Houzz Tour: Cool Hues and Natural Materials Update a London House
Redoing the layout and using a calm palette help a designer turn a run-down house into a beautiful home for her family
Sarah Warwick
June 16, 2019
Houzz Contributor. I'm a freelance journalist and editor writing for nationals, magazines and websites. A serial house revamper, I love great design, beautiful interiors and practical solutions.
Houzz Contributor. I'm a freelance journalist and editor writing for nationals, magazines... More
Interior designer Yoko Kloeden’s expanded cottage accommodated her family of four, but when four became five, upsizing was imperative. They moved to a semidetached Victorian house in London that wasn’t in great shape — the exterior was covered with ivy, and the interior was a patchwork of DIY efforts. So it was up to Kloeden to turn it into a handsome home for them all.
Photos by YAYOI
House at a Glance
Who lives here: Yoko Kloeden; her husband, Andrew; and their children, Alex, Richard and Sakura
Location: Richmond area of London
Size: Four bedrooms, 1½ bathrooms
The existing kitchen addition at the back of the house wasn’t ideal. For one thing, “the corrugated-plastic roof made a noise when it rained,” Kloeden says. So she replaced the old kitchen addition with a stylish new one that opens the kitchen-dining-kid space to the yard. She also removed a wall to connect the living room to the kitchen area (see the floor plan at the end of this article).
House at a Glance
Who lives here: Yoko Kloeden; her husband, Andrew; and their children, Alex, Richard and Sakura
Location: Richmond area of London
Size: Four bedrooms, 1½ bathrooms
The existing kitchen addition at the back of the house wasn’t ideal. For one thing, “the corrugated-plastic roof made a noise when it rained,” Kloeden says. So she replaced the old kitchen addition with a stylish new one that opens the kitchen-dining-kid space to the yard. She also removed a wall to connect the living room to the kitchen area (see the floor plan at the end of this article).
A loft addition now contains a master bedroom and a family bathroom.
Find an architect near you on Houzz
Find an architect near you on Houzz
Before: The house had limited access to the overgrown yard.
Now the dining area connects to the yard through steel-framed glass doors. On one side of the room, Kloeden opted for a brick wall that matches the original ones in the yard, further linking the two spaces. “I love the combination of exposed brick wall and steel doors,” she says.
The Saarinen Tulip table and Eames DCM chairs came from the family’s previous house. “I like mixing midcentury pieces with contemporary ones,” she says, such as the Modo chandelier from designer Jason Miller.
Shop for midcentury-style dining tables on Houzz
The Saarinen Tulip table and Eames DCM chairs came from the family’s previous house. “I like mixing midcentury pieces with contemporary ones,” she says, such as the Modo chandelier from designer Jason Miller.
Shop for midcentury-style dining tables on Houzz
The family enjoys having a walled garden because it’s so private. The space needed a revamp, though, and the old decking and a jumble of bushes and trees were removed.
Kloeden then designed a built-in bench for the outdoor dining area. There’s a barbecue alongside.
Kloeden then designed a built-in bench for the outdoor dining area. There’s a barbecue alongside.
Inside, the dining zone includes a sizable open floor area. “We were thinking ahead about how the children were going to use the house,” Kloeden says. “The baby would need floor space to play.” The built-in wall unit has closed storage for toys.
The wall unit also has a desk. “I can oversee homework while I’m cooking,” she says.
Kloeden likes cool and calm blues and greens, and she went for kitchen cabinetry in the former shade. She designed fronts with brass recesses for some of the stock cabinets and had them made by a woodworker.
“I wanted to use brass sparingly to add a touch of glam,” she says. The kitchen faucet is brass too.
The countertops are practical Silestone quartz. The backsplash is beautiful Carrara marble.
Pendant lights: Gubi
Your Guide to 15 Popular Kitchen Countertop Materials
“I wanted to use brass sparingly to add a touch of glam,” she says. The kitchen faucet is brass too.
The countertops are practical Silestone quartz. The backsplash is beautiful Carrara marble.
Pendant lights: Gubi
Your Guide to 15 Popular Kitchen Countertop Materials
Removal of the hallway wall allows daylight to reach the entrance to the home.
The flooring is engineered oak laid in a large-scale herringbone pattern that complements the big space. “I’m Japanese, and all of us take our shoes off in the house, so it had to be nice to touch,” Kloeden says of the natural material.
Underfloor heating also makes the floor appealing.
What to Ask When Considering Heated Floors
The flooring is engineered oak laid in a large-scale herringbone pattern that complements the big space. “I’m Japanese, and all of us take our shoes off in the house, so it had to be nice to touch,” Kloeden says of the natural material.
Underfloor heating also makes the floor appealing.
What to Ask When Considering Heated Floors
The living area is a step up from the kitchen, giving it a slight separation without compromising openness and light.
Inspired by a friend’s design, Kloeden tiled the fireplace surround. The Moroccan tiles are hand-glazed, and their splash of turquoise makes for an eye-catching feature.
