'I'm inspired by french style'

Classic design and statement pieces were at the top of the list for Lucy and her French husband Adrian when it came to completely renovating their flata

- By Stephanie Smith

COME ON IN!

ABOUT ME I'm Lucy Robinson, 31, a journalist, and I live here with my husband, Adrian Maganza, 34, a storyboard artist, and our baby, Rumi, who was one in March.

MY HOME A split-level, two-bedroom Victorian top-floor flat in north London which we moved into in May 2019.

WHEN WE MOVED IN It was dark and scruffy with lots of potential but badly laid out - not to mention the mice and the damp!

AND NOW We've achieved a calm oasis with oak flooring throughout and a monochrome paint palette for the main rooms. We added lots of character with colourful accessories, metallic touches and artwork.

STYLE TIP Use sheepskin pads to soften any chair and provide instant comfy appeal.

This is the first place we've bought together and we were seduced by its quirky charm and enormous potential, says Lucy.

'Before this we'd lived in rented flats, first of all in Paris, where we were both working, and then in north London, but we had decided it was time to buy. We'd been saving up and looking around and were disappointed there wasn't much on the market because we really wanted to stay in the same area.

We saw a few one-bedroom flats in the same price range as this one, which were already done up, but this flat really appealed to us even though it was in a terrible state. It had been rented out to students for around 20 years, so you can imagine how scruffy it was! But it had two bedrooms and was arranged over two floors, which we really liked, plus it had a small roof garden, which was the icing on the cake.

Making plans