25 Beautiful Homes – July 2019

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ostumedesignerandinteriorsstylistMel

Mildmay-WhiteandherhusbandFranciswere

keentofinda placetheycouldputtheirstamp

onwhentheybegansearchingfora largerhome

forthemselvesandtheirtwochildren,Mila,16,and

Jackson,eight.‘WewerehappyinournorthLondonflat

butweneededmorespaceandcraveda garden,’saysMel.

Theysoonfounda largerhouseonlinethatthey

initiallydismissed,butonviewingtheybothsawits

potential.Melinstantlyfellforthewidehallway,staircase

andoriginalArtDecostained-glasswindowsthat

remindedherofherfavouriteLondonstore,Liberty.

‘Althoughit wastired-lookingandneededwork,weloved

itsTwentiesarchitecture,originalfeaturesandcharm,’says

Mel.‘Itwasbeautifullylight,hada good-sizegardenand

weknewit wouldbeidealforourfamilyandlifestyle.’

reconfiguringthelayout

‘WeboughtthehouseinDecember 2010 andalthough

wemovedinwhenit wascoldandsnowing,welovedit

instantly,’saysMel.‘Butthesingle-brickgalleykitchen

wasfreezingandthewashingmachinewastuckedaway

intheshedatthebackofthehouse.’Thecoupledecided

thatcreatingoneopen-planlivingspacewithkitchen,

diningandsittingareaswouldgivethema lotmore

room,whilepreservingthecharacteroftheproperty.

Anarchitectfriendhelpeddrawuptheplansforthe

kitchen extension and once planning was approved, Mel

andFrancisprojectmanagedthebuildthemselves.‘We

werereallykeentokeepthehighceilingssoloweredthe

floorsinthekitchenareatokeeptheheight,’saysMel.

Thegaragewasthenconvertedintoa utilityroomand

showerroom.Theyalsoaddeda much-neededlarder

formorefoodstorage,aswellasunderfloorheating.

afewcustomtouches

Tosavemoney,thefamilychoseIkeakitchenunitsbut

sprayedthedoorstogivethema morebespokelook.

Pairedwithpolished-concretecountertopsmadeoff-site,

thefinalspacehassomethingofanindustrial,modern,

handcraftedlook.ButMelpointsoutthatconcretecan

haveitsdrawbacks.‘Inthefirstweek,wehada friendof

oursoverandshewasmakingcocktailsusinglime,’says

Mel.‘Shesqueezedlimeonthetopoftheglassesandit ran

downontothesurface,leavingmarks.We’venowgotmany

moremarks,too,butwe’vesincetakentheviewthatall the

discolourationsimplyaddscharacterandpatina.’

Tozoneeacharea,thewallswerepaintedindiffering

neutralshades.Bifolddoorswerealsoinstalled,leading

outtothegardenandcreatinganinside/outsidefeeling

ofspace.Addingtothis,a toughened-glassrooflightfitted

abovethediningtablebringsevenmorelightintothe

open-planspace.‘Overall,we’rethrilledwiththeend

result,’saysMel.‘Beingcreativepeople,wefeelwe’re

nowbenefitingfromthisspaciousandlight, open-plan

style of living and working together.’

Sittingroom

Bypickinganaccentcolourfromthefireplace

tiles,melhasbeenabletoaddpersonality

tothemuteddecorschemewithout

detractingfromtheperiodfeatures.

Cushions,from£120each,houseofhackney.

Camden floor lamp, £32, Iconic Lights, is similar

128 | 25bhjuLy 2019