No.3
Space wasn’t an issue in Laura and Angus Stanning’s detached house but reconfiguring the layout has been transformative
HOME TRUTHS
Detached house
Open-plan kitchendiner, family room, library/snug, utility/ boot room, cloakroom, five bedrooms, three bathrooms
South London
What started as a helping hand transforming Angus and Laura Stanning’s dated dining area turned into a full-blown renovation project for interior designer Charlotte Fox of Foxglove House. The couple wanted a comfortable and stylish family-friendly home that would work for them and their son Ali. ‘We weren’t after a show home and Charlotte understood that straight away; as a mother herself, she knew how vital storage would be and suggested realistic options for furniture,’ explains Laura. ‘I liked her ideas so much that the project developed from changing just one space to making over every room in the house! Charlotte gave us the confidence to see we needed to totally shift the layout of our downstairs and then we just worked our way upwards from there.’
The family had lived in the detached house in south London for around five years before renovating in 2021, but as Ali got older and playdates became a regular feature of their lives, they realised they needed to make changes to suit their needs as a family. Laura and Angus had decided to open up the kitchen by extending the back of the house, but weren’t sure what to do with the new space they would have and found there were large pockets of the ground floor that weren’t being used.
‘Space wasn’t an issue but it wasn’t being used wisely,’ says Charlotte. The double-fronted house had a vast open-plan hall, which the couple used as a dining area for the occasional dinner party, but it had predominantly become a dumping ground for prams and packages. Despite having the potential for stunning views over the garden, the back of the house was largely shut off, with a dark living room at the centre of the property. ‘I suggested that we turn the front of the house into a more grown-up library and snug room by installing a bespoke half-glazed panelled wall. At the rear, we knocked through from the kitchen to create a wonderful light-filled orangery dining area with vast windows out to the garden and opened up further internally to let light into what is now the family room. We also added a new boot room and utility to create much-needed storage.’
