25 Beautiful Homes November 2020

As the season changes, and we start to turn our minds to Christmas, now is the perfect time to complete a small project. From decorating a spare bedroom to retiling a bathroom, these quick-ish wins will make a big difference to how you feel about your home. This issue is packed with dreamy schemes to spark your ideas. I am particularly taken by our cover feature, which is the home of Melanie Molesworth in Lyme Regis. Her Georgian former meeting hall has been completely transformed and is now full of found and foraged pieces against a simple, honest backdrop. Melanie and her husband moved from a Victorian semi in London to this place on the coast, and their relocation also gave rise to a brilliant business. It’s an inspiring tale.…

It is hard to imagine that when Terri and Luke Shannon first viewed this house 11 years ago, they could see the sky through the ceiling. ‘It really was the worst wreck you could find,’ laughs Terri, who together with Luke had spent a year searching for their next home in Williamstown, an historic port just outside Melbourne. ‘Heritage houses are something of my speciality, so this Edwardian property instantly appealed, particularly as the original details, such as the cornicing and the fireplaces, hadn’t been touched.’ Terri runs a successful interior design practice, Bloom Interior Design, with Luke, who looks after the building works on their projects, so the pair were well equipped to take on this new challenge. They undertook it in two phases. ‘We originally renovated the house and…

When looking for a new home, the last thing Annicka Locket wanted for her family was a place that felt prim and precious, so she was naturally delighted to discover a homely Suffolk farmhouse. With three children, Eben, 15, Otto, 12, and Arlo, seven, Annicka and her husband James were confident they had found a warm and welcoming rural abode, not just for themselves but for visiting friends and relatives. As much as they loved the house, however, they knew the building was in desperate need of updating and renovation. ‘We wanted to make sure that whatever we did would be sympathetic to the age of the house,’ says Annicka. ‘Unfortunately, there were elements that had gone missing over the years, while the house was being extended again and again, including…

Hampstead Garden Suburb in north London, designed in the early 20th century as a model community, remains a carefully protected, leafy area with wide, tree-lined roads and spaciously arranged homes. ‘It is such an unusual, tranquil place for London,’ says Kate Stone, who bought a listed Arts and Crafts house on a quiet close with husband, Mark, eight years ago. ‘We have a beautiful garden and a green in front of the house, where the boys love to play football.’ DECORATING ADVICE ‘Don’t rush things. I’m glad we lived in the house for a while before we started work because it gave us time to really think about what we wanted to achieve’ Kate and Mark, who have three sons, George, 13, Oliver, 12, and Joe, nine, lived in the house for…

The list of requirements for Pauline and Hans Kick’s new home was long – so long in fact that to meet all of them in one property might have left them searching for many years. ‘We wanted somewhere old yet in a good condition. It had to have an authentic charm, be located near water with a view, and only a short distance from the shops,’ says Pauline, who is a professional artist. INSPIRATION ‘The clear lines and open character of an empty landscape. It influences me in my work as an artist, and it’s this emptiness that I strive for in our home as well’ A walk along the canal in the charming Dutch city of IJlst and a view through a window lead to the discovery of the home the…

When Sophie and Michael England’s builder suggested an interior designer for their house renovation, Sophie never expected that they would get on so well. ‘We met Karena Clayton through Mascot Builders, who were working on our home and had used her before,’ says Sophie. ‘We had already started the building work in the house, so it was a relief to find someone who could hit the ground running.’ The couple sought a classic contemporary look for their Edwardian property, mixing old and new to create a timeless finish. ‘While I wanted something with the wow factor, I didn’t want it to be a showpiece,’ says Sophie. Karena came up with designs featuring contemporary panelling and cornicing, rejecting the ornate in favour of clean, elegant lines. ‘We weren’t sure about what to do…