GOLD STANDARD
Glamorous metallics, rich fabrics and personal treasures come together in Carmelina Dalton’s cool and comfortable urban abode
Carmelina set herself a question when she began renovating her family home in London. ‘I asked myself, how do I want to feel when I walk in the door?’ she remembers. Her answer: ‘Welcome, with comfortable spaces that reflect our personalities.’ Carmelina has lived in the UK for more than 20 years, but was born in Brisbane and is naturally drawn to spacious, light interiors. ‘There’s a simplicity to Australian style that I find appealing,’ she says. Meanwhile her husband Paul Dalton hails from Scotland, so she included textures, ferny greens and the odd vintage antler as a nod to his heritage. And then there are playful touches that reflect the lively outlooks of her children, Kaiden, seven, and twins Evie and Ilaria, four.
The fourth influence that Carmelina has deftly woven into her schemes is the character of the house itself. ‘We were only the third owners of this house and it needed a lot of work. In recent years, most repairs seemed to have been done with sticky tape,’ she says. Carmelina set about a complete overhaul, but was determined to save as many original features as possible. Fireplaces were reconditioned, ceiling roses, skirting and mouldings reinstated and an original Edwardian room divider put back in. Like many houses on their road, the old room dividers had been ripped out, but a canny builder neighbour had kept one in storage. When he showed it to Carmelina, she was delighted. ‘I love how it adds grandeur, while our own pieces add a more contemporary style,’ she says.
The design of the arched divider is echoed in a set of bifold doors that Carmelina designed for the newly extended
design tip ‘I’m in favour of a high-low mix, combining well-designed investment buys with clever bargains and vintage finds’
kitchen-diner. As an interior designer and co-founder of KEMSI, she was also keen to design the kitchen units and storage throughout the house, which she says is invaluable with three children. The basement was turned into a play zone that is perfect for their son and daughters to hang out in. Carmelina has injected plenty of modern style into this space, decorating it with a neon wall light and painting the structural RSJ gold and hanging a swing and gym rings from it. ‘It’s a space that can grow with them,’ she says.
Upstairs, she decorated her children’s bedrooms with their personalities in mind. Her son Kaiden loves making things in Lego so a bright and stimulating yellow adorns the area where he gets creative, while a calmer darker blue works better in his sleeping area.
In the master bedroom, Carmelina’s aim was to create ‘a bed I’d never want to get out of,’ with a modern four-poster and high-quality bed linen. Gold and brass touches are woven through this room and continue downstairs, appearing on furniture and artworks in the sitting room and worked into the kitchen-diner in the form of interesting lighting, a mirror frame and small decorative vessels.
Although the overall mood in this home is one of lightness, Carmelina has also used a dash of black. ‘I always tell people, don’t be afraid to use black because it often recedes into the background and lets a focal point shine out,’ she says. By bringing together contrasting styles using these bold, inventive touches, Carmelina has brought her Edwardian family home right up to date and fit for modern life.
decorating tip ‘The textures you touch every day are an important element, from good quality bed linen to the light switches’