25 Beautiful Homes – July 2019

E

milyBlakefirstviewedhertwo-bed

GeorgianflatinnorthLondonon

onesunnyAprilday.Thoughshe

haddecidedtostartlooking,Emily

wasn’tquitereadytomovefromherrented

flat.‘ButI walkedinandwassoldstraight

away,’shesays.‘I putinanofferthenextday.’

Emilyfellinlovewiththeapartment’s

originalfeatures,likethecornicingandthe

largewindowsineveryroom.Theproperty

wasratherneglected,however,withcracked

walls and damaged floorboards, while the

marblefiresurroundswerediscoloured.‘It

neededsomecareandaffection,’saysEmily.

Addingherowndecorativetouches,

suchasthehand-paintedmuraladorning

thewallsofherbedroom,Emilybroughtthe

apartmentbacktoitsformerglory.‘Using

themuralfeltmorenaturalthanwallpaper,

whereyouhavea repeatpattern,’says

Emily,whocollaboratedonthisfeature

withtheartistRosalindCaldecott.

Despitebeingratherdamaged,the

original floors in the apartment were

beautifulandEmilyfelttheywereworth

restoring.Aftermuchsearching,she

foundsomeonewhoshefeltcoulddoa

professionaljob.Hetookuptheboards,

addingsoundproofingunderneathbefore

re-layingthem,replacinganybroken

sections.‘Thefirstwinterwasreally

colduntilthefloorwasrenovated and

holeswerefixed,’sherecalls.

Althoughsheproject-managedmuch

oftherenovationofherflatherself,Emily

also employed two specialists to design

design tip‘Ifyoucanbearit,liveinyourplacefora littlebitbefore

renovating it – I changed my mind on all sorts of things’

HALLWAy

Shotsofcolour

bringvibrancyto

thiselegantspace.

hot-airballoon

paperlanterns,

£15.54forthree,

PartyPacks,would

workwell.ball

hookcoathanger,

£20,JohnLewis

&Partners,has

a similar look

KITCHEN

WilliamMorris

doorknobsadda

decorativeflourish.

Finda classicbelfast

sinkbyShawsof

Darwen,£149,95,

british bathroom Co

80 | 25bhJuLy 2019