For several years, the owners of this Arts-and-Crafts house in north London had struggled to work out how best to use this room. The main section is long and narrow, opening up into a generous bay window at the far end, and it proved a challenge to decorate.
Together with Georgina Cave, founder of Cave Interiors, they embarked on a root-and-branch programme of renovation.
‘A previous owner had stripped the property of many original features,’ explains Mrs Cave, who works alongside her daughter, Anouska.
‘I’ve no idea how they got away with it, as the Hampstead Garden Suburb Trust is very strict about what can and can’t be done with these houses.’
After replacing and repairing the floor, cornicing and windows, the next intervention was a bookshelf at the far end that draws the eye through the room. ‘All our projects go through a space-planning exercise that, apart from configuring furniture positions, delves into details, such as lighting design, power sockets and smoke alarms,’ says Mrs Cave.
Next, a plain wooden fire surround from salvage specialists Retrouvius was installed. Mrs Cave and her daughter sourced all the furniture and lighting for this room, much of which is antique or vintage. Mrs Cave’s mother was an antique dealer: ‘We were into buying or restoring old pieces rather than acquiring new, well before sustainability became such a buzzword.’
A Regency sofa was upholstered in a velvet by Métaphores and the lack of arms on the small sofa next to it helps to create circulation space. The central ottoman is covered in a fabric by Howe.
Cave Interiors (020–7722 9222; www.caveinteriors.com)
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