FAMILY HOME
ERICA DAVIES AND JAMES CLENCH LEFT CITY LIVING FOR A NEW BUILD IN THE COUNTRY AND TOTALLY TRANSFORMED IT
Living room
‘When we first moved in, this room was magnolia and I wanted to warm it up. I’d seen this paint colour in a friend’s house years before and knew this triple-aspect space could handle such a deep colour.’
BUY THE KEY PIECES
Walls in Juniper Ash, £52 for 2.5ltr, Little Greene. Bagsie sofa, £2,945, Loaf. Matthew Williamson pouffe, £150, John Lewis & Partners
UNIFIED SCHEME
Woodwork painted the same shade as the walls creates a cocooning effect
THE LAYOUT
Leading off the hallway is a triple-aspect living room, TV room, office and the kitchen/breakfast room, which opens on to the family room. Upstairs is a galleried landing with four bedrooms, two bathrooms and the main bedroom suite, which includes a dressing room and en-suite bathroom.
Addingpersonality to a new build can be tricky, but Erica Davies has filled her home with colour, prints and unexpected design choices to create a family home that is both comfortable and practical and still packs a punch
HOW DID YOU END UP HERE?
‘After years of living in a Victorian house in southeast London, it was time to move out of the capital and so we started looking around north Essex. We arranged a day to view several houses and I went to see this one under duress; it was a new build and I had never lived in one before. But I remember walking in and thinking “Oh, I actually really like it!” I couldn’t believe the space. The house wasn’t decorated to my taste – it was very white and beige and the kitchen was dark with French doors leading into a conservatory which would be too hot in summer and too cold in winter. We knew we would want to turn it into a functional family space. That aside, we fell in love with the house and the surrounding countryside.’
HOW MANY CHANGES HAVE YOU MADE?
‘The conservatory was knocked down in the summer of 2016 and replaced with a practical family space leading off the kitchen, with a tiled roof, Velux windows and bifold doors. The tired carpets throughout were ripped up and replaced downstairs with a mix of modern encaustic tiles and wooden flooring, with floorboards, tiles and new carpet upstairs. We’ve also renovated the family bathroom recently and everywhere has been painted or wallpapered as it had felt cold and impersonal. I lo
