thebedside tables in the master bedroom, crafted
in Somerset from English walnut and leather.
The clients own a few key pieces that they were
keen to integrate, including the oil painting in the
drawing room. ‘It really set the tone for the palette
here,’ says Katie, pointing out the sofa which was
reupholstered in blue velvet to pick out the painting’s
inky hues, and finished with a wonderfully indulgent
bullion fringe. ‘The owner loves detailing such as
tassels and gold leaf while her husband favours
clean lines – it was a case of creating schemes that
perfectly reflected both their DNA.’
A good example of this is the new kitchen. The
husband is a keen cook and wanted it fitted with
professional kit, while his wife didn’t want culinary
equipment to dominate. So Katie and Henry
designed the large island to resemble a piece of
furniture, with burr walnut to temper its industrial
steel frame, and upholstered dining chairs in joyous
botanical fabrics by Josef Frank. Lampshades over
the table in paper-thin plaster add an ethereal touch.
What the owners particularly loved about Katie
and Henry is that they ‘do detail’ and the attention
to every finer point in this project is impressive. For
example, the sateen wool curtains in the master
bedroom feature delicate hand-embroidered borders
of metallic threads, while in the drawing room, the
acoustics are improved with fabric-battened walls.
The children’s rooms feature clever details, from a
striking freestanding headboard for a daughter who
likes a boutique-hotel aesthetic, to micro mosaics
made from ground-up TV screens for a tech-savvy
son’s shower room. ‘The project took the best part of
20 months from the initial design to moving back in
and by this point the children were young adults,’
says Katie. ‘We took care to anticipate this change
with slightly more mature designs.’ It looks as if this
house has been future-proofed for years to come.&T
hisis the classic tale of a home
that had served its owners well for
15 years. But, now that the children
were finishing school or starting
university, its layout and decor had fallen from
favour. Although generous in size, much of the
Victorian house wasn’t being used, notably the
formal drawing room as well as the playroom in the
basement. And the children’s rooms on the top level,
which were once perfectly bijou, now felt cramped.
When the owners approached Katie Glaister and
Henry Miller-Robinson of K&H Design, they came
equipped with a lengthy brief. ‘It included input
from all three children and, indirectly, the dog,’ Katie
recalls. ‘They wanted to use the whole house and not
simply live in the kitchen, and they needed a home
that would be comfortable for two, but would expand
with ease during the holidays.’
The family’s requirements put Katie and Henry’s
spatial planning skills to the test. For the kitchen,
a tired conservatory was replaced with a brick
extension with Crittall doors that lead on to the
garden, while the master bedroom above was
extended to create a luxurious suite. On the top floor,
a large roof lantern was sacrificed in favour of a new
mezzanine bedroom, freeing up space for en-suite
bathrooms and storage for each child. The basement,
too, was carefully reconfigured: the ceiling height
was raised to create a sociable media and games
room, as well as a gym, shower room and utility area.
Katie and Henry create luxurious, layered schemes
with an emphasis on the bespoke, and the owners
were keen to tap into their address book of skilled
craftsmen. ‘They particularly wanted to champion
British artisans where possible, and invest in
heirloom-quality pieces,’ explains Henry, citing as
examples the exquisite antiqued mirror-glass panels
in the drawing room made in Shropshire, as well asINSPIRATION