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Apr 23, 2024

Look Around This Expanded Family Cottage

All products on this page have been selected by our editorial team, however we may make commission on some products. The property is a terraced house in Barnes, London, which was originally built for

All products on this page have been selected by our editorial team, however we may make commission on some products.

The property is a terraced house in Barnes, London, which was originally built for rail workers. The client lived there with her mother when she was growing up, and after her mother died the house was left to her. It was originally going to be done up to rent out, but when we discussed its potential, the client decided to extend and renovate it to live in it full time. With a rear, side and top extension we were able to change this small two-up, two-down property into a functioning family home with four bedrooms, including a large master suite.

Our brief was to create a warm and inviting family home with as much storage as possible, with every space carefully thought out. The rooms aren’t huge, but we managed to design bespoke joinery throughout. The client really wanted their personalities to shine through the design by including plenty of colour and pattern. They brought an array of artworks with them from their previous house, and we used them as starting points within the design – picking out colours and building the schemes from there.

This was designed to be the ‘adult space’ in the house. As with a lot of Victorian properties, there are two living spaces next to each other (also known as a double reception room). We proposed to close these rooms off with large sliding doors to separate the spaces but, when open, the rooms still flow to maintain the open plan feel on the ground floor.

We kept the space light and bright, opting for a neutral colour palette and introducing an internal Crittall-style window to bring light into the hallway and create a contemporary feature in the room.

WALLS: Slate I, Paint And Paper Library WOODWORK AND JOINERY: Slate III, Paint And Paper Library PENDANT LIGHT: Chelso Six Light Matt Black and Opal Pendant, Lights&Lamps MIRROR: Norman Panelled Wall Mirror, Perch and Parrow CURTAIN FABRIC: Mirador Upholstery Moremi Stone, Harlequin COFFEE TABLE: Pershore Coffee table, D.I. Designs LEATHER ARMCHAIR: Humber Vintage Occasional Chair, Olivia's SOFA: Odette Sofa, Love Your Home RUG: Loscan Recycled Indoor/Outdoor Flat Woven Rug, Le Redoute

Although this room is long, we were able to maximise use of this kitchen space by building in a banquette dining area to allow for additional living space looking out onto the garden. We wanted to create a contemporary style and did so by designing irregular-width tongue and groove panels, finished off by bronze hardware.

JOINERY: Bespoke by MagProject, painted in Slate III, Paint And Paper Library ZELLIGE TILES: Mosaic Factory PENDANT LIGHT: Pumpkin Glass Shade, Pooky BAR STOOLS: Cult Furniture CUPBOARD HANDLES: Corston SOFA: Byron, Love Your Home CUSHIONS: Meggy and Me RUG: Knox Reversible Dhurrie Rug in Sand, Asiatic OTTOMAN: George Spencer DINING TABLE: BespokeDINING CHAIRS: Cult FurnitureARTWORK: Client’s ownWALL LIGHTS: Charcoal Grey Opal Disk Wall Light, House Of BANQUETTE FABRIC: Maria Flora Ash Dark Seafoam

The property didn’t have a downstairs cloakroom, so we reconfigured the layout to fit one in. This small space needed to pack a punch, so we installed wallpaper from Barneby Gates and matched the woodwork and ceiling to the teal colour within the paper.

WALLPAPER: Indian Stripe Wallpaper in Pink and Teal, Barneby Gates MIRROR: Zara Home BASIN: Popolo Cloakroom Basin, Crosswater WALL LIGHT: Tacoma Twin Wall Light, AstroWOODWORK: Teal, Paint And Paper Library

We reconfigured the layout on this floor to create a larger bedroom with a walk-through dressing area moving into a comfortable en-suite bathroom. The client loved the Moorish maze fabric we specified for the headboard which became our central feature and picked up on the pink and green theme throughout the rest of the room. We added a cornice and wrapped it in front of the windows to hide the track for the curtains. We also widened the chimney breast to allow for a super-king-sized headboard and space for the bedside tables to slot into the alcoves on either side. For added interest and pattern, we applied wallpaper to the wardrobe doors.

HEADBOARD FABRIC: Rapture and Wright Moorish Maze PIPING ON HEADBOARD: Samuel and Sons Saisons Collection CT-57459 TABLE LAMPS: Base, clients own, lampshade, Pooky THROW: Zara Home BEDSIDE TABLES: BespokeARMCHAIR: Madison Chair, Love Your Home CURTAIN FABRIC AND BRAID: Linara, Romo TRIM: Zelda, Travers WALLPAER ON WARDROBE DOORS: Belge in Slate, Christopher Farr WOODWORK: Inchyra Blue, Farrow & Ball WALL LIGHTS: (by dressing table) Chubes, Lights & Lamps

For continuity, we've used the same paint colour for the vanity unit as in the dressing room and reflected this colour in the tiling, which is a deep green. Retro-style wall lights give appropriate task lighting while adding a dose of glamour to the space.

FLOOR TILES: Pinstripe, Artisans Of Devizes WALL TILES: Oasis Ceramic in Aqua, Artisans Of Devizes VANITY UNIT: BespokeWALL LIGHTS: Versailles, Astro MIRROR: Garden Trading

We were limited on space here, so we suggested building the bed in front of the window and wrapping joinery around the room with a built-in desk. The mural wallpaper is the star of the show, wrapping around the window wall. We picked out a green for the woodwork to make the scheme feel fun and fresh.

WALLPAPER: Photowall WOODWORK: Breakfast Room Green, Farrow & Ball WALL LIGHTS: Oliver Bonas BLIND FABRIC: Savannah in Olive, Ian Sanderson

We kept the space neutral but added pops of colour and interest by choosing fun fabrics. The irregular-sized spacing of the tongue and groove panels in the bespoke wall-to-wall joinery keeps the design on the right side of contemporary and in keeping with the rest of the house.

HEADBOARD: Fabric, Zhiri in Coral and Gold, Jane Churchill CUSHIONS: Meggy and Me TABLE LAMPS: Base, clients own, lampshade, Pooky BEDSIDE TABLES: D.I. Design Alton Bedside Table in Pigeon Grey, House of Isabella THROW: Zara Home ARMCHAIR: Madison Chair, Love Your Home

The multifunctional study space doubles up as another bedroom. We wanted to keep this space masculine, so we used a linen wallpaper on the walls and painted the woodwork, joinery and radiator in a complementary shade.

WALLPAPER: Signature Canvas, Arte SOFA: Felix Sofabed, Love Your Home BLIND FABRIC: Veranda Zigzag in Indigo, Mark Alexander WALL LIGHT: Club Wall Light in Antiqued Brass, Jim Lawrence

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Photography by Jonathan Bond

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