We paid a visit to this inviting family home near Finsbury Park to discover more about its warm, friendly interiors – inspired by characterful London.
Armed with ginormous Bramley apples, some kind of strange berry foliage and the heaviest black cooking pot I possess, I made my way towards Finsbury Park to the home of Rebecca Constable and her family. With only a few minutes left of my journey, it was quite the sight as I drove over a hill, and suddenly there in front of me were gorgeous terraced houses and, in the distance, a panoramic view of London and the Shard. The scene was pretty perfect, seeing as the kitchen I was just about to visit was inspired by our vibrant capital.
As I began to style the shoot with props to bake a warm and comforting (just like her home) apple crumble, I asked Rebecca how the renovation came together…
So, when did you move in?
“We moved here eight years ago, when my youngest was three weeks old. It was a family home, but it was very worn and hadn’t been touched for around 30 years, and we have slowly been doing it up over all this time. We finished the renovations by concentrating on the downstairs. We extended out, completing a side-return extension. It’s amazing how much extra room you get; it was only this little slither at the side of the garden, but it’s transformed the space.”
How did you start the process of designing your kitchen?
“I started looking on Pinterest and Instagram as I’d been saving kitchen inspiration pictures for years after we moved in. We wanted a fairly traditional in-frame kitchen with a slightly modern Shaker look to reflect the fact that it’s a Victorian townhouse in London.”
What was on the wishlist?
“A gas hob, a pantry, plus a picture window. In terms of what it looked like, we wanted something that was totally timeless and not trendy. We decided to paint the kitchen in Arras by Little Greene as I always associate the colour red with London, but this shade is such a rich warm tone. The main thing we wanted to ensure was that it was warm and inviting, not clinical and harsh.”
Why did you choose this kitchen layout?
“We worked alongside Marek from Burston Architects to look at various layouts for the kitchen. We knew we wanted to prioritise a large dining area as we often host lots of people, and we also really wanted a picture window and doors rather than the whole back being fully glazed. This layout allows us to have a big dining area with banquette seating (which also doubles as extra storage) and it gives us a large island, too, for people to gather around when we’re cooking etc.”
Who made your kitchen for you?
“The boundary wall in our garden is at an angle, which means the end of the kitchen is about one-metre narrower than the top, so we knew if we were to have the cabinetry on that wall we would need to get a bespoke kitchen to make the most of the space. We decided to use Louis Baker, who is a brilliant joiner and carpenter to do this for us. He had done some work for us before and we knew the quality would be brilliant – so we were confident he’d be able to create anything we came up with.”
Why did you choose these appliances?
“Weirdly, one of the first things we knew we wanted to include in the kitchen was the Barazza hob, which sits totally flush with the worktop and is beautiful to look at, unlike most gas hobs. The narrow island was perfect for it. Also important was a double fridge-freezer – in 10 years time, when the children will be big, I’m sure I’ll need to be able to store 10 frozen pizzas for emergencies.”
And how about the rest of the living space?
“I needed to ensure our middle room didn’t become a walkway when we did the side-return extension, so we decided to make that room the TV snug room. And, I knew I wanted to have bookshelves that wrapped around the walls, not only for practical reasons but also to create that cocooning sense. I love the way they frame the entrance to the kitchen. The furniture was made by Louis Baker, who made our kitchen. It has loads of adjustable shelves and we also use it to store the kids’ toys as well as our books.”
Did you do much to the upstairs?
“We didn’t do any structural work, apart from removing the chimney-breast in our bathroom and raising the ceiling slightly into the eaves in the kids’ bathroom. We’ve redecorated each room bit by bit. When we first moved in, we didn’t use the top floor of the house as we only had one child, so it allowed us to slowly redecorate the rooms.
“The big changes are probably the bathrooms, both of which we completely removed and redid. The kids’ bathroom we did around seven years ago, and we finished our bathroom about two years ago, so it’s been a slow process of saving and doing bits when we could afford to.”
There’s a bit of a surprise in your bathroom, isn’t there…
“Yes! I am a big advocate of planning in laundry rooms upstairs as that is where most of the laundry is generated. It saves you from lugging it about. Again, Louis made all the cabinetry and the vanity in our bathroom.
“I wanted it to feel like a luxurious and relaxing space despite it also doubling as a laundry room. My favourite part is the pull out laundry racks. They were something I dreamt up in my plans for the room and Louis made it all come to life. They are super-practical and allow loads of drying space but they can be popped away and you’d never know they were there.”
How do you feel about the space, now it’s all complete?
“I still love coming downstairs in the morning and walking into our kitchen. It’s so bright and welcoming that even when I’m sleep deprived it feels like such a blessing to be able to cook and do life in this space. There’s room for everyone to do their own thing without being on top of each other.
“The living room really shines during the winter, with a fire roaring and all the lamps on. It feels like something out of a movie. I can’t believe how fortunate we are as a family to have this space to live in and invite people into.”
Photography: Kayley Trippick | Styling: Georgina Townshend
This house tour was featured in the February 2025 issue of Kitchens Bedrooms & Bathrooms magazine.
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