design School in London, which spawned her new business, Ruby Red Interiors.
When their son Lex, now six, came along, Karen and Mark wanted more space. ‘ We would often visit my brother in Kent and really loved the area,’ explains Karen. ‘We knew we could find a much larger house for the same price as our three-bedroom place in west London, and there are lots of good schools in the area. And Mark fancied a small garden, as our last one was 180ft long, which took a lot of time and effort to maintain.’
The pair viewed six older terraced properties before eventually narrowing it down to two contenders. ‘My brother’s partner is from the area so her local knowledge was invaluable,’ says Karen. ‘In the end, we chose this six-bedroom Victorian house as I loved the big rooms and it has a park opposite. It was in fairly
Karen Robinson gave her home heaps of character using a mix of bold hues and vintage finds
good condition, but just looked a little bit bland and outdated.’
First in the skip went the threadbare pink carpets, which were replaced by reclaimed wood flooring. The couple have gradually repainted throughout, adding vintage cast-iron radiators and replacing the kitchen and first floor bathroom’s fittings. As Mark is pretty handy, he was able to do much of the painting, tiling, carpentry and wallpapering himself.
‘Previous owners had used the front room as a dining room and the back room as a sitting room,’ says Karen. ‘ We flipped it around and knocked down the wall between the kitchen and dining room to create an open-plan space.’
The top floor of the house had been transformed into a one-bedroom flat, which the previous owners had rented out. The pair have plans to convert this into a guest bedroom and office. ‘Even as it is, it’s great having so much space as Ruby can have sleepovers up there,’ says Karen.
When it came to the interior design, Karen knew exactly what she wanted from the outset. ‘I’m not usually one for sticking to a period, but I think dark shades work really well in a Victorian house as the high ceilings can take the colour,’ she explains. ‘Just painting up to the picture rails breaks it up and stops it feeling too oppressive. Design is all about confidence,’ she continues. ‘People can be too frightened and often think they won’t be able to sell their home in the future if they use colour, but I don’t believe that’s the case at all.’
As well as being a colour enthusiast, Karen also loves all things industrial and vintage. ‘I feel that we’ve created a functional family living space, while at the same time allowing our eclectic style and creativity to shine through,’ she smiles.
DESIGN TIP ‘Plan carefully at the start of your project and really consider how you’ll use the space, where you need more light and where every socket will go’