The chandelier is a vintage Italian design.
Sofa: Ligne Roset
Shop for tile by color on Houzz
Inspired by a friend’s design, Kloeden tiled the fireplace surround. The Moroccan tiles are hand-glazed, and their splash of turquoise makes for an eye-catching feature.
The chandelier is a vintage Italian design.
Sofa: Ligne Roset
Shop for tile by color on Houzz
Kloeden chose a pair of vintage armchairs for the living space. The family tends to watch television on the laptop, so there was no need to arrange the furniture to face a screen.
Before: The front and rear parlors had been knocked through to form one long living space.
Kloeden reinstated a separate front room, which was supposed to be her workspace. “Because it’s nicer to work overlooking the garden, I don’t use it as my office,” she says, “but it’s become a music room for my two oldest children, and it’s really good to have a separate music room!”
The designer used touches of black throughout the house, but here it plays a major role. “I quite like some rooms to be dark, as it makes you feel cozy and cocooned,” she says. “This is north-facing, so you don’t get light streaming through anyway.”
The baseboards are painted black as well. “It’s like having a collar or cuff in a different color,” she says. “It creates a very different look.”
The room’s original ceiling rose had been replaced with an out-of-character version, so Kloeden swapped it for a period design. The cornices that had been lost when the room was knocked through also were restored.
The rug is a vintage kilim from Turkey.
Off-Black paint on fireplace wall: Farrow & Ball
8 Reasons to Paint Your Interior Trim Black
The designer used touches of black throughout the house, but here it plays a major role. “I quite like some rooms to be dark, as it makes you feel cozy and cocooned,” she says. “This is north-facing, so you don’t get light streaming through anyway.”
The baseboards are painted black as well. “It’s like having a collar or cuff in a different color,” she says. “It creates a very different look.”
The room’s original ceiling rose had been replaced with an out-of-character version, so Kloeden swapped it for a period design. The cornices that had been lost when the room was knocked through also were restored.
The rug is a vintage kilim from Turkey.
Off-Black paint on fireplace wall: Farrow & Ball
8 Reasons to Paint Your Interior Trim Black
Kloeden added a new powder room just behind the staircase as part of the refurbishment. She selected hexagonal tiles for the wall. Brass accents give the simple gray backdrop a gentle highlight.
Classic Range tiles: Mandarin Stone
Classic Range tiles: Mandarin Stone
The master bedroom is at the top of the house in the new loft addition. “Our previous bedroom was all white, and I found it so light in summer, even with a blackout blind,” Kloeden says.
To promote undisturbed sleep, she opted for a deep sea blue (Stiffkey Blue from Farrow & Ball) for the walls. Brass details echo those elsewhere in the house, adding subtle shimmer and warmth.
To promote undisturbed sleep, she opted for a deep sea blue (Stiffkey Blue from Farrow & Ball) for the walls. Brass details echo those elsewhere in the house, adding subtle shimmer and warmth.
The bedside tables have granite tops. “I like natural materials, and this grain is gorgeous and blends with the wall,” Kloeden says.
An en suite shower is part of the master bedroom layout. It’s behind a glass panel, allowing a view to the marble beyond.
“It’s the first thing I see when I wake up, so it had to have a really uncluttered, clean but beautiful look,” Kloeden says.
“It’s the first thing I see when I wake up, so it had to have a really uncluttered, clean but beautiful look,” Kloeden says.
Before: The bedroom now shared by Kloeden’s sons, Alex and Richard, had an odd shape from an en suite addition, which also blocked the natural light.
Kloeden brought back a regular shape to the boys’ bedroom. She chose a forest mural for one wall to continue the home’s natural theme and, she hopes, have a calming influence.
The original floorboards of the room were sanded and whitewashed. “I didn’t grow up in a carpeted house, and the flooring is almost all wood,” Kloeden says. “I like the feeling underfoot.”
The floors are softened with rugs, though. “You can change them and move them around,” she adds.
Skog mural: Sandberg
The original floorboards of the room were sanded and whitewashed. “I didn’t grow up in a carpeted house, and the flooring is almost all wood,” Kloeden says. “I like the feeling underfoot.”
The floors are softened with rugs, though. “You can change them and move them around,” she adds.
Skog mural: Sandberg
Daughter Sakura’s room also features a tranquil tree mural. “The color palette came from the rug, which we brought back from Turkey,” Kloeden says.
Classic Hua Trees mural wallpaper: Sian Zeng
Classic Hua Trees mural wallpaper: Sian Zeng
The family bathroom has a muted palette. “It had to be tiled because the children splash, but without being cold,” Kloeden says. She chose hand-glazed tiles to soften the look. Natural ash cabinets bring in the warmth of wood.
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I really love the interior wall faced with brick. Can you advise me as to whether these are full bricks, or a thinner brick or tile, used to face the actual wall?
The extension was built with old bricks so it is part of a building. You wouldn't get the same authenticity with brick slips.