Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2025 i 25 Beautiful Homes

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Craftsman-style detached house built in 2005 ROOMS Kitchen/breakfast room, boot room, dining room, sitting room, family room, office, gym, five bedrooms, five bathrooms, cloakroom LOCATION Virginia, USA WHY DID YOUR CLIENTS BUY THIS HOUSE? Our clients moved to Virginia from Washington, DC in 2022. They wanted a home with an elevator to all levels and large enough rooms and walkways to accommodate a wheelchair. HOW DID YOU COME TO BE INVOLVED IN THIS PROJECT? Unique Kitchens and Baths was the homeowners’ first choice for the kitchen and main bathroom and their founder Tanya Smith-Shiflett thought my company, Storie Collective, would be a great addition to the team in terms of interior design and project management. WHAT WAS THE THINKING BEHIND THE DESIGN? Our clients didn’t love…

PROJECT DETAILS DESIGNERSiân Parry Jones (sianparryjones.com) PROPERTYConverted barn WORKRoom design as part of a larger renovation LOCATIONSomerset Having travelled widely around the world, interior designer Siân Parry Jones wanted the sitting room in her own barn home to reflect her globetrotting while staying true to its rustic English roots. ‘I incorporated things from my travels that were unusual and colourful,’ she says. 1 STARTING POINT The oak-framed room features a vaulted ceiling and bifold doors to maximise the views over the surrounding countryside. Against the neutral backdrop of a stone floor and walls in a specialist paint finish, Siân wanted to bring in some vibrancy with colourful furniture and accessories. ‘I used a muted palette for a few years, but I was delighted when colour started reappearing,’ she says. These…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY A Victorian workers’ terrace ROOMS Kitchen-diner, sitting room, two bedrooms, two bathrooms LOCATION East London HOW DID YOU COME TO WORK ON THIS PROJECT? I’d worked with my client before and she expressed an interest in finding a property in this part of east London. We often source projects for clients and she loved this Victorian workers’ house in a conservation area. WHY DID THE CLIENT FALL IN LOVE WITH THIS PROPERTY? It’s a vibrant area of London inhabited by makers, creators and craftspeople. A jeweller lived here. The small property accommodated his workshop and living space behind, plus a tiny one-bedroom flat above was rented to an artist. The place was run-down and my client felt passionate about reinstating the original layout and renting the…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Edwardian terraced townhouse ROOMS Sitting room, kitchen-diner/family room, utility room, cloakroom, office, five bedrooms, three bathrooms LOCATION Southwest London If you’ve just moved house, you’d expect all thoughts to turn to your new home. But when Koreen and her husband Charles moved from Wandsworth to Hampshire, London wasn’t far from their minds. ‘I came back to pick up some things and I saw a solicitor’s board outside this lovely Edwardian terraced property as it was a probate house,’ says Koreen. ‘I decided to go and view it, then I said to my husband, “I’ve seen a house that I think we should buy,” and he said, “Can I remind you that we’ve just moved to Hampshire!”.’ Koreen felt they should still have a foot in London…

