Keeping it in the family

Founder of Aurelia London, Claire Vero, and her husband are the newest generation to make this former vicarage their own, with a compelling mix of colour, art and comfort

- Natasha Radmehr

A basic bathroom was never going to cut it for Claire Vero. The founder of probiotic skincare brand Aurelia London, she perhaps understands more than most the importance of selfcare. So when the time came to renovate her Georgian home in Surrey, she didn't hold back. As part of the complete re-imagination of the house, the interior design studio Salvesen Graham was tasked with transforming a series of rooms on the first floor - including a large billiards area - into a luxurious master suite containing a bedroom, two dressing rooms and a double-aspect bathroom with a roll-top bath, fireplace and heated marble floor. "It's not every day you get to hang four pairs of curtains in a bathroom," laughs Nicole Salvesen, co-founder of the London design firm.

It's just one of the many ways in which the Old Vicarage has been designed for living: not just a beautiful life, but a comfortable one. You may recognise Salvesen and fellow cofounder Mary Graham as designers who possess a masterful skill for layering art, colour, and texture, and whose classical training with industry stalwarts such as Nina Campbell and Cindy Leveson nourished a knack for blending heritage style with a modern flair. You might even have spotted products they've designed - from playful gingham fabrics and striped wallpaper to an award-winning scalloped rug-in projects by other interior designers. But beyond the aesthetics, it's their ability to translate how a client wants to live that underpins everything they do.