25 Beautiful Homes September 2022

How many kitchen extension projects start life as something much simpler – a change of flooring or a worktop update? Just like those replacement bathroom taps that somehow turn into a whole new suite! Judging by the correspondence we receive, the answer seems to be quite a few. That ‘in for a penny’ approach certainly applied to Lara Cross. She had lived in her house quite happily until lockdown, when she came to realise that the kitchen space needed a rethink. And when that work was complete, the contrast between the sparkling new ground floor and the rather tired-looking upstairs was quite stark so, naturally, there was only one solution. See the results of her beautiful house renovation on page 88. When it comes to making big decisions about houses,…

EDITOR’S LETTER How many kitchen extension projects start life as something much simpler – a change of flooring or a worktop update? Just like those replacement bathroom taps that somehow turn into a whole new suite! Judging by the correspondence we receive, the answer seems to be quite a few. That ‘in for a penny’ approach certainly applied to Lara Cross. She had lived in her house quite happily until lockdown, when she came to realise that the kitchen space needed a rethink. And when that work was complete, the contrast between the sparkling new ground floor and the rather tired-looking upstairs was quite stark so, naturally, there was only one solution. See the results of her beautiful house renovation on page 88. When it comes to making big decisions…

With her husband Arnould away on business, Petra van Vliet had no option when confronted with her dream home but to put in an offer without him. ‘I fell in love the minute I walked in and I just had to hope that he would feel the same,’ she says. ‘Thankfully, he did!’ The house, located in the leafy neighbourhood of Utrecht in the Netherlands, was in a dire state decoratively but an imaginative renovation programme has seen it transformed. Petra, who is the owner of sustainable interiors brand Palais (palais.com), poured her expertise into the project over an eight-month period before the couple and their little dog, Koekie, moved in. ‘We needed to do a lot of rejigging as the house was filled with small, unsuitable rooms, so we knocked…

Our house is the original kitchen, laundry and servants’ quarters,’ explains Aline Mackenzie-Reid as she describes the various reconfigurations her beautiful home has undergone over the centuries as one half of the village manor house. Aline and her husband Duncan first spotted the house having decided to relocate from London to Sussex. ‘We loved the bustling town of Lewes and the dramatic landscape of the South Downs, plus there was a strong creative hub that really appealed,’ she says. They were about to offer on another property when the agent sent details of this one. ‘We weren’t necessarily looking to take on a renovation but it was clearly a house with hidden charm and an interior beauty that needed to be revealed.’ Having decided to take the plunge, they then faced five…

With her husband Arnould away on business, Petra van Vliet had no option when confronted with her dream home but to put in an offer without him. ‘I fell in love the minute I walked in and I just had to hope that he would feel the same,’ she says. ‘Thankfully, he did!’ The house, located in the leafy neighbourhood of Utrecht in the Netherlands, was in a dire state decoratively but an imaginative renovation programme has seen it transformed. Petra, who is the owner of sustainable interiors brand Palais (palais.com), poured her expertise into the project over an eight-month period before the couple and their little dog, Koekie, moved in. ‘We needed to do a lot of rejigging as the house was filled with small, unsuitable rooms, so we…

Virginie and James Dear always intended for their rental apartment in Kensington to be a stop-gap until they found a house in the area for them and their children, Hannah, 13, Constance, 11, Charlie, eight and Eleanor, eight months. However, the flat suddenly became available on the market and the couple jumped at the chance to secure it for good. ‘We moved originally because our children were at the French Lycée in South Kensington and we were tired of the long commute from Barnes to get them there,’ explains Virginie, founder of educational subscription service toucanBox. ‘We wanted to be within walking distance of the Lycée and also close to Hyde Park, and the location of the apartment was already perfect.’ Aside from its proximity to the school, it was the soaring…