PROJECT DETAILS OWNERS Anna and Mark Newton PROPERTY Victorian semidetached house WORK Extending the back of the property to create a spacious new kitchen-diner LOCATION Brighton When Anna and Mark Newton first moved into their Victorian semi, the kitchen was long and narrow. ‘We really wanted to make the most of the space so we extended out and to the side,’ says Anna. ‘This gave us uninterrupted views of the garden.’ 1 TEAM WORK Originally, the kitchen felt dark and narrow. ‘There were two decaying patio doors at the back that slugs loved to slide under into the kitchen,’ remembers Anna, ‘and there was a lean-to utility space that was blocking views down the garden, so we moved the utility area to the centre of the house. We extended out…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Detached mid-century house with large garden ROOMS Kitchendiner/living area, utility room, playroom, four bedrooms, three bathrooms LOCATION Leeds Looking to be closer to her parents in Leeds, Lucy Clarke-Bishop and her husband Andrew started the process of moving from their London home and soon discovered a mid-century house with a large woodland garden. ‘I said to Andrew, “We have to buy this house!’” says Lucy. ‘It was love at first sight.’ However, once inside, the romance didn’t continue. ‘It hadn’t been touched since the 1960s,’ says Lucy. ‘Wallpaper was peeling off and the kitchen was dingy.’ In London, the couple had lived in Victorian properties, which had been perfect for a while. Then with the arrival of Marlowe, now seven, Lucy, who works as an interior…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY An Edwardian semi-detached house ROOMS Sitting room, kitchen-diner/living area, utility room, four bedrooms, three bathrooms LOCATION Southwest London Peter and Vivienne Cameron had been living in their comfortable home for 30 years, but as their extended family grew, the constraints of a typical Edwardian semi, with several separate rooms, none of which was quite big enough, started to mar their enjoyment of it. ‘There wasn’t a large enough room for family celebrations and the rooms we did have didn’t flow,’ explains Vivienne. ‘We explored moving house, which would have been expensive and a new house would probably have needed reconfiguration anyway.’ In the end, with the benefit of advice from local architect Keith Malone, the Camerons realised that it was possible to redesign their existing house…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Detached 1990s house ROOMS Sitting room, dining room, family room, loft playroom, kitchen-diner, pantry, utility room, laundry room, cloakroom, two offices, four bedrooms, five bathrooms LOCATION California WHY DID YOUR CLIENTS BUY THIS HOUSE? The couple had lived in Menlo Park in the heart of Silicon Valley for a number of years when they bought this house in 2021. An extensive house on a large plot, it is uniquely spacious for the neighbourhood and had good bones, so could be remodelled to suit them and their three young children, aged 11, seven and three. HOW DID YOU COME TO BE INVOLVED IN THIS PROJECT? Through our children’s school. Having recently completed a full home remodel of my own that resonated with their style, they approached me…

PROJECT DETAILS DESIGNER Jo Aynsley, design director, Jeffreys Interiors (jeffreys-interiors.co.uk) PROPERTY A new farmhouse lodge part of the Charlton Hall estate WORK Bedroom renovation LOCATION Northumberland The luxurious scheme is all down to interior designer Jo Aynsley, who describes it as fanciful. ‘We wanted to think outside the norm of what was expected within interiors to make a unique and cocooning space and inspire guests to want to recreate a slice at home.’ 1 HEADBOARD HIGHLIGHT ‘I took inspiration from Kit Kemp’s appliqué-style headboard and knew we wanted to create one of our own; therefore, the starting point for this room was the headboard and the pattern from the cushion to inform the design,’ says Jo. Different Abraham Moon wools were used to cut out the shapes seen on the…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Arts and crafts-inspired house built in 1932 ROOMS Entrance hall, kitchen-diner/living area, utility room, snug, pantry, study, cloakroom, basement cinema room, basement gym, five bedrooms, three bathrooms LOCATION Warwickshire ‘I didn’t want anything in the house to shout – instead I prefer quieter ways of drawing the eye, whether that’s through framed wallpaper or the shape of a pendant light’ For someone who claims that they would give themselves a blister just thinking about changing a plug, James Barnes has pulled off a deeply creative reinvention of a classic 1930s home, whose architecture riffs on the arts and crafts movement. Taking inspiration from the integrity and craftsmanship associated with that period, James, a private equity investor, spent four years reworking the space with the help of…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Semi-detached Edwardian house ROOMS Sitting room/atrium, playroom, kitchen-dining area, five bedrooms, three bathrooms LOCATION East Sussex TELL US ABOUT YOUR HOUSE PROJECT? We moved down from London to Hove in 2019, as we wanted to escape the city for seaside living. We bought our first house in the area but once our son Keaton was born and we added our dog, Peach, a Sheepadoodle, to the mix, we quickly outgrew the space. My husband Adam spotted this property for sale close by and we loved the proportions of the rooms and the size of the garden. It had been a family home for 20 years and it needed a lot of TLC to restore it to its full potential. As a young family, we didn’t know…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Edwardian terraced house ROOMS Kitchen-diner/living area, sitting room, four bedrooms, three bathrooms, dressing room LOCATION Northwest London HOW DID YOU COME TO BE INVOLVED IN THIS PROJECT? The client was a neighbour and was using the architectural practice Newman Zieglmeier. Initially, the client needed help with curtains and then it snowballed from there. WHAT WAS THE BRIEF? To create a relaxed family home that was robust enough to take three boys under 10! HOW INVOLVED WERE THE HOMEOWNERS? The client was very involved and really enjoyed looking at and choosing fabrics. We pushed her to be braver with pattern than she would have normally been. DESCRIBE THE STYLE Pared down but with strong sculptural shapes and soft colours. The house enjoys great south-facing light, so in…

