Home tour | An elegant, calming house in London

I’ve always believed that good interior design is as much about wellbeing as aesthetics – after all, decor can have a huge impact on our health and mood, and the feel of a space is just as important as the way it looks.

Few places demonstrate this more than the beautiful North London home of Louisa Grey, founder of interiors studio House of Grey, which I was lucky enough to visit along with fellow blogger Hannah Bullivant during last week’s London Design Festival. Louisa and her friend and neighbour Morgwn Rimel had opened their doors for ‘In the Neighbourhood’ – a pop-up exhibition showcasing local and international design in real-life residential settings – and it turned out to be one of the highlights of the event.

We’d intended to take a few snaps and move on somewhere else, but we ended up staying for hours, lingering on the sofa over drinks and chatting to Louisa about her design ethos. She explained that her aim had been to provide a relaxing space where visitors could escape the frenetic pace of the festival, complete with scented candles, soft music and free sessions from natural-healing practice The Calmery. And she’d certainly succeeded: I arrived feeling frazzled after a very early start and a delayed train from Bristol, but a sense of calm washed over me almost as soon as I stepped through the door.

For me, this renovated Victorian townhouse is everything a home should be: elegant, understated and welcoming, with a carefully considered colour palette and a wonderful mix of textures. It’s also the perfect balance of old and new. Period features such as cornicing, ceiling roses and stained-glass windows have been retained and restored, but the layout rejigged to suit modern living. The ground floor has been opened up into an airy full-width living space that’s flooded with natural light; beneath is a large kitchen-diner clad in pale wood, with bi-fold doors opening onto the garden beyond. Walls throughout are painted in muted greys and greens, and the original floorboards have been sanded down and lime-washed to showcase their natural grains and knots.

And then there are the artworks, furniture and accessories, all carefully chosen to enhance the soothing feel. Many of the pieces were sourced from some of my favourite Scandinavian brands: the ‘Crown’ easy chairs and curved ‘Dandy’ sofa and ottoman are by Stockholm-based Massproductions, while the rough-hewn beech and oak side tables came from Danish brand Noorstad. I also spied stools, a dining table, a black side chair and a daybed by Frama, whose designs mix references to mid-century modernism with contemporary, geometric forms.

Louisa was also keen to provide a platform for emerging North London artisans to showcase their work, so there are terrazzo vases from Natascha Madeiski, oversized wooden chopping boards by Edward Collinson and appliqué curtains by Lucy Bathurst of Nest Design.

My personal favourites were the delicate, tonal paintings by Tycjan Knut, and the sculptural brass wall lights and marble table lamps by Henry Wilson. I also loved the monochrome cushions and throws from Stitch by Stitch, a collaboration between London-based designer Graham Hollick and embroiderers in the remote Kutch region of Gujarat, India.

In addition, there are plenty of natural elements to connect the inside space with the great outdoors – something which has been proven to have a positive effect on our physical and mental wellbeing, and which I’ve blogged about before. Most eye-catching are the oversized potted plants dotted here and there, but natural textures and tones have also been incorporated through the choice of materials and colours.

So, if you want an inspiring example of the power of interior design then look no further. The look is sophisticated and refined, but the atmosphere warm and laid-back – it’s the kind of place that makes you want to kick off your shoes, sit back and unwind. I could have happily spent the whole day there, and both Hannah and I were very reluctant to pull ourselves away when the time came to leave!

Sadly we weren’t able to see Morgwn’s house in person as it was closed on the day we visited, but I can’t resist sharing the press photos, so stay tuned for another fascinating home tour soon…

Most photography by Abi Dare; image eight by Rory Gardiner for House of Grey