LONDON CALLING

BOLD COLOUR & FUN INCLUSIONS (COCKATOOS ON THE DINING TABLE!) TURN THIS HOME INTO A VIBRANT, PLAYFUL RETREAT – TOTAL SPACE CRUSH london calling

ABOUT NINA She’s an interior designer who shares the house with her husband, Vasco, and their two children Konstantin, 5, and Victoria, 3. Nina loves the house due to its “good vibes”, high ceilings and the fact it is flooded with light. Nina’s favourite memory at the house was her 30th birthday celebration when a huge tent was erected in the garden for dancing. “It was a silent disco so the neighbours could sleep,” she comments. Nina also loves her neighbourhood. “It’s still a little edgy, which is what we like about it.” Nina’s best advice regarding interior decorating is to “be yourself”. Mangroveandco.com @mangroveandco

Vivid fest “The room is so cosy,” homeowner Nina Litchfield says of the living space. “Everyone thought I was mad when I said I was going to paint it navy blue, but now it’s the talking point – it draws people in. It’s never dark; it’s quite bright and beautiful.” Nina poses by an artwork by Claerwen James. “The little girl reminded me of me. I like the touch of melancholy – I like the idea that children aren’t just happy bouncing around, but also feel deeply and are thoughtful.” A

Right stripes Nina has had the antique sofa, which she upholstered to modernise it, since she married. “I mixed three different Designers Guild fabrics, and they work in perfect harmony,” she says, reinforcing that she’s going through a “velvet, cobalt blue” stage. The 1970s Italian coffee table was found in a local vintage store. There’s always room for artwork, stacked on and across the mantelpiece. A

fave colour? COBALT BLUE

ECLECTIC WITH A TOUCH OF timeless elegance is how Nina Litchfield describes the interior of her inner-city Victorian home, which she shares with her husband Vasco and their children, Konstantin and Victoria. “I like to mix old and new, but never want it to look like I’ve tried too hard,” she says.

Although the place contains antique pieces and precious artwork, it’s still very much a family home, with lots of aged and characterful elements apparent, plus children’s naive and colourful artwork, toys and books, which are dotted around the house. “I think a home needs to reflect the people who live in the house and to be comfortable,” Nina says. “I don’t like very stark interiors; the feeling of cosiness and warmth is of major importance to me.”

While the home didn’t require any structural work when the family moved in a few years ago, it was anything but “warm” with the entire interior painted in white to emphasise the generous proportions of the rooms. Although that was a positive, Nina was champing at the bit to add some colour to create the much desired feeling of warmth and personality. She quickly settled on wall colours: a serene, deep blue in the living room (in smart and fresh contrast to the white floorboards and with ample light flooding in from three large sash windows), a blush in the dining room, and a neutral pinky-beige in the master bedroom. All of the colours provide the perfect, popping backdrop for her furniture and art collections and eyecatching curios, some of which reflect her Brazilian-German heritage. “Growing up with these two different and strong cultures has strongly influenced the way I think and decorate,” Nina explains. “In Germany you have the contrast of the old baroque style and the Bauhaus era. Brazil is vibrant and colourful, with beautiful colonial buildings in the middle of the tropics and modernism thrown into the mix. l like to take ideas from these different influences to make a space work.”

Nina’s approach to decorating is clearly fearless; she has an instinctive way of putting together unusual combinations. In the dining room, an elegant red velvet sofa is placed beneath an oversized rustic mirror, and a quirky pair of retro, ceramic white cockatoos take centre stage on the aged dining table. On the upstairs landing, a pink flamingo, from Japan, appears right at home on a solid timber chest of drawers. In the living room, a large tropical palm tree – suggesting relaxed beachy holidays – provides a beautiful contrast to the more formal dark blue walls and the art collection where edgy and contemporary fine art jostles with traditional portraiture including paintings of Vasco’s grandparents. “I love having them