PROJECT DETAILS DESIGNER Rebecca Nokes of John Lewis of Hungerford (john-lewis.co.uk) PROPERTY Semi-detached Victorian house WORK To transform a dark kitchen into a bright, sociable cooking and dining space LOCATION Southwest London Having lived and worked in New York, Japan and Singapore, the owners of this property were keen to put down long-term roots in their forever home. They hired Rebecca Nokes of John Lewis of Hungerford to deliver wow factor to the kitchen. 1 FIRST IMPRESSIONS ‘A dingy space with loads of tall, brown overwhelming cabinets was my first impression of the space,’ says designer Rebecca Nokes. ‘The owners wanted a light, bright kitchen that would work for them and their three children of quite varied ages, as well as being a sociable space for friends to gather.’ 2…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Detached Edwardian house with modern extensions ROOMS Sitting room, kitchen/dining room/snug area, snug, utility room, study, TV room, cloakroom, four bedrooms, two dressing rooms, four bathrooms LOCATION Essex WHAT WAS THE BRIEF? Detailed space planning throughout and full interior design service from concept to completion with full installation. Every other week, we would meet to get an overview, then every month we had a separate meeting to discuss design concepts. The clients’ tastes initially were quite different, with the wife liking a more traditional style and the husband wanting more contemporary. WHAT WERE YOUR MAIN PRIORITIES? To have a cohesive design flow through the house and for the newer areas not to feel separate or unaligned. HOW DID YOU CHOOSE THE COLOUR PALETTE? Both clients were…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Georgian townhouse ROOMS Sitting room, study, kitchen-diner/living area, four bedrooms, three bathrooms LOCATION Southeast London While living on the fifteenth floor of an apartment building had provided Harriet and Andrew Potter with wonderful views, they always craved something a little closer to the ground. Both with fast-paced careers, the couple found their flat in Greenwich to be a good location for their offices, yet always knew that a garden for their future home was essential. ‘The flat was functional but didn’t have much of a broader personality. We both grew up in the home counties so we always imagined we would move to Kent, but in the end, our walks throughout Greenwich Park convinced us otherwise. We love the leafy parts of this area and we…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY An Edwardian detached house ROOMS Sitting room, kitchen-diner/living area, music room, utility room, six bedrooms, three bathrooms LOCATION Surrey When Lisa Oliver and her husband Lee viewed their home-to-be, they weren’t put off by 40 years of neglect and the amount of work which needed to be done, unlike other potential buyers. ‘We were bonkers enough to go for it,’ says Lisa. ‘When we walked into the house it smelled and had red spongy carpet, but we could both see the space had plenty of potential.’ The couple and their children, Freya, 18, and Charlie, 16, lived in the house for a year before the extension work began, making do with a shower and kitchen combined in the music room, which meant that life was rather…

HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Stone-built house ROOMS Kitchen-diner/living area, three bedrooms, three bathrooms, veranda LOCATION Deià, Mallorca Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication’ is a phrase often attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, but for those leading busy, urban, 21st-century lives, simplifying things can seem like a distant dream. But it’s probably why the owners of this beautiful house in Deià on Mallorca’s west coast bought this property and why they asked the local design firm Moredesign to work on its renovation with them. The homeowner and her partner were instantly attracted by the extensive spread of land that surrounds the house and its magnificent exposure to the coastline. ‘The site is well known as the old orchards of Son Bleda farm,’ explains Oro del Negro of Moredesign, and the property included…