Natural beauty

In the sitting room, a mohair sofa and armchair upholstered in Jasper heavy weight linen, both from Rose Uniacke, are arranged around a Robert Kime ottoman covered in Arley Print in Lagoon by Lee Jofa. Walls in Farrow & Ball’s Lamp Room Gray are a perfect foil for the paintings by Venetia Syms.

Situated in a bustling, village-like borough of North London, within walking distance of a number of idyllic green spaces, this Arts and Crafts home boasts an appealing balance of town and country. It was the perfect find for Bronwyn Preston, her husband, Grant Hill, and her 14-year-old son, Finn, who divide their time between Los Angeles and London. “I felt that there was no better area for us, the location is unbeatable,” she says.

Attracted to the innate character of period buildings, Bronwyn was charmed by the Victorian property, which was originally built late in the 19th century on a former Eton College estate, before being converted into eight separate flats in the 1980s. “I wanted the place that we bought to feel like a London flat and not like something we could find anywhere else,” she adds.

While its red brick exterior and period detailing captured Bronwyn’s eye, the flat’s interior felt outdated. “I don’t think anything had changed since the 1980s in terms of fittings and tiles and so on. It was also very diddy and the rooms felt cramped,” she explains. Deeming a blank canvas the best place to start, she and Grant completely gutted the flat and altered the layout to open up the rooms into larger, brighter spaces.

Originally, Bronwyn and Grant were travelling back and forth from America to oversee the renovation work, an arduous task which was complicated further when Covid unexpectedly hit. Luckily, they had been introduced to interior designer Pandora Taylor via their contractors at Wishbone Build and hired her to assist them in creating their dream home. “We needed a designer because we were doing this long distance and Pandora became even more critical as Covid hit,” explains Bronwyn. “We weren’t able to travel, so we were absolutely reliant on her and she, without fail, executed it all brilliantly.”

After the building work was complete and with a strong foundation to build upon, attention turned to decoration. Working collaborativ