Pick of the Pads: Seasonal Simplicity

We’ve chosen the house of Anna & Jeff Phillips for this month’s Pick of the Pads.

We wanted something Christmassy and their Sussex home, which is featured in the December edition of Country Living magazine, is just perfect.

It’s homely & warm with quite a Scandi feel – robust and elemental with wood, stone, textiles & flame. The influence of nature is strong, highlighted by the use of seasonal foliage, fruit & flowers.

Antique country furniture fills the house with character. There are lovely decorative touches everywhere you look incorporating handicrafts, vintage pieces & found objects – the fairy lights, candles & Christmas decorations give it a magical look.

There looks to be lovely natural light in the house, but no shortage of cosy corners either.

The bedrooms are inviting & peaceful, the dining area sumptuous – and we just love the handmade kitchen with its reclaimed wooden crates, blocks & shelves.

What a truly wonderful place to spend the festive season!

Pick of the Pads: Retro Perspective

We head down to Brisbane, Australia for this month’s Pick of the Pads.

Rowena Cornwell’s “Retro Perspective” home was featured in the November 2013 edition of Homes & Gardens magazine.

She uses a strong indigo blue as a unifying colour throughout her home.

Glossy tiles, soft furnishings and artwork are complemented with bright whites and soft greys.

The house is casual yet very grown up.

Rowena perfectly combines traditional antiques with mid century modern pieces. It takes a very good eye to do this as successfully as seen here.

The spaces are filled with light and there’s such a lovely flow to the house. We love it!

Pick of the Pads: Brixton East

We’ve chosen this fabulous factory space for this month’s Pick of the Pads. Dating from the 1870s, the building was disused & distressed when interior designer Andy Luckett bought it 18 years ago. After many years of hardship, discomfort & hard graft he’s created something very special – Brixton East.

The converted factory is featured in the October edition of Homes & Antiques Magazine and now incorporates apartment, studio space & shop.

There are many aspects of Andy’s home that we love. It retains a homely, comfortable feel whilst looking functional & easy to live in too.

The original fabric of the building remains intact with big windows, exposed brickwork & beams. The spaces are now filled with character, colour & texture.

There’s no shortage of unusual, quirky pieces – but it’s very well edited and never enters the realms of being cluttered.

It also looks like it’s evolved naturally over time with antique & vintage finds – some still serving their original purpose, others up-cycled for a new lease of life.

The building is available for event hire and Andy also opens a pop-up shop on the ground floor which should be of great interest to those who share his taste for the enticing antiques & vintage industrial pieces that fill his home – the next sale is in December. For details of the shop, upcoming events and more pictures of the building visit his website at www.brixtoneast.co.uk