25 Beautiful Homes – July 2019

25bh |

T

hehouseofaninterior

designeris saidtobetheir

callingcard,andthat’s

certainlytrueofZoe

Murphy’sEdwardianhomeinsouth

London.Butit’snotjustinthecolours

orcurtainswhereshemakeshermark,

butratherinherfocusonaddressing

thepracticalitiesofhomelife.

‘I don’thavea particularlook,’

explainsZoe,whoseinterior-design

businessis StealthDesign.‘I’mmore

interestedincollaboratingwithclientsto

createtheirown.AndI’mobsessedwith

howpeopleusetheirhomesandhowthey

copeasthefamilygrowsandevolves.’

Shepointsoutthatwhenrenovating,

it’sessentialtofocusonstructureand

layoutfirst,thenturnyourattentionto

decorandfurniture.‘Itdoesn’tmatter

how many cushions you buy if the layout

doesn’tworkforyourfamily,’shesays.

Backin2009,Zoeandherlawyer

husbandPeterwereseducedbythe

double-frontedhouseinsouthLondon

thatbecametheirhome,becauseofthe

waythespacesflowed.Theplacewas

liveablebutdated– withtheutilityroom

havingthebestviewofthegarden.

Extensiverenovationswereinorder,

everythingfroma newrooftoa rearand

sideextension.‘Itwastheclassicbuilding

project:openingupthegroundfloorand

creatinga largefamilykitchen-diner,’says

Zoe.‘SearyArchitectswerefantasticand

veryfocusedonthingslikesightlines.

Thefirstthingtheysaidwasthatwe

shouldbeabletoseethegardenas

wecamethroughthefrontdoor,which

hadactuallybeenourprioritytoo!’

Thenewkitchentakesfulladvantage

of the view to the outdoors, via a wall of

edwardian villa

KITCHEN

Oak-framedwindowscreatea timeless

lookinthekitchen-dinerextension.

TheCarlHansenCH24Wishbonechairs,

from£443,Skandium,havethislook.

Forsimilarislandpendantlights,try

Euston, £132, Bespoke Lights

inspiring

home truths

THEprOpErTY

Semi-detachedEdwardianvilla,

builtcirca 1910

L O C AT i O nSouthLondon

rOOMsHall,sittingroom,

familyroom,kitchen-diner,

sixbedrooms,twobathrooms

pUrCHAsED 2009

prEViOUsprOpErTY

‘WemovedfromShoreditch,

east London,’ says Zoe.

90 | 25bHJuLy 2019