SIGNATURE STYLE

Philip Shaw enlisted the help of an interior design studio to bring a sense of contemporary cool to his classic cottage

- EMMA J PAGE

HOME TRUTHS

THE PROPERTY Victorian terrace

LOCATION Southwest London

ROOMS Sitting room, living room, kitchen-diner, cloakroom, three bedrooms, bathroom

PURCHASED 2020

PREVIOUS PROPERTY 'We moved here from a flat in the former BBC building in White City,' says Philip.

Functional but fun,' is how Philip Shaw describes the London home he shares with his fiancée Helena, and evidence of this appraisal is quickly apparent upon arrival at the pair's London cottage. A luxurious cloakroom is papered in a boldly reimagined William Morris print; storage abounds, but in the form of unusual mid-century and vintage pieces and a highly practical kitchen is painted in a zingy mid-tone blue.

It's a contemporary treatment that brings this compact space up to date while respecting its period origins. But its reinvention was not initially on the cards. When I found this place, I intended only to give it a lick of paint and to remove some dated kitchen tiles,' says Philip. But on closer inspection, I could see there was so more potential to unlock: carpets needed removing, the kitchen replacing, joinery reworked and the interiors stripping back.'