British Houzz: Colour and Light on the Sussex Coast
In England, bright accents and coastal light lift a rural Victorian interior redesigned for better flow
When interior designer Anna Standish was asked to redesign this Victorian property, a mile or so from the dramatic East Sussex coastline and surrounded by fields and sky, she was struck by the natural light that spilled in. “I first visited in February,” remembers Standish. “It was raining and there was a sea fog blowing in, but you could tell how, on a clear day, the rooms would be flooded with light.”
In addition to a striking location, the house had beautiful features, including tall sash windows, high ceilings and smart, square rooms. Standish, who has worked for a host of celebrity clients, including Madonna and Claudia Schiffer, now lives in Lewes and works increasingly in Sussex, so she was excited to have the chance to rethink this quintessentially country home. She began by redesigning the layout. “How the rooms flow is more important than how the house is decorated,” she says. A wall separating the kitchen and dining space was taken down so that all the ground floor rooms now lie in a U shape, flowing into one another, with the stairs at the centre. Standish then chose a backdrop of soft white and added bright accent colours, including yellow and turquoise, to bring heaps of personality to this beautiful home.
In addition to a striking location, the house had beautiful features, including tall sash windows, high ceilings and smart, square rooms. Standish, who has worked for a host of celebrity clients, including Madonna and Claudia Schiffer, now lives in Lewes and works increasingly in Sussex, so she was excited to have the chance to rethink this quintessentially country home. She began by redesigning the layout. “How the rooms flow is more important than how the house is decorated,” she says. A wall separating the kitchen and dining space was taken down so that all the ground floor rooms now lie in a U shape, flowing into one another, with the stairs at the centre. Standish then chose a backdrop of soft white and added bright accent colours, including yellow and turquoise, to bring heaps of personality to this beautiful home.
You can reach the living space from the hallway and also from the kitchen-diner. It means the whole ground floor flows, but separate rooms can be created within it, which feel intimate and cosy. “Now the layout has that opening and closing flexibility,” says Anna.
She deliberately chose a generous armchair for this room. “I like to play with scale,” she says.
She deliberately chose a generous armchair for this room. “I like to play with scale,” she says.
Standish chose a clean backdrop of white walls and pale oak floorboards to link the living areas, against which furniture and finds can stand out. The lamp is a 1950s Italian Stilnovo light and the vintage chair is covered in fabric from Lee Jofa.
A mix of serious collectable pieces, such as this Gordon Russell cabinet, are teamed with unexpected, witty finds, such as the oversized lamp picked up in an antiques market.
The study, which leads off the main living room, bucks the neutral trend and is instead painted completely in turquoise. “When you paint a whole room in one shade, the colour will reflect against itself and become more intense,” says Standish. “So it’s a good idea to always choose a shade that is less strong than the final colour you want to achieve.” The wall light is by Serge Mouille.
Wall light by Serge Mouille: Voltex
Wall light by Serge Mouille: Voltex
A second living room is flooded with sunshine in the afternoon. This room is mostly used by the owners’ children and their friends. “It has the biggest TV!” laughs Standish. The picture of Picasso was a market find.
Charles sofa by B&B Italia: Innes; sofa fabric by Osborne & Little: Kingdom Interiors; table: The Conran Shop; Josef Frank cushion (white and yellow): Liberty
Charles sofa by B&B Italia: Innes; sofa fabric by Osborne & Little: Kingdom Interiors; table: The Conran Shop; Josef Frank cushion (white and yellow): Liberty
Standish designed the kitchen and had it made by a joiner. She chose an extractor fan, sink and tap, all in white. “I try to keep those things that are not so attractive, such as the cooker hood, less prominent so they seem to melt into the wall,” she explains. She chose dark grout between the tiles “for a more graphic look.”
Extractor fan: Rangemaster; tap: Ikea; side chair by Bertoia: The Conran Shop
Extractor fan: Rangemaster; tap: Ikea; side chair by Bertoia: The Conran Shop
The dining space flows off the kitchen and lies across the back of the house, with glass doors leading into the living room beyond. Standish found the black Alfred Hendrickx dining chairs in an antiques shop. An unusual painted sideboard is home to finds and photos, and a vintage map showing all the rivers of Spain and Portugal hangs above.
Dining table: Habitat
Dining table: Habitat
Standish designed the bedhead by attaching lining paper to the wall and drawing the shape she wanted on it. This became a template, which was then cut from timber and upholstered.
Headboard covered in Linara fabric: Romo
Headboard covered in Linara fabric: Romo
Standish used vintage Josef Frank fabric to make the blinds in the master bedroom. Since the room has three windows, they became quite a feature. “I then created the room around the fabric,” says Standish, “with the blinds dictating the colours.”
“There is a lighthouse on the coast about a mile and a half (2.4km) away and anyone lying in the bath can see its beam,” says Standish. White linen blinds hang in front of sheer blinds, which provide privacy during the day. “The village bowls club is right there!” says Standish, pointing just beyond the window.
Bath: The Cast Iron Bath Company; pendant lamp: The Conran Shop
Bath: The Cast Iron Bath Company; pendant lamp: The Conran Shop
Antique mirrors and two basins fitted into a marble-topped cabinet bring a luxe feel and a pleasing sense of symmetry to the master bathroom. Standish had pale floorboards laid, rather than repainting the originals. “It brings a much cleaner finish to the room,” she says.
Location: Rural East Sussex
Period: Early Victorian
Size: 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms
Who lives here: A couple with two children
The hallway lies at the centre of the house, with doors opening onto the living room on one side. “I didn’t want the house to be completely open plan,” explains Standish. “It’s important to be able to isolate rooms, to meet all the family’s needs at once. Now one person can watch TV in this living room while another is listening to the radio in the kitchen and the children are tucked away in the TV room, but you can open it all up when you want to be together.”
Standish believes in the power of strong colour to uplift us, so she chose a bright yellow for the hallway. “I had already used splashes of yellow around the house in other places,” she says, “and that lead me to it.”