My Houzz: Light, Bright and White in Central London
Decorated with fresh white walls and pops of colour, this 1930s flat is a slice of Scandi style in the heart of the capital
Cate St Hill lives in central London, in a red-brick block between King’s Cross and Bloomsbury. Her two-bed flat had belonged to an old lady when Cate got her hands on it some six years ago, and it needed updating. ‘I fitted a new kitchen and installed wooden floors in there and in the living room and hallway, and stripped off the faded wallpaper,’ she says.
Originally, Cate shared the flat with friends. It wasn’t until her boyfriend moved in last summer that Phase Two of the renovation could take place – to transform this home from student digs into a cool couple’s hang-out. She had the living room walls replastered and carpet laid in the bedrooms, then tackled the rest of the redecorating with just one colour scheme in mind. ‘We painted everywhere in Dulux Brilliant White to act as a blank canvas for accessories and furnishings,’ she says. ‘I let the furniture, blankets, cushions and artwork provide the colour.’
Now, this fresh, white scheme helps to maximise the natural light that floods into the flat. ‘The living room is tremendously bright,’ says Cate. ‘It has doors onto a little balcony. I love to open them on a sunny day and sit with a good coffee and breakfast from a nearby French patisserie, reading the newspaper.’
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here Cate St Hill and her boyfriend.
Location Central London
Size 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom
Originally, Cate shared the flat with friends. It wasn’t until her boyfriend moved in last summer that Phase Two of the renovation could take place – to transform this home from student digs into a cool couple’s hang-out. She had the living room walls replastered and carpet laid in the bedrooms, then tackled the rest of the redecorating with just one colour scheme in mind. ‘We painted everywhere in Dulux Brilliant White to act as a blank canvas for accessories and furnishings,’ she says. ‘I let the furniture, blankets, cushions and artwork provide the colour.’
Now, this fresh, white scheme helps to maximise the natural light that floods into the flat. ‘The living room is tremendously bright,’ says Cate. ‘It has doors onto a little balcony. I love to open them on a sunny day and sit with a good coffee and breakfast from a nearby French patisserie, reading the newspaper.’
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here Cate St Hill and her boyfriend.
Location Central London
Size 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom
The white painted walls create the perfect clean backdrop for Cate’s favourite pieces. ‘This is the DAW chair by Eames, which my boyfriend gave me for my birthday,’ she says. Behind, piles of magazines are neatly stacked on the floor. ‘I work for a magazine and my boyfriend and I are both obsessed with them. We have lots!’
‘This is one of my favourite pieces,’ says Cate. ‘It’s String shelving from Skandium.’ A neat display of books, vases and treasured pieces are carefully arranged on this iconic storage. ‘All our postcards, magazines and vintage knick-knacks make our home feel personal,’ she says.
‘The living room is my favourite space,’ says Cate. When the flat was used as shared student accommodation, this was a bedroom, but now it’s a light-filled and sociable room. ‘I have somewhere to relax and entertain now,’ she says.
This lovely 1960s Scandart chair with dark grey upholstery and teak frame has the clean lines Cate loves. ‘We found it on eBay for a bargain price,’ she says.
‘It’s all the bits and pieces you collect over time that make a house a home,’ says Cate. Here, books line built-in shelves, but rather than arrange them vertically, she has stacked them in piles for a different twist.
Cate has decorated her flat on a tight budget. ‘The round Saarinen-style dining table was a bargain from eBay,’ she says. The Ercol dining chair was another good buy, found at Ardingly Antiques Fair. ‘It was one of two we bought for about £15 each.’ The Kate Moss photo by Mario Testino adds a bright slab of colour to the pale scheme.
The kitchen at the rear of the flat was something of a design challenge. ‘It’s much smaller and darker than the living room and bedrooms on the other side,’ says Cate. White Ikea units fitted on two walls keep the space streamlined and functional, while the stainless steel worktop forms a breakfast bar.
Wall units can eat into the space in a galley kitchen, making the room feel even smaller, so instead, Cate has hung open shelves from Ikea on one wall. They provide storage without crowding the room, and act as display space for favourite pieces of china, which introduce soft pastel shades into the white scheme.
A simple white pinboard in the kitchen is home to favourite cards and photos. ‘I like to display postcards from exhibitions I’ve been to,’ says Cate.
The bedroom is one of Cate’s favourite spaces. ‘It’s a really good size,’ she says, ‘and always light and sunny, as it faces south.’ Simple white bedding combines with the white walls to makes it feel light and relaxing even on overcast days.
See more white bedrooms
See more white bedrooms
The bed, bedside table and linen are all from Ikea, but the wall hanging is from India and creates a lovely contrast to the pared-back, Scandi feel of the rest of the room.
Cate has arranged the books in her bedroom according to colour for an attractive display. The white chest of drawers is from Ikea and the storage box is from Muji.
More than just something to check your appearance in, a mirror helps to increase light levels and the sense of space in any room. In Cate’s bedroom, this full-length design from Ikea stands next to a vintage upholstered chair from Ardingly Antiques Fair.
Just as elsewhere in the flat, Cate has stuck to a predominantly white scheme in the bathroom, but added soft coffee tones and lots of reflective chrome to warm up the space, which is small and fairly dark.
Cate has a small balcony off the living room that catches lots of sun. Lavender in a neat planter thrives here and brings some cottage garden colour to this central London space.
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