Eye-Catching Homes: the best interiors of 2019
Over the past year we’ve visited an assortment of thoughtfully-designed homes around the UK for our ‘My Modern House’ series. Here we share the best home interiors of 2019, from an interior designer’s test-bed flat in De Beauvoir to a mid-century masterpiece in Nottinghamshire.
1. Novelist Rachel Cusk’s self-designed house on the Norfolk coast
For Rachel Cusk, designing a house is very different to writing a book. “I’m used to thinking ‘Oh, that’s wrong, I’ll cut it out’, but you can’t do that here,” she says. “It’s more like a record of your mistakes and your successes.”
One thing you certainly wouldn’t want to cut is the second-storey sleep block that she and her husband, artist Siemon Scamell-Katz, added to the existing bungalow and annex in north Norfolk. It gives them a far-reaching view over the marshes and, handily, regular tip-offs about the tide’s comings and goings.
2. Architect Sandra Coppin’s 1960s Modernist house in Wiltshire
We always enjoy revisiting homes bought via The Modern House. In April we dropped by Ansty Plum in Wiltshire, which we sold to Sandra Coppin in 2009.
In keeping with the efficient spirit of the original Modernist design, during restoration work Sandra was keen to reduce waste and reuse as many building materials as possible. “We live in a time where it’s all about how much we can consume,” she says. “This house is quite the opposite. It’s about the least we can have, and the least we can use.”
3. Interior designer Hollie Bowden’s De Beauvoir flat
Hollie Bowden’s flat is her guinea pig: as an interior designer, it’s a blank canvas on which she can work through her ever-evolving roster of inspiration and ideas.
Earthy tones provide a neutral backdrop to unique textiles and objects sourced from around the world. “My things make me very happy and I remember every piece,” says Hollie. “There is a story to all of them.”
4. Creative director Alex Eagle’s light-filled loft in Soho
For Alex Eagle, modern luxury means light and space – and she has plenty of both in her airy loft in central London. Without solid walls, she fashions zones from furniture instead, like with the two cream sofas that close off a sort of living area and are the perfect spot for reading one of the coffee table tomes.
Everyone is welcome in Alex’s home and the dining room table can extend to fit 30 people. In fact, anyone fretting about cooking for a crowd this Christmas, take note: in the past Alex has hosted festive gatherings for up to 300.
5. Art director Tom O’Dell’s Victorian flat in Camberwell
Tom O’Dell approaches interiors as he does clothes, favouring well-made vintage pieces that have meaning and warrant taking care of. His Victorian flat, which he has lived in for six years, is artfully curated with distinctive objects from antiques markets.
His favourite room? The garden. In summer, you’ll find him tapping away at his laptop while his cat Frank lolls on the grass.
6. Architect Chris Dyson’s Huguenot house in Spitalfields
Chris Dyson has heaps of experience restoring listed buildings, which was helpful when it came to doing up his own home. A former clergyman’s house from 1719, the brick building is in an area of east London once known for its Huguenot weavers.
The first thing Chris did was add a kitchen and dining room on the flat roof. Located on another floor, the living room is a sacred space away from sweet-smelling food and clinking pots and pans. “It’s quite special when you go there,” says Chris, “and more restful.”
7. Monica and Simon Siegel’s mid-century masterpiece in Nottinghamshire
Mid-summer was the perfect time to visit Monica and Simon Siegel’s modernist marvel in Nottinghamshire. Floor-to-ceiling windows let in ample light while providing a view over the greenery – and we just about managed to resist dipping our toes in the pool.
As the founder of Atomic Interiors, which specialises in contemporary furniture and lighting, it’s no surprise that Simon knows how to fill a space. “We like an eclectic style that can incorporate a lot of different eras.”
8. Creative director Catherine Lock’s home in Blackheath
“Home is the ultimate expression of one’s self,” says Catherine Lock, creative director of Mayfair gallery The New Craftsmen. “I think that you can’t feel really relaxed at home unless you’re in a place which is utterly you.”
Her home in Blackheath is warm and welcoming, with a soft-hued colour scheme, cosy corners aplenty and half a dozen vases of sunny daffodils. Dotted throughout are pieces collected on her travels, including an Indonesian basket above the fireplace.
9. Interior designer Ebba Thott’s flat in Notting Hill
There’s something calming about Ebba Thott’s west London flat. It may be the colour palette – a soothing wash of stone greys – or the fact that everything has its proper place. Ebba is firmly pro-storage, which she describes as “ridiculously underrated”.
The interior designer downsized from a bigger house and the move taught her which of her belongings are important – and which she had simply accumulated over time. We were happy to find that books and art abound.
10. Charlie Barda’s family home in Holland Park
It’s fitting that we visited Charlie Barda’s Holland Park home in spring. Outside, flowers were blooming and, across the threshold, the family home was brought to life with pops of colour: bright-blue tiles in the back garden and a lemon-yellow kitchen. “We wanted to have spaces that felt like they’re near each other but are also slightly insulated from the shrieks of family life!” says Charlie, who lives with his wife and their two children. A happy balance is achieved with sliding doors and one continuous, spiralling staircase.