Before & After home transformations
Family Home, South Kensington
A huge part of our job as interior designers is to transform our clients’ homes. We love having the chance to reflect on how much has changed from the beginning to the end of a project. It is great to look back and feel that sense of immense pride that this transformational effect has made to our clients’ lives. Through re-designing spaces, furnishing rooms, and injecting colour, texture, and pattern we love to look back and remember the journey our projects have taken and the reaction we get on handing them back to our clients.
It is always our goal to help create homes that not only feel special and luxurious but are also comfortable, functional, and really feel like home. Being able to deliver these projects for our clients brings us, and we hope brings them, great joy.
Below are a few of our favourite recent transformations.
family home, south kensington
Located in one of those lovely red brick terraces typically found in Chelsea, we were instructed to transform a rundown and unloved ground and lower ground floor apartment into a London base for an international family. With 3 growing teenage girls we needed to think about the versatility of the spaces to accommodate the family now and going forward. The property was initially to be used as a bolthole when they visited London, but mid-way through the project they decided to relocate to London so we needed to adapt our ideas to work with that.
Although it needed modernising, the flat boasted the most incredible high ceilings and generous reception spaces. We worked with this to show off the full potential of the property, designing an elegant living space, dining room and a generous family kitchen all interlinked but separated by sliding doors.
The kitchen initially appeared very tired but, on closer inspection, just needed a “face lift”. The units and appliances were in good working order and so by changing the worktops, painting the cupboard fronts, and adding new handles we managed to give the kitchen a whole new liaise of life at a fraction of the cost.
In a period property like this, it was very important to consider the scale of the rooms when selecting furniture. The generous spaces only work when the scale of the furniture placed in them is carefully planned, without being too big the dimensions need to work with the size of the rooms and height of the ceilings. It is often a problem that spaces like this can feel cold and unfriendly so our design team worked with fabrics and furniture selections that ensured that these large spaces now feel welcoming and homely.
Sharing our designs with the family remotely via zoom, it was not until they arrived in London at the very end of the project that they saw the transformation completed. We are pleased to report they were “blown away”.
beach house, cornwall
Built into the hillside and overlooking one of Cornwall’s most dramatic beaches, we helped a returning client transform this contemporary building into a relaxed and comfortable family home. With nine bedrooms to furnish, most with an enviable view of the ocean, we worked with palettes of organic, natural colours to give each bedroom its own personality.
Spread over two floors the living spaces needed to fulfill multiple purposes and, at the same time, blend seamlessly as you move from one space to another. Equally, all our schemes needed to complement our client’s impressive art collection. We were also commissioned to furnish the terraced gardens and pool area with an extensive range of outdoor furniture, creating different areas in which to relax and entertain.
The owners wanted us to make it more comfortable. It was a beautiful statement house, but it wasn’t homely. In the sitting room, a stone wall around the fireplace felt too cold, so it was plastered over and painted a warm white to soften the space and reflect the sky. A pair of wall lights was added, too, which now cast a warm golden glow in the evening.
In the study we wanted to add a sense of texture and colour, and to do so we used grass cloth wallpaper on the walls, a hand knotted rug from Tim Page Carpets and designed bespoke storage in an earthy moss green. A punch of colour was added with a large armchair and footstool in a burnt orange.
A bright, inviting and sophisticated work space. This refreshed colour palette & clever storage use provided the perfect WFH hideaway.
family home, fulham
We were initially instructed to reconfigure the master bedroom suite in this light, bright 4 storey family house which had endured 20 years of family living. Once our clients saw the transformation of the master suite, It did not take long for them to ask us to refurbish the entire house. We worked closely with the client and listened to their ideas and brief before translating these into a comfortable, practical yet stylish home for their grown-up family and busy lives
The first part of the brief, updating the master bedroom suite, began with a complete rejig of the overall space. The old layout had a bathroom that was just too big but without enough wardrobe storage, so we reduced the bathroom size and created a walk-through dressing space between the bedroom and bathroom. We also designed beautiful bespoke wardrobe storage in the bedroom to give “his” and “hers” dressing areas. The bathroom remained spacious with a generous walk-in shower, luxurious free-standing bath and two bespoke vanity joinery units with stone tops and basins.
The other key area we worked on was the kitchen/dining space and existing conservatory which our client had planned to replace but we encouraged them to upcycle what they had as it was in good condition, just looking rather dated. By upgrading the floor and painting the conservatory in contemporary “Railings” paint – one of our favourites – the new conservatory space was transformed and ready to receive some lovely new furniture pieces.
The remained of the house was redecorated, with new flooring and new furniture throughout and the lighting upgraded to enhance the new fresh spaces. We added panelling to the entrance and stairway and finished this space off with a carpet runner from Tim Page Carpets.
They were delighted and tell us the new schemes and layouts have moved their home along to suit their current lifestyle now with 3, now grown up children and 2 dogs still in residence but, equally, the house will work well for them when their family have flown the nest.