See inside Suzy Hoodless' home - a vibrant lesson in the clever use of colour

THE PROPERTY

A Victorian terrace and modern home (opens in new tab) in west London. The ground floor comprises a double-aspect living room and a kitchen-diner. There is a study, utility room (opens in new tab), master bedroom (opens in new tab) and bathroom on the first floor, two bedrooms and a bathroom on the second floor, and a bedroom on the third floor.

See Also: Tour A Colourful Victorian Terraced House In Crouch End
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KITCHEN

After buying the four-storey terrace with her husband almost eight years ago, interior designer, Suzy Hoodless (opens in new tab) was immediately drawn to ‘its space and seemingly endless floors’. She wanted to create a sociable home that would work for her family, but could also be shut down at night, and not filled with billions of plastic toys everywhere.

Kitchen cabinets (opens in new tab) painted a bold, matt Yves Klein-style blue bring an otherwise pared-back kitchen to life. Suzy says she can’t imagine life without the saturated colour.

The bespoke, industrial wall shelving set against a clean backdrop of Carrara marble and white tiles lends a lightness to the space.

DINING AREA

The kitchen and custom-sized dining table were designed to accommodate Suzy’s vintage Hans Wegner chairs, bought many years ago.

The black limestone flooring reflects the dark woodwork of the chairs.

See Also: Bright ideas - exploring colour in the dining room (opens in new tab)

living room

The couple opened up the space by removing some walls and lots of doors, divided the double-aspect ground-floor room ‘to create a cosy but proper living room (opens in new tab) at the front and a sitting room/playroom in the middle’, and knocked out a ‘hopeless lean-to’ at the back of the house. By lowering the kitchen level from that of the sitting room, they created a large kitchen-diner, which has made all the difference to the way they live.

A powerful shock of incandescent yellow around the architrave, links the front living room (opens in new tab) to the middle sitting room, and instantly saves the two spaces from becoming ‘too polite’.

master bedroom

A combination of pink and grey with a shot of deep rouge in the master bedroom (opens in new tab) creates a cocooning space.

The walls and wardrobe doors are painted the same shade of porcelain pink. The sheepskin chair (opens in new tab) lends a luxurious, sculptural element to the room.

study

The room started with the Eames chair and then the desk. It’s a quiet place that Suzy and her husband escape to.

See Suzy’s interior design projects (opens in new tab) and products at suzyhoodless.com

Photography / James Merrell

Find out more about Suzy Hoodless. (opens in new tab)