6 minute read
INTERIOR FOX
Open HOUSE
A look around Interior Fox founder Jenna Choate’s London house
By PEARL BOYD
Jen and Mar co-founded Interior Fox in 2016 with the aim of providing a stylish, affordable and achievable interior design service for the digital age. They made their distinctive mark and transformed the industry, making way for a fresh approach to interior design that was accessible for everyone. Here we take a look inside Jen’s modern Finsbury Park home, designed by Interior Fox, with its clean lines and a contemporary aesthetic fused with a colourful global twist.
The property is an end-of-terrace Victorian house in Finsbury Park with three bedrooms, three bathrooms and a home office. Jenna Choate lives here with her husband Ben James and their two sausage dogs Stella and Chloe. When they bought it, it needed a complete overhaul and a top-to-toe restructure. She says: “I treated my own home like I would a client, I planned each room out with a moodboard of products and colours and took it from there. Not everything goes to plan so being able to adapt or adjust as you go is important as well. I knew from the get-go that things like floor colours, wall colours, electrical outlets, and hardware and then from there each room had a concept. For bathrooms, I was excited to pick out the tiles and really get playful with the combinations. If I have the opportunity to add a wall light or ceiling pendant I will.”
Phase one involved reconfiguring the main bedroom by cutting open the small bedroom next to it and turning it into a walk-in closet and master bathroom. The original family bathroom down the hall was converted to a guest bedroom with a small en suite bathroom. She says: “We wanted to embrace the period features while maximising space. Originally, the chimney breast was narrow so to balance out proportions we extended the width to match the superking sized bed. Our carpenters then added bespoke shelving
units within the alcoves to use as bedside storage.” They whitewashed all the walls and stained all the floorboards black for a neutral base. Jenna recommends doing this when you move into any new space, so that you can really see the bones and make a fresh start.
Phase two brought the lower ground floor side extension with an internal structural refurb. They moved the entire ground floor staircase to create a small home bar in the dining space and a laundry room behind it on the lower ground floor. The kitchen extension was a must, as the previous kitchen was sunken and very dark. Jenna said: “We opted for on-trend indigo blues that instantly lifted the kitchen aesthetic and created a cohesive look between the cabinetry and finishes. We wanted to make the kitchen island stand out with the addition of a brass metal sheet on the underside to add a wow factor while warming up the overall palette. To complement the brass tones and tie the look together, we chose upholstered stools in plush velvets.” The basement bedroom and hallway were re-configured and opened up to create a larger guest bedroom and built-in storage and window seat.
And what are her favourite things in the house? “My large-scale photograph from Tom Blachford was an investment but totally worth it for the scale and quality of the image. I love the long white tassel pendants in the same space, reminds me of a jellyfish or a 70s party room. I love the wallpaper and vibe of my office, it truly feels like sunshine to me. I still love the main kitchen wall with quartz stone and white tongue n groove wall, again the bright white feels like the light you get on a sunny day. Love the backrest with Kelly Weasrtler Graffito fabric in the dining room as well, makes me very happy.”
CASACARTA
Dinner plate set of two, £74
casa-carta.com
GARDEN TRADING
Winderton Side Plate in Rosemary, £8
gardentrading.co.uk
EDITOR’S PICK
THE FIND STORE
Moroccan Zwack plate, £15
thefi ndstore.co.uk MARIMEKKO
Siirtolaputarha Plate, £25
skandium.com skandium.com
MINEHEART
Undercover Antique plate, £22
mineheart.com
HOT PLATES
Stylish dinnerware for your table
By PENDLE HARTE
THE CURIOUS DEPARTMENT
Insect Mandala plate, set of four, £160
thecuriousdepartment.com
CIEL SHOP
Dinner plate, £12
cielshopinteriors.com
SOUS CHEF
Colour Pop Enamel Plate Pink, £22.99
souschef.co.uk CASA CELVA
Puglian face bread plate, £64 for four
casacelva.com
ARTISANS DU MAROC
Tamegroute plate, £25 wearenomads.co.uk
ROSE & GREY
Aura stoneware plate, £14
roseandgrey.co.uk
FORCE OF NATURE
How the UK fell in love with Hadeda’s beautiful artisan pieces from Africa
By PENDLE HARTE
Kate and Alex Kindersley are an almost ridiculously good-looking couple and their Cotswolds studio is improbably stylish. Inside it’s all cane furniture, woven baskets, hand-painted ceramics and beautiful linens, all from
South Africa and sourced by Kate. This is the world of Hadeda, where everything is styled as it might be in your fantasy version of your life. Outside, think cushioned cane loungers around a perfect pool with cold drinks in coloured glassware.
Hadeda, named after a South African bird loved for its loud bird-song, is a collective of unique home and lifestyle collections sourced from talented artisans and co-ops across many disciplines including fashion, ceramics, art, weaving, beading and carpentry from Africa and around the globe.
Founded by Kate Kindersley, who grew up between Africa and UK, the idea is to celebrate the enduring value of craft and design over mass production, and to trade ethically and sustainably.
The best-seller here is a traditional cane chair, either painted or in the natural handwoven cane. There’s a stylish collection of outdoor furniture, all made of handwoven cane using traditional techniques by villagers in Malawi. Other talented artisans include Karu, MADWA, Indego, Clementina Ceramics, African Jacquard, Tensira and Sidai. Kate says: “From traditional passeddown techniques to modern design, there are so many streams of talented designers in Africa. I want to share the magic, wonder, tradition and excitement of discovering these talented makers with others.”
Kate’s close relationship with the artisans who creates her products, as well as the handmade nature of all they do, means that many items can be custom made to your exact dimensions, or colour scheme. One recent (and hugely successful) commission was a vast pendant shade, spanning more than a metre, to hang over a dining table. Sun parasols can be created to exact dimensions and bespoke finishes can be arranged for everything.
Lucie de Moyencourt's Shellagance ceramic shell wall plates are new to the collection, joined by her latest nautical creation, a limited-edition collection of hand-moulded and hand-painted shell vases. Also new are Australian design studio Tiles of Ezra’s Moroccan Zellige tiles, for which Hadeda is the UK distributor. These authentic, high quality tiles come in a vast range of colours, from neutrals to brights, in varying shapes and border options.
