Can you tell us a little about yourself, your style and your home?
We’ve lived in our home – originally the orchard house for Hampton Court Palace – for 8 years. I absolutely love its Victorian character and charm. We’ve done work on it gradually over the years, mainly bringing character features back to life and injecting personality into very bare rooms. Recently, we added a kitchen extension, which has completed the house and made it the family home we envisioned when we first saw it. When we moved in, I decided to document the work and DIY projects around the house on Instagram. I didn’t really know much about it at the time, so I was very shocked at the amazing reception.
This house is where my passion for interior design started, it inspired me to complete an interior design course 6 years ago and since then, I’ve gone on to work on many other homes. I’d say my style is elegant, classic and timeless, with a twist.
Left: Before and Right: After
Can you tell us about the space, how you use it and what it was like before?
This space is a bit of through room with no direct windows, but it gets lots of light from the adjoining orangery/dining room. It was a playroom for the kids for over 7 years but recently the eldest two have shown no interest in it. Some of the paintwork we did when first moving in has also become a bit tired. So, I decided to create a cosy family snug and move the toys to another less obvious corner.
Left: Before and Right: After
What look did you want to achieve with this space? How did you choose the colour?
I wanted to create a really cosy, inviting space. A space that would be the heart of the home, where we can cosy up, watch the stove in the winter months and just relax as a family. I’d used Green Smoke before in a client’s home, so I knew it would be the perfect shade for this room.
How did you go about choosing the furnishings for this space?
I’ve found that wood, brass and burnt orange tones work so well with Green Smoke, so I went with wood and rattan for the sideboard, baskets and rug. I tied in the wall colour with the furnishing through the gorgeous sofa in a sage stripe fabric and sage ottoman. Then I bought in warmer tones in the cushions. As it’s a family space, I added lots of memories to the picture shelves with family pictures and artwork collected over the years.
Why did you choose Dead Flat® and how did you find working with it?
I absolutely love the beautiful matt finish of Dead Flat®. It adds such a calm feel to the room and, at the same time, makes the colour pop. I also like that it’s multi-surface, so we could use it on skirtings and shelving, and that it’s extremely durable, which is very much needed in a family home like ours with three kids. My decorator loved working with it! He said it just glided on, was very smooth and dried nice and quickly.
What has been the reaction to the space?
Everyone loves it! This space has become a little hub of the home that people seem to just gravitate to.
Anything else you’d like to add?
When we moved to the house 8 years ago, the walls were crying out for colour. The first room we painted was the living room in . It felt like such a brave decision at the time, I remember testing so many shades. But 8 years on, it’s still a beautiful calm colour and we love it just as much as we did then!
All styling and photography by Leoma Harper.