Dining Room
Apartment at a GlanceWho lives here A professional coupleLocation King’s Cross, LondonProperty An apartment in a Victorian Gothic buildingSize One bedroom and one bathroom Designer Sacha Berger of Honey Bee InteriorsJoinery Lee Purdom of Purdom’s Bespoke FurniturePhotos by Elina PäsokWhile interior designer Sacha Berger’s relationship with her client was great on this project, the building presented a number of challenges. The flat is part of a huge renovation that had seen a Gothic building returned to its former glory as a hotel, with private apartments on top. “It’s a Grade I listed building, so there were a lot of restrictions on how we designed the flat, the main one being that we couldn’t install ceiling lights,” Sacha says.However, the flat is indeed beautiful – something Sacha and her client aimed to showcase. “We wanted to bring out the grandeur of the place, with its 4m-high ceilings and huge windows,” she says. “In the main living space, we let the room speak by using subtle hues.”Walls painted in Elephant’s Breath, Farrow & Ball.
Despite a consistently elegant style and the many precious works of art, the most striking thing about the bright, polished rooms is their cosiness and warmth. And that’s precisely how Karolina wants it. “I like it bright, fresh and a little artsy, but with a lived-in and warm feeling,” she says.The couple initially painted the apartment white, but today many of the rooms are in muted shades of pink and grey. “My husband, Erik, and I don’t really have the same taste,” Karolina says. “He comes at things from more of a ‘nutty professor’ angle and likes a dark and sullen look with lots of stuff. But we usually agree in the end.”
The picture, which was a wedding present, was the starting point for the colours in the upstairs sitting room. “I wanted to keep it soft and gentle in here, but bring in a bit of life with the colours,” Lally says.As in the downstairs living room, the whole fireplace had to be replaced. “That end of the room was raised six inches to level it,” Lally says. “We had to restore all of the shutters, and the door on the linen press by the fireplace had to be shortened, but luckily the panelling still worked ok.”The floral couch is a sofa-bed, so the couple can accommodate extra guests if they need to.Walls painted in Ammonite, Farrow & Ball. Rug, Francesca Gentilli. Sofa-bed;raspberry armchair, both David Seyfried. Floor lamp, Vaughan Designs.
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