No.2

GREEN & SERENE

Sharon Lee and Lucas Dussurget’s home shows how using eco-friendly building materials and techniques can create a space that’s the height of contemporary cool

HOME TRUTHS

THE PROPERTY Victorian semi-detached house

ROOMS Sitting room, internal courtyard, open-plan kitchen-diner, cloakroom, study, three bedrooms, two bathrooms

LOCATION Southeast London

KITCHEN

This has immaculate eco credentials as well as bags of extra bench storage to accommodate Sharon and Lucas’ love of cooking. Bespoke units and Silestone worktops, designed by Emil Eve and built by Evoke Projects. Cabinets in Basalt, Little Greene. Ceiling pendant lights, Spark & Bell. Polished concrete flooring, Lazenby

DINING AREA

The timber structure, pendant and seating fabric have a distinctly Japanese vibe, influenced by the pair’s visits to that country. Similar Ercol table, Pamono. Heritage chairs by Ercol, Heal’s. Seating designed by Emil Eve, in Chenoa in Indigo by Scion

When Sharon Lee and Lucas Dussurget decided to renovate their home in an ecofriendly way, they gave themselves time to discover what they wanted. ‘We lived in the house for a while before we made changes,’ says Sharon. ‘We wanted to get to know the space, to see how the light travels.’ The couple’s first step was to commission architects Emma and Ross Perkin of Emil Eve to help them revision the layout and oversee the project. Their brief to the architects was for a ‘generous entertaining space, lots of storage, natural light, two sinks in the en-suite bathroom – and somewhere to hide the cat’s litter tray!’

Overall, the aim was to create a more open-plan feel, while still retaining the sense of separate living spaces, each with its own identity. The sitting room – created from two reception rooms knocked into one – is cosy and has comfortable seating, a log burner and a piano. It leads to a small outdoor area, inspired by the traditional courtyards Sharon enjoyed while she was growing up in Hong Kong. This living space in turn connects to the more contemporary open-plan extended kitchen-diner where pancake brunches and long evenings of entertaining take place. ‘We’re total foodies,’ says Sharon. ‘One of the main reasons we chose our home is because it’s around the corner from an enclave of interesting and diverse restaurants. We love to cook and entertain and during the summer months, the garden becomes an extra dining room.’

SITTING ROOM

A glazed wall (above) enhances the connection between the living spaces. Try Havwoods’ Chevron oak flooring. Wall in Olive Colour, Little Greene

BATHROOM

‘Like the sitting room walls, the tiles were inspired by the soothing hues of the forests of Japan,’ says Sharon. Lume Green gloss porcelain tiles