News

 Despite initially dismissing a tired Fifties house, Sarah and Ken Loveday took another look and saw it could become the spacious family home they needed.  When Sarah Loveday and her husband Ken first saw a ‘soulless’ Fifties home in Leamington Spa, they dismissed it out of hand. ‘There wasn’t much I liked about the house – apart from the fact that it offered us the space that we needed,’ says Sarah, a brand designer and interiors stylist. ‘We told the estate agent we weren’t interested and the house soon sold. But then it came back on to the market.’ The estate agent persuaded Sarah to look again. ‘With some reluctance, we realised it was just what we needed,’ she says. ‘It was dull, plain and empty – but offered us plenty of space. Annie, our middle child, was just three weeks old at the time and we were desperate for more room.’ But the family faced an unexpected challenge when they moved in that almost put a stop to renovation plans. ‘The house was infested with rats,’ says Sarah. ‘It was horrendous. For the first nine months, we weren’t sure if we’d stay because we just couldn’t get rid of them. They were in the cavity space above the kitchen, the sitting room and the studio – knowing they were there was horrible. It wasn’t until they were gone that we felt we could start making the house ours.’ The first task was to widen the hallway, which Sarah describes as narrow and out of proportion to the rest of the house. ‘We had plenty of space in the sitting room, so we pushed that wall back. We also put in a new front door and added a chimney breast to the sitting room, which made a real difference as it gave the room a much-needed focal point.’ Working to a budget, the couple decided to postpone doing a full kitchen renovation, instead fitting new Shakerstyle cupboard fronts for a fresh look. ‘We didn’t start the loft until three years – and another baby – later,’ says Sarah. ‘The space was boarded and separated into two rooms joined by a narrow corridor, and there were windows, but nothing else. We did originally plan on putting two bedrooms upstairs but instead we moved a few walls around and turned one of the rooms into a large en suite.’ With the loft conversion finished, the children – Bella, now nine, Annie, seven, and Todd, five, had the space they needed – and Sarah and Ken had their own attic sanctuary to escape to. Downstairs, the sitting room is full of character and colour, with an eclectic, bohemian mix of vintage prints and artwork, cushions, rugs, antiques and treasures that fill the space with personality. ‘I adore textiles and antiques,’ says Sarah. ‘I like nothing more than scouring auction houses for pieces and picking up textiles on our travels to fill the house with – it gives it so much soul.’ As the house dates from the Fifties, Sarah has incorporated this era into her aesthetic by sourcing vintage furniture online and reupholstering mid-century chairs in bright fabrics. ‘Colour is such a joyful thing to have in your home,’ she says. ‘But I never want my interiors to feel too garish or contrived so I ground them with natural textures like jute and wood. ‘It’s been seven years since we moved in and it has taken time to get the house to a place where it feels like our home,’ Sarah continues. ‘It’s been a slow process and moving to a more modern house was definitely a compromise, but now we love the space we’ve created here.

 Pared-back design and a pretty palette of neutrals and pastels are the hallmarks of Rosemary and Justin Bickers’ serene home.  Striking a balance between minimalism and warmth is a tricky task for any homeowner, but add four small children into the mix and you’d be forgiven for giving up on style altogether and heading straight down the ‘practical’ route. This hasn’t been the case for Rosemary and Justin Bickers, who – over the past six years – have turned an unloved doer-upper into a beautiful haven for their family, which includes Alfie, seven, Tom, six, Daisy, four, and Dorothy, six months. ‘We had been searching for the right property for over a year,’ says Rosemary. ‘My late father had been hoping we’d stay close to my family home and he was delighted when we found a house just 10 doors down from it.’ Although the property was in need of a complete overhaul, Rosemary wasn’t fazed. She had grown up on the road and over the years had been in many of the neighbours’ houses, so had seen how they had been reworked. It also helped that Justin is an electrical contractor specialising in lighting solutions. The first room to be tackled was the kitchen. ‘It was really dated,’ says Rosemary. ‘It was going to be a big job, but we had to be practical and do it on a budget and in stages as there was so much more to be done in the house.’ New electrics and plumbing, plus replastering and repainting throughout were also on the to-do list. After careful planning and budgeting, it was decided that phase one would be to extend out at the back and into the side return to get a bigger kitchen and also a cloakroom. The old cabinetry was replaced with pale-grey, Shaker-style units that have a clean, crisp look, but also give the room character. Phase two of the downstairs renovation was knocking through to the garage to create a dining space and a family room, both of which are linked to the kitchen through large openings. The dining room also has floor-toceiling glazed doors that lead out to the garden. One area downstairs that hasn’t received Rosemary and Justin’s magic touch yet is the sitting room. ‘We decided to keep it as a traditional “best room”,’ says Rosemary. ‘We will get around to doing it up in the future, but it hasn’t been a priority so far.’ The children’s rooms and Rosemary and Justin’s own bedroom were phase three and all have been decorated in off-whites with pretty pastel accents for a serene feel. Rosemary also likes to buy original artwork to give each room personality. ‘Styling my home feeds my creativity,’ she says. ‘I also take a lot of inspiration from places we’ve visited or hotels we’ve stayed in. The Swan Hotel, nearby in Southwold, is one I love. And my mum is great with colour and has a good eye, so I’ll often ask for her advice. She’s also a lover of collecting ornaments – just like me!’ And are Rosemary and Justin happy with all they have achieved? ‘Definitely,’ says Rosemary. ‘The family room is my little hygge nest. It’s my favourite area of the house to sit while the children play and I’m feeding the baby. I also love our dining room. It’s where the family comes together to feast and to chat. Luckily, we all love our food. Simplicity and balance is what we wanted to achieve, and I think it’s what makes this home such a happy one.’

 Allison Lindeman and her husband Oeyvind were determined to bring their cosy, minimalist take on Nordic design to their renovation plans.  Incorporating Scandinavian design into their Victorian semi in southwest London was a priority for American interior designer Allison Lindeman of Saltbox Interiors and her Norwegian husband Oeyvind. They wanted to create a huge, open-plan family living area that still felt ‘hyggelig’ – cosy and welcoming. ‘When we looked at houses, we struggled to find one that fitted the open-plan concept, as properties within our budget tended to have lots of rooms – a front room, dining room and separate kitchen. So we decided to go for a cheaper house that we could change to suit our lifestyle,’ says Allison. To build their dream living space, the couple knocked four rooms – the dining room, breakfast room, kitchen and conservatory – into one, and created a main living space with different zones. ‘There’s a TV and play area, a sitting area with a fireplace, a dining area and a kitchen,’ says Allison. The result is a light, minimalist and relaxed family space where children Piper, eight, Finn, six, and Kaia, four, can eat and play and where everyone gathers to spend time together. Allison’s love of Scandinavian design is evident throughout the house. Downstairs, walls are white, and there are plenty of industrial touches in keeping with the Scandi design aesthetic – metal stools, brick tiling, raw wood shelving and a handleless kitchen. Even the floor tiles in the downstairs hallway and bathroom have an industrial edge. ‘They’re ceramic, but meant to look like cement,’ says Allison. The clean lines of the living space are softened by cushions and rugs. ‘The risk with this type