ALL CHANGE
Renovating a London terrace provided the catalyst for a whole different career for this owner
DECORATING advice ‘Paint the upper and lower halves of walls in two different colours – we did it in our boys’ room’
This Victorian terrace in west London is the fourth property Polly Ashman and her husband, Matt, have renovated and for Polly the project proved the impetus for a complete change in career. ‘We’ve worked with the same building company, Lofty Creations, on all of our houses and after this project they asked me if I would like to join them to head up the design side of their business,’ she recounts. ‘I’ve been part of the team for a year now and I absolutely love it.’ Polly’s passion for interiors is evident throughout the home she and Matt share with their two sons, aged four and two. The pair have successfully transformed what had been two run-down flats to recreate a welcoming home, reinstating period details such as sash windows and fireplaces while also adapting the layout to modern living. ‘I love the open feel of the ground floor – I can be cooking while chatting with the boys in the TV room,’ says Polly of the layout, which flows from the front of the house to the back, where a new kitchen extension opens the room up to the garden. For Polly, fitted joinery was an essential part of the design. ‘I like to add coving and skirting boards so that it feels as if the storage has always been there,’ she says. ‘In the TV room, I also incorporated lights to illuminate the bookshelves.’ Part of the middle bedroom on the first floor was turned into a utility room, and the rest of the space
DESIGN tip ‘Try painting fitted storage the same colour as the walls to help it to “disappear” in the room’
became an en suite for the master bedroom. ‘For me, it makes sense to have a laundry room close to the bedrooms,’ explains Polly. A keen advocate for colour, Polly has selected schemes that have infused the house with warmth. ‘I grew up in the New Forest with the colours of the countryside and I then developed a passion for travel, which has also influenced my choices,’ she explains of a welcoming palette that spans a rich denim blue for the cabinetry in the kitchen to a gentle shade of grey-beige for the walls of the sitting and TV rooms and a restful silvery blue in the master bedroom. Polly also loves beautiful fabrics, and is always looking online to find designs by her favourite brands at bargain prices. ‘You can sometimes hit lucky and buy a whole roll of material, but even finding the odd metre or two of a fabric is perfect for cushions, a footstool or an ottoman,’ she explains. ‘I’ve even used a couple of linen tablecloths to recover an old Ercol sofa.’ Antiques are peppered throughout the house and include purchases from online auction houses as well as inherited pieces. ‘I have a beautiful chest of drawers and a dressing table from my grandmother, while Matt has his grandmother’s wing chair, which I re-covered in a geometric weave,’ says Polly. ‘We cherish these pieces; they feel like old friends. We’ve surrounded ourselves with things that make us happy – that’s how a home should make you feel.’