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THE OWNERS

Ruth Anderson, a stay-at-home mum, husband Mike, CFO of a tech company, plus twin daughters, Lara and Neve, nine, and son Jack, seven. Plus Labradors Indi and Juno.

THE PROPERTY

A four-storey Victorian villa in south London. In the basement there is a playroom, workspace and reading nook along with a gym, wine room, utility room and spare bedroom. The ground floor has two adjoining living rooms plus a kitchen/dining area and a cloakroom. On the first floor is the main bedroom suite, plus a spare bedroom/office and a family bathroom. On the second floor are three children’s bedrooms plus a shower room.

be brave and boldly go’ was the mantra Ruth Anderson employed when she created this happy home for her family of five, plus two Labradors, Indi and Juno. She wasn’t consciously referencing Star Trek but she did want to avoid anything bland and boring. ‘I needed to go out of my comfort zone to make this home resonate with colour, texture and pattern,’ says Ruth of the late-victorian townhouse that backs onto a common in south London. ‘Our former home was decorated in tasteful shades of grey, all very well, but not exactly pushing boundaries.’

When Ruth – previously a lawyer, now a stay-at-home mum to nine-year-old twin daughters, Lara and Neve, and sevenyear-old son, Jack – and her husband, Mike, bought the house more than four years ago it had been renovated by the previous owners, but needed tweaks. ‘We spent a lot of time and effort redoing their basement work and reconfiguring the entire house to ensure it flows fluidly and is filled with light,’ she says.

The wide, welcoming hallway is thanks to the repositioning of the striking staircase that previously dominated its centre. ‘The green runner was a scary decision at the time but it’s turned out to be one of the best and connects the colours through the whole house,’ says Ruth. Importantly, the house had to tick lots of boxes for the varying needs and tastes of the family and function so that every inch is used.

Much of the house is decorated with what many people would not exactly class as child-friendly design, such as the fabulous pink Christopher Farr fabric covered armchairs, pink living room rug, precious art on the walls and a magnificent Saarinen marble dining table. ‘Friends told me I was mad, that it would stain or chip, but we all eat there every day and it’s still looking good,’ says Ruth. And despite those luxurious fabrics and design classics, nowhere is out of bounds... even for the dogs. The ground floor living room is split into two sections. The ‘blue room’ has a bit of a gentlemen’s club vibe with a tv set into its cantilevered wall. ‘I deliberately put a television there so we use the room every day,’ explains Ruth. The ‘pink room’ is where guests gather for drinks and piano practice takes place, ‘but the children drift in and out all the time too,’ says Ruth. Metal-framed doors, which echo the ceiling pendants, were chosen to keep the rooms light and modern. Although this is a period house, Mike in particular was keen that it should reflect a contemporary lifestyle.

When the renovation was well under way, Ruth began to struggle with design decisions and was introduced to Karena Clayton via Ade Architecture who she was using for the build. ‘Karena ended up being really key in the project, from spatial planning to choices about colours and fabrics,’ says Ruth. ‘Previously we thought that if you more or less know what you want there is no need for a designer, but without her this house would be nowhere near as exciting, nor as functional. The same can be said for art consultant Louisa Warfield, who also came into the scheme slightly further down the line. ‘We started by asking for a little bit of advice and ended up relying on her expert knowledge and brilliant eye for pushing us into new directions where art is concerned,’ says Ruth. In fact, she concludes, it was all the various talent, from the architect, designer, builder, garden designer, as well as Louisa, that helped make the house the successful family home it is today.

XArchitect, ade-architecture.co.uk

Designer, Karena Clayton, colourinteriors.com

Art consultant, Louisa Warfield, louisawarfieldart.com