Houzz Tour: A Family Home Inspired by its Seaside Location
Coastal colours and practical design combine to create a house that will adapt as the family grows
Designing a home that’s practical for small children is one thing, but it’s easy to forget about how needs change as those same children grow. Fortunately for the family who live in this double-fronted Victorian villa, interior designer Emma Capron of Bean Interiors had this in the forefront of her mind for her clients.
The couple had found Emma on Houzz while working with archangel Architects to open up their home’s layout. Emma came in at the planning stage, so could input her ideas for adding functionality for now and into the future to create a forever home with a colour palette influenced by the coastal surroundings.
To see more great projects where the homeowner found their professional via Houzz, take a look at our Born on Houzz series.
The couple had found Emma on Houzz while working with archangel Architects to open up their home’s layout. Emma came in at the planning stage, so could input her ideas for adding functionality for now and into the future to create a forever home with a colour palette influenced by the coastal surroundings.
To see more great projects where the homeowner found their professional via Houzz, take a look at our Born on Houzz series.
A step leads down from the dining area to the bright, airy kitchen, which has natural light flooding in through the slot window, roof light, oriel window and wide sliding doors.
Large-format floor tiles are similar to those on the patio, giving the space an almost seamless indoor-outdoor feel.
Pendant lights, Original BTC. Minoli Storm White floor tiles, Master Tiles.
Find and hire an interior designer on Houzz today.
Large-format floor tiles are similar to those on the patio, giving the space an almost seamless indoor-outdoor feel.
Pendant lights, Original BTC. Minoli Storm White floor tiles, Master Tiles.
Find and hire an interior designer on Houzz today.
Pastel-hued bar stools add to the coastal palette that features throughout the house and provide handy perches for the family to gather around the island.
Emma opted for two colours on the kitchen cabinetry – a soft blue for the base units and white for the cabinets above to prevent the space feeling too heavy.
The dishwasher is located on the island, near to the dining area. This allows crockery to be put away easily in the two bespoke dressers – one in the kitchen and the other in the dining room.
Kitchen, designed by Bean Interiors and made by Square One Design Workshop. Base cabinets painted in Juniper Ash; wall units painted in Slaked Lime, both Little Greene.
Emma opted for two colours on the kitchen cabinetry – a soft blue for the base units and white for the cabinets above to prevent the space feeling too heavy.
The dishwasher is located on the island, near to the dining area. This allows crockery to be put away easily in the two bespoke dressers – one in the kitchen and the other in the dining room.
Kitchen, designed by Bean Interiors and made by Square One Design Workshop. Base cabinets painted in Juniper Ash; wall units painted in Slaked Lime, both Little Greene.
Emma made the most of the oriel window to create a cosy seat with pastel colours and stripes. The striped fabric reappears in different colourways on other window seats around the house, creating a fun, cohesive seaside theme.
Seat cushion upholstered in Ian Mankin’s Devon Stripe fabric, Malthouse & Summer.
Seat cushion upholstered in Ian Mankin’s Devon Stripe fabric, Malthouse & Summer.
The dining room benefits from the front room’s south-easterly morning light and the kitchen’s north-westerly evening light.
A bespoke dresser features an integrated wine fridge in the centre of the base units. Reeded glass upper cabinets echo the linear pattern on the kitchen pendants next door.
A bespoke dresser features an integrated wine fridge in the centre of the base units. Reeded glass upper cabinets echo the linear pattern on the kitchen pendants next door.
A chimney breast was removed from the left-hand wall in the family room, as the couple had no intention of using the fireplace. This allowed Emma to position a large comfy sofa along this side for all the family to cuddle up on.
A media wall opposite contains handy storage as well as a TV and an electric fire below.
Pendant light, Amara. Sofa, Love Your Home.
A media wall opposite contains handy storage as well as a TV and an electric fire below.
Pendant light, Amara. Sofa, Love Your Home.
The window seat in here has been designed with slots below for storage baskets. “We deliberately made these alcoves the same size as those in the children’s rooms,” Emma says. “The girls can bring down their baskets of toys from their bedrooms and easily swap them over.”
On the opposite side of this double-fronted house is a more formal living room. This works as a quieter space where the grown-ups can relax. Emma’s experience of having older children came into play here. “In 10 years’ time, the kids and their teenage friends might often take over the kitchen and my clients will want their own space,” she says.
Subtle linear detailing on the rug is repeated in a border on the curtain fabric, on the mirror frame, and in the design of the pendant light.
Sofa; footstool, both Love Your Home. Rug, Claire Gaudion. Table lamp; pendant light, Original BTC. Desk, Etsy.
Subtle linear detailing on the rug is repeated in a border on the curtain fabric, on the mirror frame, and in the design of the pendant light.
Sofa; footstool, both Love Your Home. Rug, Claire Gaudion. Table lamp; pendant light, Original BTC. Desk, Etsy.
Alcove storage was designed with an arch to replicate the architecture in Brighton, such as the seafront arches, and recessed LEDs were fitted to provide a soft glow in the evening.
Joinery and walls painted in Smoke, Benjamin Moore.
Joinery and walls painted in Smoke, Benjamin Moore.
A beautiful patterned wallpaper in the understairs cloakroom was colour-matched for the ceiling paint. This colour was also used on the front door, while the chequered floor tiles run right through the hall and onto the front path.
Bamboo Garden wallpaper, Linwood. Panelling painted in Inchyra Blue, Farrow & Ball.
