2019-06-01 25 Beautiful Homes

| 25bh

for stockistsgo to where to buy

modern detached

andwoodpanellingwasinstalledin

thehallandstairs.‘It’squitea bighall

andthewhitewallswouldhavebeen

a nightmaretokeeplookingfreshand

pristine,’saysAvril.‘Thepanellingis

easytowipedownandaddsanother

layerofcharacter.’Avrilwasalsokeen

topersonalisethekitchenwithopen

shelvingtotheisland,anoakmantel

abovetherangecookerandanantique

mirroredsplashback– a featureAvril

hadlovedinherprevioushome.‘It

looksgreatandaddsdepthtothe

room,’shesays.‘Plus,it’sveryforgiving

ofoilsplatterswhenyou’recooking.’

Ayearlater,thepairconvertedthe

loftspaceabovethegarageintoa guest

bedroomwithensuite,stealingsome

spacefromanotherbedroomtocreate

alinkingcorridortothefirst-floor

landing.‘Itwasa lovelybigspacebut

it justgotusedforstorageastheonly

accesswasfromthegarage,’saysAvril.

Theonlyslightdisappointmentis

thelighttunnelthatAvrilhadinstalled

inthewindowlessdressingroom.

‘I wantedsomenaturallightfordoing

mymake-up,butit hasn’tworkedvery

well,’shesays.‘Itneedsrevisiting.’

Whenit cametothedecor,Avril

tooka mix-and-matchapproach–

describingherstyleascasual,homely

andcomfortable.‘Itmightnotbe

totallycohesive,butI liketoomany

stylestocommittojustone,’shesays.

‘Thehouseis filledwithitemswe’ve

collectedovertheyears,likethe

Balinesecabinetinthesittingroom.’

Futureplansincludeinstallingan

Aussie-style,indoor-outdoorstructure

justoffthefamilyroomwitha raised

fireanddiningtable.‘It’llbetheideal

waytotakeadvantageofallthose

sunnysummerdays– notthatwehave

many of those up north!’ says Avril.

MAinBEDROOM

‘i’dliketocreatemoreofa boutiquehotel

feelinhere,witha loungeareaanda false

wallhidinga studyspace,’saysAvril.

geradisconcretebench,£215,barkerand

Stonehouse.Korbasilkbedspread,

£199, Made.com, is a match

GUESTBEDROOM

Convertingtheformerstoragespace

abovethegaragehasbeena shrewdmove.

oliverdoublebedinmattblack,£350,

Feather&black.Strathavensidetable,

£104.99, wayfair, has a similar look

BAThROOM

Asidetablehasbeenrepurposed

intoanindustrial-stylevanityunit.

Jakobsidetable,£179,Swoon.Phoenix

ceramiccountertopbasin,£83.99,

Drench, is a comparable style

favourite room

‘Theopen-plan

kitchenareais

definitelytheheartof

ourhome.It’sgreatfor

entertainingorcasual

coffees at the island’

25bhJuNe 2019| 91