For Alice Saunders and John Sinclair, a textile and digital designer respectively, objects are alive with their histories and quirks. They spend a great deal of time on eBay hunting for second-hand furniture, and collecting eclectic pieces when travelling abroad. As a result, the walls of their home are lined with collectibles, such as a parrot head from Argentina, a beautifully woven hammock from Colombia, a curious light switch from Buenos Aires. But the house they share with their vizsla pup, Clemmie, has been beautifully curated with taste and consideration: it has character without any clutter; it’s as vibrant as it is refined.

When Alice and John first moved into the house, its classic Victorian interior needed a little polish. But John saw the home’s potential as a place where the modern and the historic could meet in sweet harmony through a light-filled extension and a sensitive restoration of its original features. After showing us around, the couple share the wonderful stories behind their collectibles and the joys of their contemporary kitchen.

John: “I like preserving stories of history through restoration. I don’t like houses that have all the original features ripped out, or when people try to make new things look old. Over the years, I’ve collected so many old things, but I am very much up for developing something historic for modern living. For me, combining the modern and the old has to be done in the right way. It’s about having the sensitivity to honour the past when you can, while also looking forward.

“Where we’ve been able to restore the Victorian features of our home, we have – all the coving in the living room, for example. But the kitchen needed more work.”

Alice: “When we first moved in, the kitchen was really narrow and dark; half of the renovated version was the garden, which was a bit of a dead space. We extended the kitchen and dug down two feet deeper to make more room. Now, it doubles as a workspace for us – it’s great during the day as it gets the best light, which I need to look at the details of any sample textiles.”

John: “I love the contrast between our modern extension and the more traditional wood-filled living space. There’s a sense of the old and the new in balance together. I had actually worked closely with our architects DGN Studio before, so they had a really good idea of the kind of thing I liked. We covered exposed brick walls with the grey mineral paint, which is used a lot in Belgium. It adds a nice texture to the space and contrasts beautifully with the smooth concrete floors.”

Alice: “John had this romantic idea of wooden surfaces in the kitchen, but then we realised we want a surface that’s easy to work with. The stainless-steel countertops are almost bulletproof! There’s definitely an element of design there as they look really slick, but they’re also practical. We spend a lot of time cooking – I like spicy food and I experiment a lot. We are always trying out different recipes. Generally, we eat breakfast thinking about lunch, and eat lunch thinking about dinner. So, you can imagine why the kitchen is the most important space for us.”

John: “Alice is always cooking fairly extravagant things – five nights a week. But we like to eat out in the local area too – our favourites include Brat and Elliot’s.”

Alice: “Like about 50 per cent of the population during the pandemic, we joined the club and got a dog. Clemmie is always causing havoc! So we have to look for restaurants that you can take dogs to because we can’t leave her on her own. We’ll come back and the door will be chewed off!”

“Our style in interiors is eclectic – I don’t like everything to match. Most of our objects have such lovely stories. John bought me the painting of the woodland on the wall in the living space as a Christmas present. We found it when we were away; I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it. I didn’t know that he had looked for the painting after we’d left and contacted the artist, Gianni Notarianni, to source it for me.”

John: “It’s important to me that an object has a story. When I buy something on eBay – which is all the time – I’m always pestering the sellers asking them about the objects’ history: ‘Where was it before? What did it do?’ I’m as much interested in the story as the look.

“When we travel, I always look for the antique and furniture shops. I got a weird pulley light string made of brass for the bathroom. It was relatively random, but it brings back sweet memories every time I pull the switch. We were travelling with backpacks then, so I needed to find something that would fit in my bag. We got our hammock from Colombia. We’ve turned it into more of a design piece, so it just hangs down as an ornament from the wall. We dare not lie in it!

“I am always looking for vintage furniture, too. There’s an auction house called Bukowski’s, from which we buy a lot from and I’m always going down furniture-themed rabbit holes on the internet. Even when I’m not looking to buy something, I just find myself with all these tabs open. And I am obsessed with chairs. I’m always looking for second-hand ones on eBay. I found some wonderful wooden chairs, which give a natural touch to the space – and we both love wood. We’ve got mostly solid ash in the living space, with veneered ash for the cupboard doors.”

Alice: “I also really love natural materials. The rug in the living room, for instance, is abaca, a natural textile made from banana leaf. The colouration is to do with the age of the plant.”

John: “We’re yet to spend a summer here – we moved out of the city during the pandemic and are only just settling back in – but we are excited to entertain in the garden. When the light hits it in the afternoon, it’s beautiful.”

How do you define modern living?

Alice: “It’s about making sure everything is tailored to your lifestyle.”