How A Designer Injected Fresh Energy Into This Traditional Home

One of the most atmospheric rooms is the sun room, which occupies what was once the original kitchen. The space has been transformed into a relaxed lounge designed around the clients’ extensive vinyl record collection. Large skylights have been added to the pitched ceiling to flood the room with daylight, while expansive glazed doors frame sweeping views of the South Downs. On warm days, the doors can be opened to let the garden spill inside. Floor-to-ceiling joinery displays the record collection, while a low window seat doubles as extra seating around the breakfast table. The room’s bespoke mural, designed with Anna Glover and painted by Queenie Ingrams, features flowers found in the surrounding landscape, along with butterflies and a bluetit, the bird that inspired the project’s name. The colour palette mirrors the outdoors, combining greens, blues, peach tones and soft oranges, while bespoke arched glazed doors reinforce the curved architectural language used throughout the house.

Circular Table Alfred Newall
Dining Chairs Aram
Circular Rug Floor Story
Pendant Light  L'Aviva
Joinery Colour ‘Greenback’, Paint & Paper Library 

The kitchen extension forms the heart of the home. Designed as a large, open space for family life, it combines practicality with sculptural design details. The client, an enthusiastic cook, wanted surfaces that could withstand professional-level use, so stainless-steel worktops were chosen for their durability and finish. At the far end, the new glazed observatory offers panoramic views of the garden. A bespoke circular banquette fits perfectly within the space, allowing the family to enjoy meals surrounded by greenery and above, a pendant creates a striking focal point. Diagonal timber flooring flows from the hallway into the kitchen, before being broken up with terrazzo slabs to subtly emphasise the scale of the room. The arched glazed window at the back of the house, visible from the front entrance, is echoed by arched thresholds along the hallway, creating a sense of rhythm as you move through the space.

Bar Stools Sossego Design
Chairs Aram
Pendant Light Apparatus

The dining room takes its cue from a striking piece of artwork by Chris Levine featuring Grace Jones, which inspired the room’s rich colour palette of burgundy, purple and teal. Existing beams with delicate chamfered details have been highlighted by painting them the same colour as the walls, while new panelling adds depth and texture. A bespoke stone fireplace crafted from Rosso Levanto marble anchors the space – the same material used in the living room to create continuity between the two areas. Diagonal flooring from the hallway continues here, reinforcing the sense of flow across the ground floor. A velvet-clad window seat within the bay provides a comfortable perch, while the overall mood is intentionally dramatic and intimate, ideal for hosting dinner parties.

Wall Colour Georgetown, Paint & Paper Library
Dining Chairs Aram
Mirror 88 Gallery
Pendant Light Apparatus 

By contrast, the living room feels light and airy. Walls and panelling are painted in a soft sky blue, creating a calm backdrop for the space. An ombré curtain fabric gently frames the bay windows and the views beyond. A sofa and ottoman sit opposite the curved fireplace, while bespoke joinery on either side provides space for books and family photographs. A plush bespoke rug adds softness underfoot, and vintage lighting sourced by the client lends the room an authentic, layered feel.

Blue Velvet Armchairs George Smith
Boucle Sofa & Ottoman Sedilia
Rug 16Ten Rugs
Side Table &Tradition
Panelling Colour Skylight, Farrow & Ball 

The boot room was designed to be as practical as it is considered. Underfoot, bespoke Zellige tiles were created using a custom colour blend selected to complement the room’s palette. The client was particularly keen to incorporate a trio of blues from Farrow & Ball, which informed the wider scheme. Storage was a key priority here, so the joinery includes pull-out drawers for shoes, tall cupboards for sports kits and high-level cabinets for hats and scarves. Everything can be closed away neatly, allowing the space to remain tidy and organised despite the demands of busy family life. During the project, the family also welcomed a puppy, which led to the addition of a small arched cubby built into the joinery – perfectly sized for a dog bed and echoing the soft arch motif used throughout the house. A bench seat just inside the door offers a convenient spot to sit while putting on or removing boots, while two additional bench seats are integrated into the main joinery, complete with arched back cushions upholstered in a fresh pattern. Even the door itself has been carefully considered: from the outside, it appears as a concealed jib door, allowing the boot room to sit discreetly within the wider scheme of the house.

Joinery Colours ‘Light Blue’, Farrow & Ball; ‘Dix Blue’, Farrow & Ball; ‘De Nimes’, Farrow & Ball 
Seat Fabric Sanderson
Hooks Rowen & Wren 

The main bedroom continues the home’s theme of soft curves and cocooning textures. Here, both walls and ceiling are finished in a textured Bauwerk paint, while the ceilings have been subtly curved to echo the shapes introduced elsewhere in the house. A wall-to-wall headboard upholstered in a wave-patterned fabric was chosen to evoke the sea and create a calming atmosphere. Bespoke roman blinds embroidered with ginkgo leaves nod to the craftsmanship of the Arts & Crafts era, while the owners’ artwork is displayed in custom frames designed by the studio. Wall lights featuring peach-toned marble shades echo the bathroom lighting, and the flooring flows seamlessly between the bedroom and the adjoining bathroom to strengthen the connection between the two spaces.

