DESIGNED BY HUDSON HOMES & INTERIORS
The Brief
Interior designer Ashley Nuttall of Hudson Homes & Interiors faced a challenge when her clients, a couple with grown-up children living overseas, contacted her during Covid lockdown and asked her to help them find them a house in Surrey. ‘I viewed a prospective house for them and sent videos to the clients, and they bought it without having seen it in person,’ she says.
The pretty red brick 1950s cottage needed a little work. ‘It was painted in neutral colours but it was quite a bland house - it didn’t have nice skirting or floors - so I had video conferences with the clients about what needed to be done and it turned into a bigger project than we anticipated,’ says Ashley. ‘By the time the clients walked into the house, it was a building site as work had commenced.’
The owners realised the house was lacking vital ancillary space. A small extension was then planned for the back of the house to incorporate a temperature-controlled wine room and a boot room and utility with underfloor heating.
As the owners have two dogs, flooring for the kitchen diner and utility area had to be practical. The clients wanted the kitchen diner and hallway to have a neutral flooring that was elegant and calming, while the flooring in the wine room and boot room, which can be seen from the dining room, needed to provide differentiation and a cosy contrast.
The Project
The kitchen dining area has a broken-plan feel - it was originally more open-plan but the clients decided to extend the wall to zone the areas and provide enough space for furniture. On the kitchen side of the wall is a Shaker-style green larder cupboard that matches the bookshelves and cabinet in the kitchen seating area, providing symmetry. ‘The clients didn’t want to use green everywhere so we kept it to the two cabinets so that it wasn’t overpowering,’ says Ashley. The clients aren’t afraid of colour so chose to add extra drama with a deep blue kitchen island and black Aga and the strong shades were offset with pale Shaker cabinets (all kitchen cabinetry is from Thomas Ford). On the dining room side of the wall, Ashley designed a built-in cocktail cabinet, painted a smart dark blue that tones with the colours of the eyecatching artwork and bobbin console table. With so many pops of strong colour, a neutral classic flooring was called for. The clients fell in love with our Buscot limestone, which is reminiscent of Cotswold stone. The tumbled finish gives it a slightly contemporary edge. ‘The classic contemporary aesthetic works as the house is within walking distance of the town centre,’ says Ashley. ‘The neutral colourway is perfect because the clients have lots artwork, so they decided to keep the walls neutral too for an understated back drop.’
A seating area was created across from the kitchen island. Two statement occasional chairs provide an eclectic look and lend an air of informality - one is upholstered in a fabric that tones with the book cabinetry while the leather one injects cosiness. Buscot limestone flooring provides the ideal backdrop here, with a neutral rug defining the coffee table area.
The new extension leads off the dining room. On either side of the fireplace are Crittall doors - one leads to the wine room, a priority for the client, and the other to the boot room. The clients chose a herringbone brick flooring, Tetbury Terracotta Parquet, for both spaces for symmetry. ‘We decided to break the flooring at the utility space area,’ says Ashley. ‘Tetbury is hardwearing with warm tones and it’s lovely to see a different material. It also works because it is quite reminiscent of the cellars in old houses.’
In the boot room, the owners wanted dark cabinetry, shelving and a bench and so a moody blue was chosen that works well with the Tetbury flooring and shows off the striking artwork. The flooring also tones beautifully with the exterior brickwork - the garden designer incorporated some of the herringbone bricks by the back door and pathways so that there was a synergy between the interiors and the exteriors.
In the utility, the space was kept light with pale grey cabinets that tone with the boot room palette but provide contrast. Buscot limestone perfectly complements the cabinets here.
