Creative thinking

Fashion designers Emma and Nick Rossi have mixed styles and colours to create a unique home

Living room

The couple have chosen simple, classic furniture with opulent, ornate light fittings, mirrors and accessories to make a space that’s full of detail, but feels calm and luxurious.

Nick and Emma had been living in a small Victorian terrace in Battersea, London, with their two girls, Minnie and Alberta. ‘We were working hard and saving up for a bigger property in a more family-friendly area,’ says Emma. ‘When I became pregnant with Federico, the need for extra space became an absolute priority, so we focussed on finding the right home.

‘We fell in love with this house the minute we saw it. In the leafy suburbs of Watford, it had once been part of a big manor house and its grounds. It had been divided into two properties in the 1930s. It’s a grand, elegant building covered in wisteria, with an incredible stained-glass window above the front door. The interior didn’t disappoint, either. It had such character and the feeling of space was wonderful. It had strikingly high ceilings, complete with “cake icing” coving, original fireplaces, beautiful double doors opening out to the garden from the living room and lots of other features.