IDEAS HOME
FIONA LE NEVEU’S CUSTOM-BUILT STORAGE AND CLEAN, COHESIVE STYLE ARE KEY TO A CALM INTERIOR AND SMOOTH-RUNNING FAMILY LIFE
HOME NOTES
Fiona and Daniel Le Neveu live here with children Anna, 10, Thomas, six, and Sophie, three. Fiona and Daniel run a building company.
A five-bedroomed, three-storey Victorian terrace in Mumbles, South Wales.
Living room
‘I wanted the house to flow, so I’ve used neutrals everywhere as my base, with a highlight colour to give each room its own feel,’ says Fiona. ‘I chose blue for this room, inspired by artworks we bought from a local gallery.’
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THE LAYOUT
The open-plan living room is divided from the hallway by glass sliding doors. Another glass door leads to the kitchen-dining room in the extension. On the first floor, the main bedroom has a new en suite, and there are two bedrooms with a bathroom, with two bedrooms and a bathroom on the second floor.
Eventhough they took a considered approach to renovating their family home, Fiona and Daniel certainly did not stint on style. Giving their interior designer a very specific brief about their taste and preferences helped them break out of their style comfort zone to create a comfortable interior with practical extras that works for everyone.
WHAT PROMPTED YOU TO BUY THIS HOUSE?
‘I’m very familiar with this area as I holidayed here with my Welsh grandmother when I was growing up. I’d always imagined coming back and bringing up my own three children here. Dan and I wanted an older house, with period features, which we could turn into a practical and comfortable family home. This property had a lovely, happy feel and great views – it’s handy for the shops and the beach – plus there were five good-sized bedrooms.
WHAT WAS IT LIKE INSIDE, AND WHAT CHANGES DID YOU ENVISAGE?
‘The interior was in reasonable condition, but just not what we wanted. Some of the period charm was missing, and everything was quite tired. The kitchen was long and narrow and we quickly realised we wanted to widen it with a side-return extension and lots of glass, to make a modern, family kitchen-diner. The other must-haves for the ground floor were a utility area and a cloakroom. We saw we could reconfigure upstairs, adding an en suite in the main bedroom, as well as a bathroom on each floor.
HOW DID YOU MANAGE THE WORK?
‘Although Dan and I are both involved in property development, we knew we just didn’t have the time to run our own renovation. I had a clear vis
