WORLD AROUND THE

from Absolutely London Chiswick, West & Richmond April 2023

Redhill, Surrey A NEW LANDSCAPE for luxury living

Uplifted by heritage crafts and one-of-a-kind woven wall art, this classic midterrace has a global ﬂavour

Awork in progress’ is how Dylan O’Shea and Caroline Lindsell describe the interiors of their mid-Victorian terrace. From the sunshine-yellow hallway to a selection of handwoven rugs from Guatemala or Nepal, every element is inspired by their travels and a passion for artisinal craft. ‘We allow this house to evolve as we do because we never see ourselves as having arrived at a fixed point, decoratively speaking,’ says Dylan, who along with Caroline is hte founder of design and textile studio A Rum Fellow. ‘So we’ve reworked our home many times over, from the painted floorboards and French antique finds of the early days to the brighter, punchier interiors we currently live with.’

A curious eye and a desire to work with global makers has infused these schemes with a tactile nature. Hand-knotted rugs – many featuring Caroline’ intricate designs – share space with woven artworks, fabric panels and embroidered accessories. ‘Our home is an extension of our design ethos,’ says Dylan. ‘We wanted to create interiors that are visually exciting, but also induce the impulse to reach out and touch. In the same way that a rug features different pile lengths, threads and styles of weave, so we wanted to balance layers, colours and pattern to form an interesting whole.’

A few impactful structural alterations were all that was needed to contemporise the layout. The two living spaces were opened up to each other and in the middle room, a solid wall was partially replaced with a triangular internal window to channel in extra light. It echoes the graphic lines of the staircase, while providing a pleasing glimpse of the yellow walls beyond, hung with monochrome glass artworks from Malawi.

The couple have taken a confident colour approach throughout, inspired by the vibrant hues of Guatemala, which Dylan describes as ‘drenched in strong sunlight and therefore warm and a little aged’. And so walls have been treated to notes of burgundy contrasted with sky blue; primary yellow with plaster pink; navy with mustard and monochrome flooring with candy pastels. ‘Our work is driven by colour because it’s emotive,’ says Dylan. ‘We’re drawn towards interiors that offer a sense of drama and theatre’.

The evolution of these schemes maps the many iterations for the pair’s design journey too. A favourite set of ikat printed curtains that they produced when they first set up their studio hangs in the bedroom, while pieces from French brocantes represent a period spent dealing in vintage finds. The bedroom walls are hung with sculptural wall lights by Swiss maker Fabio Hendry, whose work the couple recently discovered. Heritage crafts play a prominent part. ‘We enjoy finding ways to recontextualise artisan woven fabrics, integrating them in contemporary settings,’ says Dylan. Thus, a curved headboard showcases an intricate brocade panel produced by a female Mayan collective in Guatemala, while in the living room a gently rounded Nepalese rug echoes the shape of the bay window.

Small scale is carefully balanced with large so that the chunky silhouette of a blue sofa from Roche Bobois sits comfortably with a rattan floor lamp in the living room, or modern monochrome mosaic flooring in the kitchen coexists with wooden dining chairs upholstered in delicate candy stripes. ‘I find it a little flat if everything feels uniform within an interior,’ reflects Dylan, ‘The challenge lies in incorporating unusual pieces and shapes, but within limitation lies creativity.’

Though travel plays its part in this home, there’s much inspiration to be found on the doorstep. ‘London is unique in that it contains cities within cities,’ Dylan says. ‘In our own neighbourhood, Turkish, West African, Brazilian and Pakistani communities live side by side. We are fuelled by the combined energy of many people sharing one space.’

Extract taken from London Interiors by Emma J Page, published by Lannoo, £50