Bamboo Garden wallpaper, Linwood. Panelling painted in Inchyra Blue, Farrow & Ball.
The main bedroom on the first floor, with its opulent upholstered bed and patterned wallpaper, was inspired by Brighton Pavilion. The reeded glass pendant light is reminiscent of the linear patterns downstairs and also echoes the surface of seashells.
The room is directly above the family room, so the chimney was removed in here as well. “This meant the bed could be positioned facing the door, so that the couple can immediately see the girls if they come into the room at night,” Emma says.
Adam’s Eden wallpaper, Lewis & Wood. Carpet, Westex. Curtains, Samuel & Sons. Bed; blanket box, both Love Your Home.
The room is directly above the family room, so the chimney was removed in here as well. “This meant the bed could be positioned facing the door, so that the couple can immediately see the girls if they come into the room at night,” Emma says.
Adam’s Eden wallpaper, Lewis & Wood. Carpet, Westex. Curtains, Samuel & Sons. Bed; blanket box, both Love Your Home.
The architects borrowed space from the adjacent bedroom in order to create a dressing room and en suite. Bespoke storage, LED lighting and bronze hooks make the dressing room incredibly practical for the couple.
Emma hung an arched mirror in here and two more in the en suite to echo the arched cabinetry downstairs.
Storage designed by Bean Interiors and made with XyloCleaf decorative boards by Forrest Bespoke. Mirror, West Elm.
Emma hung an arched mirror in here and two more in the en suite to echo the arched cabinetry downstairs.
Storage designed by Bean Interiors and made with XyloCleaf decorative boards by Forrest Bespoke. Mirror, West Elm.
Here are those arched bathroom mirrors positioned above a bespoke double vanity unit.
Flooring, Fired Earth.
More: How to Plan for a Bathroom Renovation
Flooring, Fired Earth.
More: How to Plan for a Bathroom Renovation
The girls’ bedrooms have been designed to adapt as they grow. Here, for example, a playful pompom trim on the curtains can be removed and replaced with something more grown-up later on.
The practical bunkbeds, which at the moment can accommodate five for sleepovers, can be swapped for a double bed in years to come as the plug sockets are already in place.
Bunkbed, Cuckooland.
The practical bunkbeds, which at the moment can accommodate five for sleepovers, can be swapped for a double bed in years to come as the plug sockets are already in place.
Bunkbed, Cuckooland.
Each girl has an ample-sized, custom-made wardrobe with a vanity area in the centre and bifold doors.
Here, in the other daughter’s bedroom, you can see the practical window seat with the baskets below that can be moved and stored easily around the house.
Butterfly Meadow wallpaper, Osborne & Little.
Butterfly Meadow wallpaper, Osborne & Little.
The family bathroom is both fun and practical, with a roomy, pastel-toned bath and a shower opposite. Iridescent mosaic tiles in the recessed shelves contain all the colours of the room.
Floor tiles, Minoli. Vanity unit, Duravit. La Rochelle bath, The Cast Iron Bath Company; painted in Blue Ground, Farrow & Ball. Mosaic tiles, Original Style.
Floor tiles, Minoli. Vanity unit, Duravit. La Rochelle bath, The Cast Iron Bath Company; painted in Blue Ground, Farrow & Ball. Mosaic tiles, Original Style.
A first-floor laundry room has been fitted out with off-the-shelf cabinets and a sink. “It makes so much sense to have the washing machine upstairs near to the bedrooms,” Emma says. “The boiler and water cylinder is in there, so it’s also nice and warm.”
The loft space contains a bedroom, en suite and office. Emma designed open storage with cabinets below in the study.
A walnut panel along the centre of the tall cupboards (just seen on the left) adds a warm detail that again echoes the reeded surfaces elsewhere in the house.
A beautifully designed desk made from wrapped Corian sits opposite a mustard sofa that the owner saw in a showroom. “He thought it was lovely, so we put it in a sunny spot beneath the windows,” Emma says. “The cat loves it.”
Isaac bench, Love Your Home. Cushions covered in Ladder Brick fabric, Andrew Martin.
A walnut panel along the centre of the tall cupboards (just seen on the left) adds a warm detail that again echoes the reeded surfaces elsewhere in the house.
A beautifully designed desk made from wrapped Corian sits opposite a mustard sofa that the owner saw in a showroom. “He thought it was lovely, so we put it in a sunny spot beneath the windows,” Emma says. “The cat loves it.”
Isaac bench, Love Your Home. Cushions covered in Ladder Brick fabric, Andrew Martin.
With so much attention to detail, it’s no wonder the couple are pleased with their forever home. “They absolutely love it,” Emma says. “I also recently took some potential clients round who’d also found us on Houzz and they simply said, ‘We just want you to replicate this.’”
Tell us…
Which ideas will you be taking from this project for your own home renovation? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
Tell us…
Which ideas will you be taking from this project for your own home renovation? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
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Who lives here? A couple and their two children
Location Brighton, East Sussex
Property A Victorian villa
Size Five bedrooms and three bathrooms
Designer Emma Capron of Bean Interiors
Architects archangel Architects
Joinery Build My Home
Project year 2023
Photos by James French
There was a series of separate rooms in the original layout of this Victorian home, but these were opened up by the architects to bring in more flow, light and functionality. At first, the kitchen was going to be located in the centre of the house, but Emma suggested putting it at the back to allow easy access to the garden for the couple’s two children.
In the finished layout, the dining room is in the central area between the kitchen and the family room at the front.