Brighton House 3

Kate and Ken’s Edwardian style period home in Brighton was ripe for a major renovation that involved opening up the back of the house, demolishing the awkward old kitchen layout and creating more functional open living spaces that flowed within the floorplan. With an established garden and pool as the backdrop, their vision was to create an open plan kitchen with a central island connected to a large family meals and living space with floor-to-ceiling windows looking out onto the garden. The modern kitchen design features a light timber island flanked by a background of London White marble in the full height splashback and surrounding benchtops. To add an artistic feel and break up the general ceiling lighting, a cluster of hand-blown organic shaped glass pendants by lighting designer Mark Douglass makes a statement above the island. The clients have a love of reading and wanted a purpose built wall-to-wall library to house their extensive book collection. Susie Miles Design collaborated closely with Made Studio and designed a bespoke handsome wall of dark Walnut stained American Oak cabinetry, detailed with aged brass shelf dividers and knife pleated cupboard doors. The contemporary interior design theme in the library continued, with a year spent sourcing the right pendant to finish off the space. A striking modern chandelier detailed in brass, black and white glass was installed, replacing the old glass pendant and making a statement in the Edwardian ceiling sconce. Furnishings and fabrics sourced by Susie for the library included calming colours of greens and creams in velvets and lush textures sitting on the Eucalyptus themed rug designed by Catherine Martin, paying reference to the original period ceiling sconce with its Eucalyptus leaves above. Bedrooms and living spaces throughout the home have been softened with sheer curtains, soft Roman blinds and custom bedroom design elements including a designer chair upholstered in a bold patterned velvet. Carefully sourced artworks that the client was drawn to were brought in to complement the colour scheme, and the 5 metre long hallway was brought to life with a gallery style hanging of over 30 of the clients’ personal framed family photos, creating a memorabilia wall they love walking past.  The result is a home renovation with a complete transformation from ugly duckling to elegant swan, with a contemporary vibe and flowing spaces - thoughtfully designed with high-quality materials and gorgeous designer touches.