25 Beautiful Homes

72 | 25bh OCTOBER 2017###### Having sold their newly renovated f lat, GregoryDuke-Ambridge, a house-stager and interiordesigner, and his husband, Nick, who works for asoft drinks company, were encouraged to take on amuch larger project in the form of a Victorian terraced house. ‘Wewere looking for a place with good proportions,’ explains Gregory,‘and found this property in Brixton, an area of southwest Londonthat we both like. Even though Nick and I felt that the existingoriginal layout didn’t maximise the space very well, there wasgreat scope to improve and enlarge, including building a loft``````conversion. It added an extra element of cost, of course, but froman investment point of view, it was a no-brainer.’Remodelling the new layout included incorporating a doublereception on the ground f loor, a master suite upstairs, two newbedrooms in the loft conversion and a generous bathroom. On thelower-ground f loor, a guest bedroom was set aside at the front, anda large open-plan space created to the rear of the house for a kitchenand dining room with folding doors leading out to the garden.‘Originally, there was a 1980s extension and a patio to the sideof the building that didn’t seem to be used,’ says Gregory. ‘To createDESIGN TIP ‘It’s your house, so have some fun and don’t take interiors too seriously. AndKITCHENAmber pendant lights add colour.Units in Stiffkey Blue estate eggshell,£60 per 2.5 litres, Farrow & Ball. Dolcipendants, £37.80 each, Blue Suntree``````DINING AREAVibrant dining chairs echo the bluepaint finish of the kitchen units.Duke cocktail chairs in Cobalt velvet,£349 each, Swoon Editions, are similar