'A mono theme is SO SERENE'

Using classic design and a monochrome palette, Jenny has turned an unloved rental property into a truly stylish and elegant family home

- STEPHANIE SMITH

When we moved to west London from Essex for work, we wanted to find a house we could really make our mark on, and an unloved rental with bags of potential caught our eye,’ says Jenny. ‘It was in a really bad condition, but there was a large loft space that had never been converted, plus room to extend the kitchen and put in a garden office, which would tick all our boxes and mean we could have exactly what we wanted.

It’s rare these days to find somewhere that’s quite so untouched – usually they’ve been snapped up by builders.

First steps

Once we’d secured the house, we set about finding both a designer and a builder to help us realise our plans. We were lucky because we found two in one. Husband and wife team Dagmara of Hexadot Designs and Artan of Artan Lenja were recommended to us by the estate agents. They each run separate businesses, but obviously they work really well together. She is the interior designer and project manager, and he is on the construction side, so between them they could tell me what was possible and then make it a reality. After getting a couple more quotes, we knew they were the right fit, and the work was scheduled to begin.

COME ON IN!

ABOUT ME I’m Jenny Lee, a charity volunteer, and I live here with my husband Jason, a sales director, and sons Mark, 17, and Michael, 13.

MY HOME A three-bed, three-storey Edwardian terrace in west London, which we moved into in January 2020.

WHEN WE MOVED IN After years of being rented out, everything had been ruined and needed replacing.