The Client Brief for the Paddington House was give it a kick up the bum. Built in the 1990s and in great condition, the owner had moved in with her three children and never quite had energy left over to stylise it to her taste.
Being a single mother with a busy practice, the requirement was to try to solve some of the storage issues, the laundry rabbit warren, replace the ageing kitchen and much more besides. It’s hard work being a mother, and even harder being a single mother, so we needed to make the house work better and install a sense of calm as we did so.
A lot of what was required was actually already there - good artwork, interesting bits and pieces - but critically, a client who was absolutely open to suggestions and unafraid of bold colour moves. We undertook some minor structural work, like flipping the french doors so that they opened outward, and removing a wall that separated the laundry from the downstairs loo. By fitting new cabinetry in the laundry, we were able to turn a cramped and impossible space into a spacious, efficient and pleasant place for a mother of three teenagers to function in.
The kitchen was dated and had more teeny tiny and useless drawers than I’ve ever come across. The new cabinetry is taller, the island bench is deeper and the lighting is greatly enhanced by the new natural white surfaces. With the french doors now opening out instead of in, the overall sense of space within the kitchen/dining area is hugely improved and the aesthetic is finally corrected. What had those previous builders been thinking??!!
The living room was made cosy by installing a wall of cabinetry that houses the TV and a thousand books. The effect of a wall of books has a profound effect and somehow lends a certain quiet to any room. We installed a sliding door between the dining and living room that literally disappears into the bookshelves when not in use, and when it is closed, it’s as though the room is hugging you. The use of the green colour also helps to create that library feel that is a welcome relief in a busy loud world! The bedrooms were a pleasure to do - sun filled and warm, they were crying out from a break from the dull cream they were originally and the master bedroom now looks stunning with its beautiful Porters grey/green and Society bed linen. What a dreamy room!
It isn’t always practical or possible to do everything in a house at once - and in fact it makes me laugh to think that highest on this client’s agenda for me was to help her turn a tiny little cupboard of a room into a workable office space from where she could run her consultancy practice. Instead, we’ve almost done the whole house and in time, will finish it by refurbishing the bathrooms and potentially the garage.
Perhaps the best thing I did in this house, as in so many houses I have the privilege working with, was being a task master when it came to culling the crap. We sent rubbish to the tip and to Vinnies by the skip load, allowing the family to shed a mountain of STUFF, thereby creating space in which to actually live. It’s a lesson to us all - the possessions we value are often doing us harm, cluttering our homes and our headspace and so to ditch it, is utterly liberating. My client and her kids now enjoy a home that enjoys them. Such a good feeling to know I helped them achieve this new happy space.
