Emma Jennings’ Victorian terrace has had a timeless update that will serve her and her family for years to come
FEATURE JULIET BENNING
SITTING ROOM
Blue details unite this elegant scheme. The full length of the fabric draws the eye up to the tall ceiling.
HOME TRUTHS
THE PROPERTY Victorian terraced house, built in 1870
ROOMS Sitting room, dining room, kitchen, family room, laundry room, utility room, three bedrooms, three bathrooms
LOCATION West London
DINING ROOM
The table base responds to the striking ceiling light.
LANDING
Free from any dressing, this grand window makes a strong statement.
When Emma Jennings and her husband Andrew first moved to London from abroad they had no idea how long they were likely to stay so began searching for rental accommodation. Twelve years later, and now with two children and a small dog, they own the home that captured their imagination all that time ago. ‘As soon as we saw it, we just loved it – it’s a house with so much story. It transports you to another time and place. We still go away now and come back to be awed again by the beautiful bones of the house and its high ceilings,’ Emma enthuses.
As tenants, Emma and Andrew inherited the owner’s mustard-coloured damask wallpapers, silk curtains and dark burgundy lower ground floor rooms. ‘It was very sumptuous and beautiful but it just wasn’t our style. We lived with it for several years but when the owner decided to sell the house, it felt like a turning point for us to put down more permanent roots so we bought it,’ Emma explains.
‘The house had been vastly improved some 20 years ago by previous owners. Before that, we heard that it had been structurally unsound and unsafe in some places, but by the time we came to our renovation, the improvements needed were mostly cosmetic,’ Emma says. She called upon Kate Kengelbach, an interior designer she knew through friends. ‘Kate’s taste is so elegant and understated. She is also really true to the integrity of the period houses she works on. I knew that if I had to go away, I would return and approve of everything she had decided on,’ Emma says. ‘I love the eclectic look of a genuine Victorian interior, but in our case I wanted to use more modern colours and plenty of blue tones.’
KITCHEN
A narrow island ensures there is plenty of circulation space.
