W
henfashionstylistMichelleKelly
andherhusband,IainWatt,
foundtheirhomeineastLondon
eightyearsago– justafterthe
birthoftheirdaughter,IrisBlossom– theirfirst
impressionswerefarfromfavourable.‘Itstillhadits
originalfeatures,butit wasdark,old-fashionedand
hadanoddsmell,’saysMichelle.Butrealisingthe
spaciousperiodhousehadtonsofpotential,they
tooktheplungeandsoonbeganbrainstorming
ideasforthelayout.Theydecidedtoknockdowna
wallbetweenthetwoground-floorreceptionrooms
andextendthekitchenintothesidereturn,adding
a skylightanddoubledoorsleadingontothe garden,
toenhancethesenseoflightandspace.
‘Weuseda greatarchitect,butI alreadyhad
a goodideaofhowthespaceshouldworkvisually,’
saysMichelle,whotooktheexistingforestgreen
metrotilesasa startingpointforthekitchen,but
admitsshedidnotgetit rightthefirsttime.‘Initially
IthoughtI neededtokeepthisroomsimple,soI
putinsafegreyunits,withplainwhiteworksurfaces,’
shesays.‘Butit wasjustboringandI neverfellin
love with it.’ In its place now is a range of patinated
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