Create an ideabook for your next remodeling project!
Browse more than 1,000,000 photos from top designers and save your favorites
Houzz Tours
Top Ideabooks
Eclectic Homes
Top Ideabooks
- Wondrous Steampunk Style for a Massachusetts Victorian
- DIY Efforts Transform a South Philly Row House
- From Baseball Factory to Homey Loft in Toronto
- From Raw Space to Hip Home in a Converted Utah Garage
- Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen's Guesthouse Brims With Charm
- Travel Treasures Personalize a Denver Comedian's Home
Houzz Tour: Glamorous Victorian in London
This eclectic, high-octane terrace house is unlike anything you've ever seen. Hold on to your hats, folks!
A peek into the home of designer and tastemaker Abigail Ahern is a madcap ride down a glam rock-themed rabbit hole. The words "tantalizing" and "badass" come to mind — both fitting descriptions for this terrace house in hip east London.
"When we first moved in, this area was considered one of the most undesirable places to live in; it was incredibly rough. But the area has transformed itself, and now we have a farmers' market at the bottom of the park every weekend, cool bars, restaurants and clubs," says Ahern.
When she's not zipping in and out of secret-getaway streets all over London on her motorbike, Ahern entertains friends and clients from her home. Ahern says her eclectic home is "a nod to the past and a huge wink to the future. I want to get your heartbeat going just that little bit faster."
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Abigail Ahern, her husband, Graham, and their two dogs, Maud and Mungo
Location: East London, England
Size: 2,400 square feet
Design challenge: Replacing what used to be a back wall with massive glass doors. Getting the doors through the terrace house was "nail biting," Abigail says.
"When we first moved in, this area was considered one of the most undesirable places to live in; it was incredibly rough. But the area has transformed itself, and now we have a farmers' market at the bottom of the park every weekend, cool bars, restaurants and clubs," says Ahern.
When she's not zipping in and out of secret-getaway streets all over London on her motorbike, Ahern entertains friends and clients from her home. Ahern says her eclectic home is "a nod to the past and a huge wink to the future. I want to get your heartbeat going just that little bit faster."
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Abigail Ahern, her husband, Graham, and their two dogs, Maud and Mungo
Location: East London, England
Size: 2,400 square feet
Design challenge: Replacing what used to be a back wall with massive glass doors. Getting the doors through the terrace house was "nail biting," Abigail says.
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| Ahern's studio and home office is a visual experience and the most "un-officey" office you're likely to come across. "It doesn't feel like a home office so much as it does a cool place to hang out. I need to work in a cool space that totally reflects my vibe," says Ahern. |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| The desk is a vintage piece that the designer painted teal. The floors are a patchwork of pattern, and a lounge that's perfect for hanging out sits off to the side. |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| "It's a bit of a gentleman's club-meets-Alice in Wonderland vibe," says Ahern. |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| A framed image of Biggie Smalls peeks from behind an array of flowers and tabletop decor. |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| The lower-level entertainment area is a hodgepodge of texture, scale, pattern and style. The space is everything that Ahern has ever wanted her home to be: stimulating, laid back and extremely eclectic. Blue chairs and coffee table: flea market; sofa, lamps and assorted furnishings: Atelier Abigail Ahern |
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
The designer took an unconventional approach and painted her home's exterior woodwork black.
"You really can't escape the architecture and history of this house, with its high, ornate ceilings and massive windows. It totally drew me in from the street and I just love everything about it," says Ahern.
"You really can't escape the architecture and history of this house, with its high, ornate ceilings and massive windows. It totally drew me in from the street and I just love everything about it," says Ahern.
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| Ahern also knocked out the back walls and replaced them with glass doors that lead into the backyard garden. At one point, Ahern and her husband thought they would have to transport the glass doors over the roof by helicopter because getting them through the terrace house was so difficult. |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| The home's garden seating allows for different conversational arrangements. |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| Even though "nothing matches" in the interiors, sunny yellow metal chairs make a pretty vintage quartet outside. |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| "I've planted the garden with super-tall plants and trees so it's almost like the garden is walled in. It's an English thing — the thought of seeing into someone's garden is a massive no-no, so we plant and plant to hide and cocoon ourselves away from neighbors," says Ahern. |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| The couple entertains friends and clients in the home. The double-height glass ceilings (the first level is seen in the background here) connect the interiors with the outdoors. |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| Some people clear their island countertops to prepare for a heavy cooking session, but this designer prefers to fill her surface with piles of books and curios. |
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
Leashes hang in the entryway to prepare for walks with dogs and best friends Maud and Mungo.
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| The first-floor hallway is a high-octane space that makes guests pause — and smile. |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| Almost all the decorative pieces around Ahern's home are available in the designer's shop, including the adorable and menacing Capone bulldog table lamp. |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| |
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
The stairway gallery wall is a mix of artwork from different periods. As you can expect, the graffiti-inspired metal piece, "The wife is always right," is a favorite of the designer's.
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
What would you do with a rusty old chair? If you had a bit of Ahern's flair for the unusual, you'd pair it with a lonely corner.
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| A neutral bedspread pools at the floor in Ahern's master bedroom, the most visually quiet room in the house. |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| Flowers fill the space and add a soft, feminine touch to the eclectic boho room. |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| A neo-baroque chandelier ups the glam factor in the bath and hangs over the clawfoot soaking tub. |
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
"It's hard to pin me to a particular aesthetic, but surely, there is a definite disregard for convention," says Ahern.
Ideabook updated on Aug. 9, 2012.
What are you working on?
News From Our Partners
Latest Ideabooks
People found the photos in this ideabook after searching for:
View over a million photos:
Marie Meko
Wonderful mix.....I love people who decorate for themselves
and not for others !!