Eye-Catching Homes: the best interiors of 2019
Over the past year we’ve visited an assortment of thoughtfully-designed homes around the UK for our ‘My Modern House’ series. Here we share the best home interiors of 2019, from an interior designer’s test-bed flat in De Beauvoir to a mid-century masterpiece in Nottinghamshire.
1. Novelist Rachel Cusk’s self-designed house on the Norfolk coast
For Rachel Cusk, designing a house is very different to writing a book. “I’m used to thinking ‘Oh, that’s wrong, I’ll cut it out’, but you can’t do that here,” she says. “It’s more like a record of your mistakes and your successes.”
One
thing you certainly wouldn’t want to cut is the second-storey sleep block that
she and her husband, artist Siemon Scamell-Katz, added to the existing bungalow
and annex in north Norfolk. It gives them a far-reaching view over the marshes
and, handily, regular tip-offs about the tide’s comings and goings.
2. Architect Sandra Coppin’s 1960s Modernist house in Wiltshire
We always enjoy revisiting homes bought via The Modern House. In April we dropped by Ansty Plum in Wiltshire, which we sold to Sandra Coppin in 2009.
In
keeping with the efficient spirit of the original Modernist design, during
restoration work Sandra was keen to reduce waste and reuse as many building
materials as possible. “We live in a time where it’s all about how much we can
consume,” she says. “This house is quite the opposite. It’s about the least we
can have, and the least we can use.”
3. Interior designer Hollie Bowden’s De Beauvoir flat
Hollie Bowden’s flat is her guinea pig: as an interior designer, it’s a blank canvas on which she can work through her ever-evolving roster of inspiration and ideas.
Earthy
tones provide a neutral backdrop to unique textiles and objects sourced from
around the world. “My things make me very happy and I remember every piece,”
says Hollie. “There is a story to all of them.”
4. Creative director Alex Eagle’s light-filled loft in Soho
For Alex Eagle, modern luxury means light and space – and she has plenty of both in her airy loft in central London. Without solid walls, she fashions zones from furniture instead, like with the two cream sofas that close off a sort of living area and are the perfect spot for reading one of the coffee table tomes.
Everyone
is welcome in Alex’s home and the dining room table can extend to fit 30
people. In fact, anyone fretting about cooking for a crowd this Christmas, take
note: in the past Alex has hosted festive gatherings for up to 300.
5. Art director Tom O’Dell’s Victorian flat in Camberwell
Tom O’Dell approaches interiors as he does clothes, favouring well-made vintage pieces that have meaning and warrant taking care of. His Victorian flat, which he has lived in for six years, is artfully curated with distinctive objects from antiques markets.
His
favourite room? The garden. In summer, you’ll find him tapping away at his
laptop while his cat Frank lolls on the grass.
6. Architect Chris Dyson’s Huguenot house in Spitalfields
Chris Dyson has heaps of experience restoring listed buildings, which was helpful when it came to doing up his own home. A former clergyman’s house from 1719, the brick building is in an area of east London once known for its Huguenot weavers.
The
first thing Chris did was add a kitchen and dining room on the flat roof.
Located on another floor, the living room is a sacred space away from sweet-smelling
food and clinking pots and pans. “It’s quite special when you go there,” says
Chris, “and more restful.”
7. Monica and Simon Siegel’s mid-century masterpiece in Nottinghamshire
Mid-summer was the perfect time to visit Monica and Simon Siegel’s modernist marvel in Nottinghamshire. Floor-to-ceiling windows let in ample light while providing a view over the greenery – and we just about managed to resist dipping our toes in the pool.
As
the founder of Atomic Interiors, which specialises in contemporary furniture
and lighting, it’s no surprise that Simon knows how to fill a space. “We like
an eclectic style that can incorporate a lot of different eras.”
8. Creative director Catherine Lock’s home in Blackheath
“Home is the ultimate expression of one’s self,” says Catherine Lock, creative director of Mayfair gallery The New Craftsmen. “I think that you can’t feel really relaxed at home unless you’re in a place which is utterly you.”
Her
home in Blackheath is warm and welcoming, with a soft-hued colour scheme, cosy
corners aplenty and half a dozen vases of sunny daffodils. Dotted throughout
are pieces collected on her travels, including an Indonesian basket above the
fireplace.
9. Interior designer Ebba Thott’s flat in Notting Hill
There’s something calming about Ebba Thott’s west London flat. It may be the colour palette – a soothing wash of stone greys – or the fact that everything has its proper place. Ebba is firmly pro-storage, which she describes as “ridiculously underrated”.
The
interior designer downsized from a bigger house and the move taught her which
of her belongings are important – and which she had simply accumulated over
time. We were happy to find that books and art abound.
10. Charlie Barda’s family home in Holland Park
It’s fitting that we visited Charlie Barda’s Holland Park home in spring. Outside, flowers were blooming and, across the threshold, the family home was brought to life with pops of colour: bright-blue tiles in the back garden and a lemon-yellow kitchen. “We wanted to have spaces that felt like they’re near each other but are also slightly insulated from the shrieks of family life!” says Charlie, who lives with his wife and their two children. A happy balance is achieved with sliding doors and one continuous, spiralling staircase.
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