FAST MOVERS
Creative flair and an eye for detail quickly transformed
a dated house into a stylish family home
From the moment Becca and Gareth Lawson discovered their first baby was due, the race was on to find a family-sized home. ‘We were living in south London at the time and didn’t want to move out of the city, so we scoured the capital for a green and leafy suburb we would like. Winchmore HiIl, in north London, felt right the moment I stepped off the train. I visited a teashop just 50 metres from the station and without straying any further decided it was perfect for us. Gareth and I came back on the Saturday and bought the first house we saw!’
The couple found a dated but spacious fourbedroom Edwardian semi with big rooms and a long garden. But with time ticking away, work had to start immediately. ‘We were handed the keys just three weeks before our baby was due, and Gareth was up a ladder until 2am wallpapering the nursery days before Niall arrived!’
With no time to waste, they quickly set to work freshening up the decor by painting every room in neutral colours, then decided which aspects of the house to tackle first. ‘We inherited a colour scheme with lashings of lilac and, although the previous owners had already extended into the loft to create a large bedroom and ensuite, both the kitchen and bathroom were very dated. We knew we wanted to get rid of the 1980s conservatory at the back of the house too,’ says Becca. ‘As the existing space felt cramped, we were desperate to open up the back room into a large kitchen/dining room.’
Two years on, they’d saved up enough money to enable them to knock down the conservatory and replace it with a modern kitchen-diner extension that leads out onto decking and the garden. ‘The work all went to plan,’ says Becca, ‘though it did take longer than we were expecting because we had to wait for our builder to finish a job for Coldplay singer Chris Martin!’
Featuring sleek sliding doors to the garden, the contemporary kitchen extension, which cost about £70,000, is now the social hub of the house, and the space can be opened up in the summer to blend the indoor and outdoor areas.
Becca wanted a kitchen that felt crisp and modern yet a little different, so opted for stone-coloured units in a matt finish. On-trend Metro-style tiles complete the look, and Becca has added plenty of personality with creative styling, using quirky, vintage pieces and displaying her favourite kitchenware on a series of open shelves. The pale
flooring helps the space feel light and open, and is easy to wipe down and keep clean when the children traipse mud in from the garden!
Becca and Gareth also had a glass partition door installed between the kitchen area and hallway, to fit in with the sliding doors and allow more light to flow through the house. ‘Gareth is fantastic at DIY, so he has done quite a bit of the work himself, which has saved us money,’ explains Becca. ‘He built my walk-in closet, a cupboard in the kitchen and is currently working on a scaffolding board desk in the spare bedroom.’
Enlarging the upstairs bathroom to allow for a shower cubicle as well as the rolltop bath was also part of the plan. Becca has revamped the space with dramatic dark walls and tiles from Walls & Floors, and added customised copper taps made for the sink and bath.
The flow of the house is brought together by Becca’s distinctive decorating style and choice of furniture and accessories. ‘I guess I would describe my style as either modern rustic or
Scandi vintage,’ she says. ‘I like to use light, fairly neutral backgrounds, then add interest with unusual objects and textures to bring the rooms to life. I’ve acquired all sorts of vintage
pieces over the years, and love mixing them in with more modern touches to create an eclectic feel.’
The large living room was originally painted in Farrow & Ball’s Wimborne White, but Becca says, ‘It felt really cold, and I realised we weren’t using it. I wanted to make it warm and cosy while keeping the Scandi look. We chose a loop wool carpet, replaced the old radiator behind the sofa with a vertical one that heats the room better, and took a really bold step with Railings, a deep blue-black, for the walls. It looked instantly dramatic and, thanks to our big Edwardian sash windows, the room never feels gloomy.’
An avid reader of interiors magazines, Becca is also on Instagram as @malmo_and_moss, using the platform as a source for ideas and a way to share her own pictures.
Seven years and three children later, Becca and Gareth are enjoying living in their unique family home. ‘I’m not sure I’ll ever stop decorating, but we’re certainly not planning on any more big projects for the time being!’ she says. ‘It’s exciting to know that our boys will be able to grow up here and our lovely house will evolve with us.’