Words Billie Brand
Photography Elliot Sheppard
Production Harry Cave

“We often have people walk in here and say: ‘It feels like I’m on holiday,’” says architectural designer Richard Whitaker. “That’s exactly what we wanted to achieve.” Sitting in the courtyard of the home he shares with his fiancé, Amy Rollings, on a particularly sunny September afternoon, we’re inclined to agree. Perhaps it’s the combination of 30-degree heat, cloudless blue skies and the couple’s scheme featuring colours and collectibles inspired by their travels, but it certainly feels more akin to a boutique hotel in the Balearics than an east London abode. As Richard continues: “You don’t feel like you’re going to walk into a place like this in Hackney Central.”

But their home, which they purchased at the tail end of 2022, wasn’t always such an oasis of calm. Originally designed by RIBA award-winning architect Amin Taha, founder of Groupwork, it forms part of a residential development built upon a slender site between a factory and an Edwardian terrace. The nine two-storey apartments here unfold over a ground floor and a basement – but the interiors are far from gloomy: each has been positioned to capture the sun’s rays throughout the day. “The way the light beams in is beautiful,” says Amy, chief merchandising officer at lifestyle store Curio. However, she was less convinced by the former industrial palette, which was all breezeblocks and concrete. But as she points out: “We were looking for a project and wanted something we could put our own spin on.” Here’s how they did it…

Amy: “When we came to view this house last October, it had been on the market for a while. As the estate agent said: ‘It will take a certain type of person to walk in here and either love it or have the vision to see what it could be.’ Back then, the interiors felt so cold. I could just about see the potential, but Richard fell in love with it straight away…”

Richard: “From an architectural point of view, the house was impressive. But it was also very particular. The way the natural light came in was great – it pours through every window at different points during the day – but finish-wise, it felt too stripped back for us. I used to live below architect Marcus Lee in Forest Gate and, having spent time at his home, which also has a lot of breezeblocks, I knew that I could transform this into something homely.”

Amy: “We worked Yesterday and Curio on the interiors and our initial brief was to bring warmth and texture to the place. That said, the first iteration of the moodboard Richard worked on featured lots of white. My response was: ‘Where is all the colour?!’”

Richard: “The creative process was hard work. We’ve got similar styles but we’re also very different. I’m more minimalist than Amy. But we both liked the idea of creating a collector’s house inspired by travels and, because of this, the result is eclectic. Maybe some of the colours we’ve used don’t go together but that’s okay. The house is a mix of our styles – and we’ve fallen in love with it.”

Amy: “We drew a lot of inspiration from places we’ve visited. Six months prior to starting the project, I went to Majorca for a friend’s 40th birthday and we stayed in an old casa – and it was stunning. It had seamless edges and a palette comprising concrete and terracotta tiles. The way it had been injected with colour – through materials, for instance – was clever. It was very Balearic.

Richard: “We also love Italy, Marrakech and South of France – particularly Provence. We’re getting married there in a couple of years. Last time we visited, we stayed in a beautiful hotel in Bonnieux and have referenced it a lot here.”

Amy: “Whenever we go away, we always bring something back for our home that will remind us of where we’ve been. We stayed in Christine Bedford’s amazing B&B in Menorca, for instance, and she has such an interesting mix of things made by local craftspeople. We loved that approach. I commissioned an artisan I discovered there to make the coffee table in our living room for Richard’s birthday. We like to have objects tell a story.”

Richard: “But the house isn’t just inspired by travel. I’m also very interested in materials. We used thistle plaster on every wall as it has a nice texture. We have also used an affordable lo-fi timber called MDF throughout the house. We created three different stains for it – one that feels a little Danish, another is a little darker… Then we sanded it down to create a nice texture.

“The concrete floors were one of the original features we decided to keep. The long-term vision is to grind them down at some point – in the hallway upstairs, you can see the aggregate coming through and it’s beautiful. It looks like a terrazzo. But we have also learned to love the cracks in the concrete floors.”

Amy: “They feel authentic to the house. At one point, we considered covering the floors up – particularly in the bedrooms. I wasn’t sure how I felt about getting out of bed in the morning and stepping on to concrete. But, in the end, we decided to keep it. There’s something beautiful about the concrete’s imperfections.

“Natural light is also very important to us. There used to be strip lighting here and I immediately knew it had to go. We wanted to create an ambient atmosphere and avoid using artificial lighting where possible. In fact, we rarely use the main lights. I find candles much more impactful.”

Richard: “The renovation itself took two months. I wasn’t hands on with the process: I did the drawings, but then I let the builders do what they needed to do. I really trusted the guys doing the work – and I think they’ve done a great job. It’s not the easiest interior to fit out because it very much has an artistic feel. We’re lucky that the walls had been painted, so when we moved in all we had to do was the curation – and that’s a massive part of the house.”

Amy: “When the work was complete, we were so excited to move back in. We’re not a patient couple. As soon as we could, we began to decorate. A lot of the pieces we have around the house are from Curio makers. The large artwork in the living room is by Maria Hatling, a London-based abstract artist I love. The red vessel on the coffee table is by Kerry Hastings, an amazing ceramicist. Then upstairs, we have a photograph of Sicily by Happiness Collective, an avid image maker who recently opened up his personal archive.

“We’re such a sociable couple and we love to host here. Whenever we have people round, we start the evening in the kitchen and then move people downstairs to the living room and out to the courtyard as the night goes on. We’ve created something that really works well for us. Whenever I’m not here, I genuinely feel excited to get back here. I love that feeling. And I never had that before. There’s something about this place that it feels like home.”