As their home comes up for sale, costume designers Shaida and Julian Day – responsible for the get-ups in films like Rocketman and Bohemian Rhapsody – open the doors to their 1960s townhouse in Forest Hill to talk life, work, interiors and gardening. View the sales listing here.

Shaida: “Modern living has been the same for centuries: it’s about creating a home that you feel comfortable and yourself in. Home for us is a retreat, a safe, restful and inspiring place and somewhere we never want to leave, or can’t wait to get back to.”

Julian: “We were in a 1930s house nearby before, so I suppose we have a thing for 20th-century houses. When we first came to see it we liked that the plan is essentially three identical spaces stacked on top of each other, which allows scope for different configurations.

“We spent eight months renovating this place before we moved in, and turned the garage into a kitchen and dining space. We also took out the back wall and installed Critall windows to enhance the light and sense of space. It was wonderful to move into a home we had designed to suit us.”

Shaida: “The connection to the garden is there now, and even on the upper floors the house has large windows that draw in lots of light – all we did was to enhance this with what we’ve done.

“This was our first garden project and we really enjoyed it coming together. It’s designed to be low maintenance and a backdrop to the interior, as well as being inviting in itself.

“In the summer it has the sun for most of the day, which means we use it all the time. There’s also a small balcony off the living room which we grow herbs on and some years we’ve had tomatoes, radishes and broccoli growing up there as well.”

Julian: “We feel a strong pull towards mid-century interiors, probably informed by our age and nostalgia for childhood. But we are not purist about anything – it’s about good design and instinct.

“I think there are parallels with all forms of art and design, costume, interiors – it’s about proportion, colour and detail. Clothing has always been part of our lives from an early age so having the ability to incorporate fashion and our love of history into our jobs is fantastic.”

Shaida: “Some of the furniture we’ve had for years, some of it was bought for the space. Among our favourite pieces are the four 1960s Mario Bellini Amanta C and B chairs in vivid corduroy, brought from a dealer in Folkstone, and a 1950s Gordon Russel for Heal’s sideboard in blonde wood.”

Julian: “With art, we just go for things that interest us. I collect photography and original Polaroids from various photographers – one of my favourite Polaroids is one from Nobuyoshi Araki of his flower collection.

“I also have some of Todd Hido’s work and we collect contemporary pop art, some from a great Swiss artist Gregory Gilbert Lodge and an original Banksy bought over 15 years ago. I also love mid-century Scandinavian and Japanese pottery and ceramics too.”

Shaida: “Spatially, we like layouts that are configured coherently – not necessarily large spaces but ones that function well on a day-to-day basis.

“We spend a lot of time in the kitchen, our favourite room. It’s bright, open and looks out onto the garden, and we love cooking in there. It’s the perfect place to have friends over and works in both seasons: in the summer with the doors open and a long table set out, in the winter with the underfloor heating on and a cosy dinner.”

Julian: “This has been a wonderful house to live in, and we’ve enjoyed making it right for us. Our next move is out of London, to give rural living a try.

“We don’t know exactly where we want to go, but we are thinking Suffolk, Norfolk or Kent. But it’s got to be about finding the right house, and it will all come down to instinct in the end.”

Shaida: “We hope whoever buys this house from us will enjoy it as much as we have, and appreciate what we’ve done. If we could take this house with us on our move, that would be ideal. We’ll miss it a lot.”