THE BOUTIQUE HOME
Warm colours and contemporary touches have brought a relaxed feel to this Victorian house
Inspired by a hotel visit, one couple set about reinventing its smart designer style
Acouple’s weekend stay at Ett Hem, the Stockholm boutique hotel with interiors by designer Ilse Crawford, crystallised their ideas for the look and feel of their north London home. Samantha, who is half Danish, and Rob, had always loved modern Scandinavian design, but felt their previous homes lacked the warmth and intimacy they wanted for their growing family. Ett Hem (meaning ‘at home’), with its quietly luxurious mix of vintage and new furniture, tactile materials and earthy colours, exuded a relaxed, cosseting atmosphere.
Initially renting their Victorian house, Sam and Rob had the opportunity to fully explore ideas for a renovation. The most significant change was to reconfigure the lower-ground floor, moving the kitchen to the rear and adding an extension. Architects Nagan Johnson’s contemporary design, with limestone cladding, a copper living roof and a fillet of glass delineating new build from old, won over the conservation officers. The kitchen’s seductively smooth Corian-clad oak cabinetry by bespoke kitchen creator Jack Trench, is a masterpiece of modern craftsmanship. Its outwardly minimalist style reveals fine workmanship, with bespoke interiors, wood details and chamfered edges. A run of full-height cabinets clad in Lunar Larch veneer, to match the flooring, adds a strong natural element and visually enhances the sense of space. Opposite, a book-matched Carrara marble splashback introduces another material, the shelf above displaying some of Sam’s favourite objects. Touches of black and dark bronze furniture and lighting ground the interior decoration here and throughout the house. To one side, a neat walk-in pantry behind Crittall-style screens houses an out-of-the-way drinks station, second sink and dishwasher and accessible storage.
Sam was determined to put every inch of space to good use and the design team worked hard to ensure this happened. ‘Jack had the patience of a saint,’ she laughs, recalling the many kitchen planning meetings. Sam also collaborated with interior designer Charlotte Griffin. ‘Charlotte grasped exactly what I was trying to achieve,’ she says.
The extension’s wraparound glazing gives a sense of being in the garden all year round. Sam’s mother, garden designer Susanne Blair,
created a bed of trees underplanted with perennials close to the glass wall and a lawned area with a sunken trampoline beyond (the couple have four children, so play space was important). Sam loves that she can gaze both onto small details of colourful flowers and up at the majestic tree at the end of the garden.
At the centre of the airy dining space, a Danish mid-century rosewood table and black leather-upholstered chairs sit beneath handmade ceramic pendant lights, a modern fire adding cosiness on winter nights. A mid-century armchair overlooks the terrace, providing a lovely spot for relaxing.
At the other end of the kitchen is a snug with a log burning stove and built-in storage to hide children’s toys and stack firewood. Wide Crittall-style doors connect to the foot of the staircase, off which is a cloakroom and utility area. What was a dank space under the stone entrance steps has been transformed into a smart underfloor heated store with stepped cupboards. With such a lot of family laundry, attention was given to making this a pleasant activity. The blush-toned space, with cabinets hiding appliances and household paraphernalia, a marble worktop, Metro tile splashback and hanging rack, perfectly combines utility with style. On the raised ground floor, period details were meticulously restored. The original parquet flooring, varnished and yellowed over the years, was sanded back and white oiled to closely match the Lunar Larch flooring used elsewhere.
Subtle green colours - Farrow & Ball paints were used throughout - add to the overall calmness, with bold artworks, a botanical print rug and sumptuous velvet sofa injecting life, colour and comfort. The rear reception room multitasks as a study, reading and music space, with library-style storage built proportionate to the high ceilings. It was painted in a soft black, which makes the room feel warm and welcoming, despite its grand scale.
The children occupy the top floor, where new rooflights make the attic rooms feel open and bright. In the small bathroom, bespoke Corian-clad cabinetry enabled everything – including a pullout laundry drawer – to be accommodated. Marble reappears in hexagonal mosaics, while cement tiles sourced in Sweden introduce pattern and a lively colour that sits well next to the blue-toned bedrooms.
Almost the entire first floor comprises the main bedroom suite, reflecting Sam’s philosophy on prioritising wellbeing at
The kitchen’s SEDUCTIVELY SMOOTH cabinetry is a MASTERPIECE of modern craftmanship
home. Designed to enhance relaxation, sleep and bathing rituals, it includes sensuous materials and calm colours. The bedroom has salmon painted walls, an upholstered bed and plush silk carpet set into the Lunar Larch flooring; there is softness at every turn. Low hanging linen shades cast filtered light over made-to-measure bedside tables by Pinch. The walk-in wardrobe was built by the master carpenter on the project, Peter Worsfold. His craftsmanship shines in a vanity area with its bespoke drawers for jewellery and make-up, while details such as leather pull handles add to the sensory experience. Another well-loved rug adds vibrancy and comfort – the couple have collected a number of Rug Company designer rugs over the years.
Sam wanted to emulate Ett Hem’s bathroom style with its expanses of honed Carrara marble and classic modern Vola fittings in unpolished brass. The design needed to address the couple’s often differing waking and sleeping hours. Charlotte conceived a two-zone room with a Crittall-style entry screen to the wash area and a solid partition wall leading to the private bath and shower area beyond. When quiet is required, a cupboard door in the partition opens back onto the glass screen, acting as a bathroom door. A pair of bronze wall mirrors conceal storage, while brass ball lights add jewellery-like glamour.
Under the glow of two vintage Kalmar glass sconces is a black cast-iron bath in a nook with towels warmed on smart brass Vola rails. The slender marble shower wall was a technical challenge solved by cladding it in a thin veneer of marble. An indulgent bath in this hotelinspired bathroom brings Sam’s day at her truly bespoke family home to a beautiful, calm end. It’s truly a forever home.