Deck the halls Festive foliage sits well in this elegant Edwardian house
Once a brash riot of colour, this elegant house has been transformed by a new layout and subtle shades, which at Christmas provide the perfect backdrop for swathes of festive foliage
When Kim Dawson first viewed a handsome Edwardian house in her dream location in London she was unfazed by the garish and dated interior, realising that with a bit of vision and determination it could be totally transformed – just in time for Christmas. ‘I’m sure that many people would have been put off by the riot of colour that confronted me when I first walked in,’ she says. ‘The interior was completely over the top, decorated in a rainbow of shades, with yellows, reds and purples dominating.’
Despite this being the first property she had looked at, Kim was instantly smitten with the high ceilings, generous proportions of the rooms and the potential to restore the original period features that had been removed over the years. That the courtyard garden would be perfect for her wire-haired dachshund, Stanley, was another major bonus.
‘Even though it was late summer, I could easily imagine the house decked out for Christmas, with a large tree taking pride of place in one corner of the living room,’ she says. ‘I put in an offer that day and 10 weeks later, after a huge amount of effort, we’d moved in and were ready for the festive season.’
When they first began thinking of moving, back in 2012, Kim and her partner David were living in a spacious three-bedroom mansion apartment in Battersea’s sought-after Prince of Wales Drive. ‘Although we were close to Battersea Park, our flat was on the first floor of the building, so every time Stanley wanted to go out, we’d have to trek down the stairs and across the road,’ says Kim. ‘We desperately needed a garden and also felt it was time for a change of scene.’
She began searching online, focusing on Putney and Barnes, where she’d been brought up.
‘Renovating the house was a whirlwind project. I had to make lots of decisions really quickly but enjoyed every minute of it,’
SAYS KIM
‘Nothing appealed until I spotted this house, which is just a stone’s throw from Hotham Hall in Putney, where my parents had danced the nights away when they were courting,’ she says.
Kim arranged a viewing and, from the moment she set foot inside, could sense that the house was exactly what they were looking for: ‘Thankfully, David loved it just as much as I did. The owners must have been thrilled, as we were their first viewers and put an offer in immediately – just hours after the For Sale sign went up.’
Knowing that a move was imminent, Kim had already lined up a recommended builder. ‘I had seen the standard of his work in other homes and was confident he’d be more than capable of tackling this fairly big renovation – all within our 10-week deadline,’ she adds.
Having sold their Battersea property, the couple and Stanley moved into rented accommodation nearby while the work started, with Kim project managing. ‘The whole house needed a major overhaul to create a better flow and enhance its character,’ she says.
One of the first jobs was to block up a doorway into the living room. ‘This meant we were able to CONTINUED OVER PAGE
reclaim a wall where we’ve positioned a sofa,’ Kim says. ‘We created two defined areas in this large space: one for simply unwinding or socialising and another for watching television.’
A visit to a Chesney’s showroom inspired Kim to snap up an elegant new fireplace and cream woodburning stove for the living room, and another one to create a focal point in the kitchen.
To help restore the period features, Kim tracked down a ceiling rose for the living room as well as new cornicing. Uneven floorboards and the ceiling were replaced on the landing, the bathroom was retiled, cupboards that were too high to reach were removed, and a door leading from the guest bedroom into the second bathroom was blocked up. ‘Everything went very smoothly,’ says Kim.
With all the structural changes made, new carpets were then laid and walls painted in muted shades of cream and grey. This brought an air of calm to the house, which now features an interesting selection of eyecatching and quirky items collected by the couple during their travels to far-flung countries.
‘My inspiration came mainly from interiors magazines and a gorgeous home I’d spotted that was transformed by Helen Turkington – one of my favourite interior designers,’ says Kim. ‘Renovating the house was a whirlwind project. I had to make lots of decisions quickly but enjoyed every single minute and was thrilled when it all came together in good time for Christmas.
‘Now every year I enjoy choosing the tree, flowers and seasonal foliage at Covent Garden Flower Market, and love decorating the whole house from top to bottom.’