Welcome to my home
“The ground floor is so light now, it’s a pleasure spending time there ”
The property A three-bedroom, Victorian terrace in Queen’s Park, London.
Rochelle Roest and Andrew Hills had been renting a very similar property just around the corner from the house that is now their home, so when they came to buy, they knew that its size, layout and location would suit their needs. ‘However, the new house’s living areas were small and dark, so we wanted to open up the space, making it lighter and helping the décor flow,’ says Rochelle.
The couple worked closely with their builder, Maryian Stovkov from Grand Design London, to plan a kitchen extension and a loft conversion, as well as new wiring and plumbing throughout, and a new garden design – in essence, creating a completely new house behind the Victorian façade. Rochelle then approached the décor with a view to enhancing and maximising the limited space. ‘My style has a Scandinavian influence – I love its simplicity – and I wanted to include colours that flowed together for a restful, yet warm and welcoming, feel,’ she says. ‘My intention was for the overall look to be contemporary, with a clean, minimalist finish, while retaining the Victorian features.’
To create her desired look, Rochelle started by making moodboards of paint colours, fabrics and flooring ideas using images cut from magazines. ‘The flooring was really important because I wanted to use the same design throughout the house for a continuous feel, so it needed to work alongside everything,’ says Rochelle. ‘We had several pieces of art that we wanted to use as focal points within the space, too, so it was also important that the wall colours worked as a backdrop to them, without resorting to the standard white.’
When it came to the finishing touches, like the lighting, Rochelle carefully chose designs that would make a statement within the small space. ‘We’ve loved designing and accessorising the house to create just the look we wanted,’ she says. ‘The ground floor in particular is so light and airy now, it’s a pleasure spending time there.’