Highbury Interior Design
The interior design of a beautiful family home in North London.
A family of four, our clients had lived in this property for many years and had previously undertaken a phase of development to create a contemporary open plan living space on the ground floor. This had not extended to the interior design. As a result the house did not feel as inviting as they would have liked and lacked cohesion throughout.
They decided that with a daughter at university and their son coming to the end of his schooling, now was the time to invest in interior design to give their home a new lease of life.
We were briefed to create an individual and interesting design that would be comfortable for the family, rather than overtly styled. Comfort and warmth were a consistent theme throughout the project.
The beautiful kitchen wallpaper was the starting point for the colour palette. Leading out to the garden it brings the outside in. Working with the Victorian colours that run throughout the house, we constructed an autumnal scheme: terracotta, tan, natural wood, ochre and forest green. Highlights are added to lift the scheme. A light blue ottoman and coffee tables in the living room, for example.
The addition of olive green leather behind the shelves in the living room is a gentle link, adding warmth to the cool white joinery.
Many of the changes are relatively discreet but make a significant difference to the quality of the property. Refurbishing the flooring and changing all the radiators, for example, instantly elevates the interior.
As with many London homes, there was no obvious place to store the bikes. We created space in the basement, adding a structural form to this contemporary area, in-keeping with their active way of life.
Art is an incredibly powerful aspect of interior design, personalising a home, creating interest and sparking conversation. The addition of this geometric piece elevates this area yet further.
Our clients had already created a wonderful, diverse art collection, much of which was in storage. Our role was to curate the works. We gave consideration to the story of each piece combined with their artistic and emotive qualities, and displayed them to maximum effect.
A key design objective was to create cohesion between the contemporary and Victorian architectural elements.
The entrance retains the original Victorian detailing. The stair runner follows the Autumnal palette. Picking up the traditional tile colourways, the hall, stairs and landings are the Victorian vein that flows throughout the house, marrying the modern interior and traditional exterior.
Our client took an intellectual and forward thinking approach that we enjoyed. Working together, we created a new era interior on Victorian principles, applied with contemporary design, materials and techniques.
A modernist take on the decorative design associated with Victorian and Edwardian properties, textural wallcoverings were chosen for the bedrooms and study.
Here, graduated tones of ink wash are presented in juxtaposed blocks of varying sizes and printed on an embossed linen texture wallcovering, offset by bespoke artwork and ochre highlights.
This masculine bedroom doubles as a guest room. We redesigned the layout to maximise the space and created a tailored look and feel.
New joinery replaced the Victorian cupboards that had made the room seem narrow and cramped. Decorative fabric in blue and green colour-ways is contained within panelling frames to add a textural and decorative element without becoming overwhelming.
Our clients parents are quite elderly and visit regularly. Safety, accessibility and comfort were therefore the most important design requirements for the bathroom design. We chose a walk-in bath/shower with a low-threshold to minimize the risk of a fall. All surfaces are non-slip.
Geometric tiles, sourced by our client, were used to create an impactful design that flows from the bath wall, across the floor and up the other side.
The artwork and fireplace were central to the theme for the main bedroom. We picked up on these colourways to make a striking floor to ceiling headboard in Pierre Frey fabric. Layers of wall lighting were added to replace the original pendant.
The beautiful sculptural ceiling fan was chosen as an elegant solution to the summer heat. The bespoke rug pulls the key colour out of the headboard and across the floor to balance the scheme, adding a luxurious element to this beautiful bedroom.
The new window seat was designed to include useful storage and painted to suit the scheme.
We were asked to create a nod to the look and feel of a Gentleman’s club for the study.
The mix of pattern, textures and vibrant colour-ways were selected to capture the Gentleman’s club qualities without feeling too old and musty. A comfortable reading room in a sunny location.
The exquisite, natural Arte wallcovering is a combination of narrow and wide strips of raffia hand glued and woven together.
The desk and shelving are a bespoke design by interior designer David Massingham. They have an elegant, contemporary curved design, coated in sprayed metal, with matching architectural detailing. There is LED lighting tucked inside the shelving, to add a comfortable, ambient glow to the task lighting for reading and working.
At the top of the house, the daughter’s bedroom is more Bohemian, in-keeping with her brief.
We designed a curved headboard, circular bespoke rug and curved, rattan bespoke joinery. A desk was added for when she is home from university.
The curved design flows into the ensuite bathroom, with wallpapered pocket door and matching cabinetry.
We reclaimed the storage at the top of the stairs in the hallway, bringing it into the bedroom with matching design. A stencil design was added to the paintwork on the wall.
Highbury Interior Design Project Credits
At Decorbuddi we work as a team with our clients, colleagues and trusted preferred suppliers, each and every one contributing to the successful delivery of the project.
This Highbury Interior Design project was led by Decorbuddi Interior Designer David Massingham
Photographer: KT1 Photography