A soft PALETTE
Subtle colours and a family-friendly redesign have brought a contemporary feel to a Georgian townhouse
which is a Farrow & Ball paint with a hint of grey.’ When Justin and his wife Francisca updated their north London Georgian townhouse, they chose soft evocative hues that range from a deep aubergine to serene blues and greens, while the kitchen and dining room are bathed in peachy pinks. Even their children got involved. ‘We let them choose a favourite colour for their bedrooms and they both went for Farrow & Ball’s Arsenic; except Anni has it on the floor and Edgar has it on his walls,’ adds Justin.
But colour is only one of several elements that have come together to bring fresh character to this family home. Art, well-designed modern furniture and some clever but unobtrusive architectural additions all played their part in its transformation. And through every stage of its redesign, the couple were mindful of the house’s heritage: ‘We love its period features and wanted to honour them, but without feeling as if we were living in a museum,’ says Justin.
The family moved here from a cool warehouse apartment in London’s Clerkenwell. ‘We enjoyed the open layout of warehouse living, but the children were getting older and we thought it was time for a “grown-up” house,’ says Justin. While the architecture here is immediately very different, the couple instantly saw its beauty and how, in its own way, its rooms could flow. For example, folding doors separate the front living room from the sitting room to the rear, which Justin uses as a home office. ‘But once my working day is done, I can open the doors and we have a huge eight-metre living space that feels very contemporary,’ he adds.
However, the couple did have some structural changes in mind to help the house work for modern family life. Justin admits that,
OFFICE/LIVING Left and above left Folding doors separate the living room from the multi-tasking office, music and living area. Vert De Terre used on the walls and Wevet on the floor throughout, both by Farrow & Ball, create a sense of flow
DINING ROOM Opposite The family enjoy spending time together in the basement dining area, which leads from the kitchen. Vitsoe shelving provides storage, while an Ebbe Gehl for John Lewis Mira table is surrounded by Result chairs from Hay
‘There isn’t a single white room in the whole house,’ says Justin Moodie with a smile. ‘The closest we get here is a neutral shade called Wevet,
HOME PROFILE
WHO LIVES HERE Justin Moodie, who works in product marketing, Francisca Sepulveda, a lawyer, their children Anni, 15, and Edgar, 14, plus two cats, Marshall Lee and Cake the Cat
THE PROPERTY
A four-storey, three-bedroom, Grade II listed Georgian townhouse in north London
PRICE £1.8m in 2018
MONEY SPENT About £300,000
‘The entire kitchen is as sustainable as possible, with cabinets made in south London’
initially, they didn’t realise how much of an uphill struggle it would be to get planning permission for their Grade II listed home. Several neighbouring properties had two-storey extensions dating from times when the rules were less stringent, but Justin and Francisca’s request to do something similar was met by a swift and definite ‘No’.
The house did, though, already have a smaller, single-storey extension, so they went back to the drawing board and, with architect Rebecca Pike of Studio Pike, came up with a sensitive plan to replace that add-on with a very slightly larger one. Then, to create the extra space they needed, they obtained permission to rebuild a ramshackle old building at the end of the garden, which is now a home office for Francisca. They also added a shower room to the top floor, tucked in between the children’s bedrooms, and knocked through part of a dividing wall in the basement to make the dining room and kitchen feel light, bright and connected.
When it came to the building work stage, Francisca made an executive decision to move the family out of the house and let the tradespeople get on with doing their jobs. ‘Francisca had heard about the stress and potential disasters of living on site from friends and colleagues and said, “No, we’re not doing that.” It was definitely the right thing to do,’ says Justin. The family rented a small property
‘We wanted to honour the period features, but not feel as if we were in a museum’
nearby for seven months and ‘with us out of the way, the work was able to get finished on time and on budget,’ continues Justin.
A new kitchen was part of the redesign and Rebecca Pike introduced the couple to a company called Pluck. ‘We’re very conscious of the impact we all have on the environment, so we immediately liked the company’s sustainable ethos as well as its designs,’ says Justin. ‘The entire kitchen is as sustainable as possible, with cabinets made in south London, rather than being shipped from overseas. For the surfaces, I found a great company called Resilica in Hastings that makes them from recycled glass,’ he continues. They also loved Pluck’s zingy colours and the style of cabinetry it makes, which has more than a hint of mid-century design about it. ‘The kitchen and dining room are in the basement, which has far less ornamentation than the upper floors, so we felt freer to choose a more modern style down there,’ explains Justin.
In the dining room, the bespoke storage is also by Pluck, which adds a sense of continuity. The veneer used on these cabinets is London Plane, which felt appropriate, as several of these ancient trees grow in the communal square right outside the family’s front door and their branches can be seen from the windows of their home. It’s another subtle nod to how this house’s history dovetails with the modern elements that so suit Justin and Francisca and their family.