Headboard Fabric Fermoie
Headboard Lights  L'Aviva
Large Rectangular Cushion Fabric Pierre Frey
Wall Covering On Wardrobes Pierre Frey

Upstairs, the main bathroom has been transformed into a serene, spa-like retreat. To create a sense of softness and calm, the designers introduced a vaulted, curved ceiling and finished the walls and ceiling in tactile tadelakt plaster, enveloping the room in a warm, textured surface. A cleverly shaped skylight casts natural light directly onto the vanity, while gentle lighting from Bert Frank wall lights enhances the tranquil atmosphere. The bath sits in front of the window to make the most of the views, its green ball feet adding a playful touch. Above the vanity, an arched mirror reflects the greenery outside so the surrounding landscape remains visible from multiple angles. A bespoke shower enclosure with reeded glass forms a generous walk-through shower with entrances on either side.

Wall Finish Tadelakt
Flooring Element 7
Wall Tiles Ca' Pietra 

One of the guest bedrooms – known as the Floral Room – sits within the new extension and takes its inspiration from a wallpaper the client loved, ‘Big Leaf’ by Lake August. The design features nasturtiums, a flower that grows abundantly in the garden, creating a gentle visual connection between the interior and the landscape outside. Because the ceilings in this part of the house are pitched, the decision was made to wrap the wallpaper across both the walls and the ceilings, giving the room a cocooning, enveloping feel. The roman blind is made from the same fabric so the pattern flows seamlessly across the space. Half-height panelling runs around the room beneath a dado rail, forming a built-in window seat with integrated storage below and visually linking the space to the home’s second guest bedroom. The bed features a wraparound headboard with soft wings that subtly enclose the bedside tables and hold the wall lights.

Wallpaper The Fabric Collective
Headboard Fabric Christopher Farr 
Headboard Lights Visual Comfort 
Large Rectangular Cushion Fabric Rapture & Wright 

Upstairs, the children’s bedrooms were also carefully reimagined. In the girl’s room, the ceiling was originally low and flat, but raising it significantly transformed the sense of space and light. During construction, the designers discovered unused attic voids above both children’s bedrooms. Rather than leaving these empty, they were turned into secret reading nooks accessed via ladders concealed within the wardrobes. Inside the girl’s nook, bean bags, joinery and reading lights create a private little hideaway where she can retreat with a book. The main room features a delicate floral wallpaper, while the original fireplace, a feature from the house’s earlier history, has been revived with colourful inset tiles to give it a more contemporary feel. Beneath the window, an integrated bench seat forms another cosy reading spot, complete with a small wall light and storage beneath the seat. Much of the furniture here was custom designed, including the upholstered headboards, while the client’s existing dressing table was reupholstered so it could remain part of the room. 

Walls ‘Jonquil’, Edward Bulmer
Wallpaper Ottoline
Wicker Pendant Light Soane
Headboard Fabric Christopher Farr
Bedside Table Soho Home
Fireplace Tiles Balineum

The boys’ room was designed to feel slightly more grown-up. The scheme is simpler and more restrained, built around a combination of blue and citrine green drawn from the rug and the roman blinds. When a new passageway was introduced behind the room, it created an awkward curve in one corner. Rather than treating this as wasted space, the designers turned it into a built-in niche with shelving where he can display figurines and magazines. Artwork is approached in a playful way here: instead of a single large piece, a set of vinyl record shelves allows album covers to act as ever-changing art, evolving as his collection grows. Like his sister, he also has a hidden reading nook above the wardrobe. In this case, the space is lined with wallpaper, so climbing the ladder feels like stepping up into the clouds. From the bedroom below, glimpses of the wallpaper overhead add a subtle and whimsical detail.

Wall Colour Sea Nor Sky, Paint & Paper Library
Wallpaper House Of Hackney
Blind Fabric Imogen Heath
Headboard Fabric Pierre Frey
Bedside Table Chelsea Textiles
Desk Soho Home
Chair Herman Miller 

The family bathroom needed to be durable enough for everyday use, while still feeling cohesive with the rest of the house. Tongue-and-groove panelling lines the walls, providing a practical surface that is easy to clean while also introducing texture. The bath was originally intended to be replaced, but when it was removed the team discovered beautiful original claw feet. Instead, the bath was restored and the feet were repainted in green to give them a fresh lease of life. A ledge made from the same terrazzo stone used on the floor and vanity was installed along the back edge of the bath, ensuring a watertight finish while also providing a handy surface for bottles and toiletries. Green ceramic handles on the taps and shower fittings add a playful touch that complements the striped Zellige tiles running up the back wall. A generous double vanity with a large mirror above provides ample storage, while red wall lights introduce a bold accent that links back to the colourful tiles set into the restored fireplace – another original feature that has been thoughtfully updated. Decorative plaster-cast artworks depicting flowers found in the garden hang on the walls, each framed in colours that echo the red, blue and peach tones used throughout the room.

Wall Tiles Habibi
Shower Fittings The Water Monopoly
Boucle Stool Soho Home
Wall Lights In Common With 

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