Take a Tour of This Beautiful Home in Hampstead, London
My favorite home tour in London so far, the flat tour, is with an interior designer, and it's of her beautiful home in Hampstead.
What is incredibly unique about Jolie's home is that each piece in the space tells a story about her experience or how she likes to spend time with her family.
Let's head over to Jolie's and have her give us a tour of her incredible family home.
Open layout
I love having an open layout and an open kitchen; it's so important. We're always all in the same room at the same time, but we need to be doing different activities, and I think that's the most special part about this home.
It means simultaneously having all the different stations and things people do in the same space.
Having the big windows in this space, I love looking out at the green wall in the back of the garden.
The garden is just the center of the house and feels like another room. I like the idea that nothing sticks out when you're in a space.
The role of color
I painted my house on the lower ground floor a deep gray a few years ago, maybe three or four years ago, and everything was white. I felt very claustrophobic. When I painted it dark, I found that every piece I had in the house stood out more.
If you have white walls and everything, your colors get lost, and everything sort of blends into the background, and things look much more cluttered.
I love that there's also a little element of drama when you have contrasting colors, and it just gives it so much more life and character. It's north-facing, so I sort of just went with what the light was telling me to do
Master suite
My favorite room other than this main area is our master. It is subtle, and it's light and bright. It feels like a retreat.
Especially with the closet bath.
It's calming. There's nothing more beautiful than just waking up in the morning and opening the window. We're just so lucky to have so much green around us. I think it is just my favorite place in the house.
My daughter's room
We've got a loud, intense wallpaper in there, and it's so much fun. It feels like a little escape being in there; I love it. I love just lying in there and reading the books, and you feel like you're just kind of someplace else
Garden area
It is not a big garden, just a tiny little guy, but it does exactly what we need to do. We have incredible barbecues out there. Sometimes, I like to lay out a whole picnic blanket and tables and cushions on the floor, and we'll have lunches out there.
We get the chalk out and paint all over the walls. It's just such a nice thing to have, especially overlock. It was just a blessing in the summer. It's amazing to lie down on the outdoor sofa and just like drink wine, read books, and hang out
Living room
When we first moved here, one of my biggest things was that I wanted an open fireplace. It's so important. One of our favorite things is sitting at the coffee table on the floor, having a fire, and playing chess.
The green sofa has been with me for years; it was one of the first grown-up pieces I ever bought.
When you have a really good piece of furniture like that, it should stay with you for as long as possible because you can always give it a new life.
Kitchen and dining room
This wall with the exposed brick is a feature of our kitchen, along with a blackboard where my daughter plans her activities and meals for the day.
It's just one little wall next to our refrigerator, and it's super useful. We like to use it if we're feeling extra pretentious to write the menu out on it or just let the kids go crazy with drawing.
The dining area is everything; I love it.
We entertain a lot, have a lot of dinner parties, and have kids over all the time. They're friends, and it's a nice space to gather with the whole family.
Nothing in the house tries to steal the show; it works together. What it's all about, I think, is bringing nature and elements into the home, like raw organic shapes.
I think it's important to incorporate that, especially when you have more of a contemporary interior to soften it. Plants bring you joy; they just are joy and happiness and health, so I think color and the texture of that alone is all you need
Lighting
For me, everything in interiors is about lighting. There's no point in spending money on your sofa, chairs, or countertop if you don't have the right lighting. The interior has to be intentional. It has to work.
I think the biggest thing I've learned is working with the weather, so London is always gray and kind of cold, and so art, you see it in fashion like our outfits reflect that. If you go on the underground, everybody's wearing black and gray. You just follow the weather, so I think in interiors, I do that too.
Textures and patterns
It's gray, subdued, toned down, but then you bring life into it with the texture, patterns, and plants. I'll get the samples, put them together, and see how they react.
They don't have to match but need to talk and speak to each other. Of course, I have to incorporate a little pink and softness, but I think it's just finding that balance, especially with the dark walls. I have worked with many clients on tight budgets, and you have to be extra creative, which I like. I think it's fun
Home tour in London
I hope you enjoyed the home tour in London. Did you get any inspiration for your own home? Share your ideas in the comments below.
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