Nina likes both on the living room wall watching over us,” Nina muses, adding: “I love diversity in her art and would like to have more of it but it’s an expensive passion.” She’s content with collecting “small interiors and has beautiful objects, travel mementos and fashion accessories” instead. taken ideas from Many of Nina’s pieces, too, are gifts that have found a place to settle in her home. These include a large varied influences Venetian mirror hanging above a chest of drawers on the upstairs to make her landing. “My grandmother found out I wanted it and gathered people from my family to give it to me as space work a wedding gift,” Nina explains. Tolix stools around the dining table were also a wedding gift, from a friend. Another piece, the antique blue and white striped sofa, Nina has had since she got married. “We first had it upholstered in a flowery old fabric, which made it even more romantic and quite feminine. I loved it, but two years ago the fabrics started to wear out and have holes, so I needed to come up with a solution. I thought of completely revamping it, giving it new life and bringing it into the 21st century. I love it now even more,” she says. “I think in life you go through different phases; now I’m in a velvet, cobalt blue phase.” Yet, despite these phases, the evolving mix of styles and colours just works. “We are very happy here as a family – that’s what I love the most.” R

Round town The striking oversized mirror hung at one end of the dining room was found in an antique shop, as were the red velvet sofa and leather armchair. Cobalt blue touches continue throughout the home, here in the cushions. Dressing up Fortunately for Nina there was space for a dressing room, to house her extensive accessory collection. A

Aged to perfection Tolix stools around the dining table were a wedding gift. The aged, rustic Scandinavian table and dresser were spied in a local antique shop. The fine-art photograph is by Mark Power (Markpower.co.uk). Retro ceramic white cockatoos make for a quirky table centrepiece, while simple green sprigs in a glass vase add a feeling of understated chic. In the mix Nina pulls together unexpected vignettes on her bookshelves; this one includes books and a vintage hat. A

Grand style Walls painted in a blush colour provide a soothing backdrop to the striking antique French bed. “It’s my favourite place to be in the whole house,” Nina says. Shoe shop Nina doubled the space for shoes in her dressing room and made each pair more visible – by adding a second, skinnier shelf to the back part of each shelf. “That makes it easier when making a decision of what shoes to wear.” A print of James Dean hangs on the wall while a Mangas “Mini Globo” rug by Patricia Urquiola graces the floor. A

“ I love vintage. It has so much character, and always has a story to tell. Old pieces, better made than things nowadays, were made to last – not to be thrown away.”

BLEND STYLE PERIODS FOR AN ECLECTIC LOOK

Perfect pair The portraits that hang above the drinks table are of Vasco’s grandparents John and Margaret Litchfield. The turquoise horse was a wedding gift.

nina ’s moodb o ar d TRADITIONAL CARNIVALE

Lean on me

The Wonders Ymanol photo print by Juliette Jourdain, $158 for 24cm x 30cm, Yellow Korner.

Pop of blue

Plain cushion in Cerulean, $69.95, Zanui.

Pucker & pout Rimmel The Only 1 lipstick in Best Of The Best, $15.95, Priceline.

High or low Adjustable Pipe fl oor lamp, $299, West Elm.

Regal style

Regency dining chair, $795, Weylandts.

On refl ection

Phoebe mirror, $229.95, Amalfi . 70cm diameter.

Fashion bible Limited-edition Fashion Designers A-Z Akris Edition (Taschen) book by Valerie Steele, $275, MCA Store.

Bit on the side Terrace bedside table, $499, West Elm.

Well heeled Marni Color-block glossedleather slingback sandals, $977, Net-A-Porter.

Traditional touch

East Village 8-drawer tall chest, $1995, Max Sparrow.

Ravishing red

Pure Retro 3-seat sofa in Red, $1538, Vavoom Emporium. For stockists, see page 185.

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LOFT WALL LAMP

This is the Loft wall lamp by Aussie design studio ISM Objects. It swings into action on a clever wall-mounted pivot so it’s ideal as task lighting – not to mention, a bit of eye candy. The globe is a spherical ES-base LED lamp. Ismobjects.com.au

126 LIGHTS ON! EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT LIGHTING 134 BEFORE & AFTER A VACANT WAREHOUSE IN MELBOURNE IS TURNED INTO A COOL HOME WITH A FOUR-CAR GARAGE 144 RUG UP! WANT TO KNOW WHAT’S HOT IN SOFT FLOORING RIGHT NOW? CHECK OUT THESE BEAUTIFUL RUGS AND MAGIC CARPETS

Off the wall Wall lights are having a major comeback, and with designs like the Loft by ISM Objects pictured here, it’s no wonder why. Flip over for more great designs, plus, the what, how and where to light your home. A

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