Many of you may recognise the owner of this real home tour we dug out of House and Home's archive. Now, co-founder of East Coast Bakehouse, newest Dragon, Alison Cowzer's place featured in House and Home some years ago, so it would be rude not to revisit it. Read on and take a tour of her home and see what it looked like in 2011!
Alison Cowzer is a talented renovator who remains undaunted at the prospect of resurrecting a wreck, which is probably why her family home is such a success story. The Edwardian house is now a complete contrast to its former incarnation as a ramshackle building full of bedsits, thanks to Alison’s past experience and sheer good taste.
(words: Eimear Nic an Bhaird photos: Paul Sherwood)
It’s hard to believe that this was a dank and gloomy house when Alison first viewed it. Now light floods right through, thanks to luxuriously large windows and judicious colour schemes, not to mention the beautiful canvas of the old Edwardian building with its gloriously high ceilings.
Beautiful stained glass makes a distinguished entrance and adds colour and pattern while still letting light pour into the house. An ornate mirror and modern sculpture finish it off to give a grand yet modern effect.
The soothing green on this wall picks up on the detailing in the fireplace, and is carried through quite subtly in the soft furnishings.
Folding doors lead from the living room into the dining room, allowing the area to stretch seamlessly from the front of the house to the back, while still giving the option of closing the rooms off from one another if a more cosy and compact space is required.
A cleverly chosen rich shade of red on this wall in the dining room is bound to stimulate the appetite. As with most other rooms in the house, Alison has adopted a failsafe formula that combines one of the beautiful fireplaces with a large mirror and a strategically placed piece of sculpture to produce an elegant look.
Striving to open up the house to the light of the outdoors to the greatest extent possible, Alison’s extension at the back of the house pulls in the garden to add an open airy feel.
The bright modern kitchen is sleek and streamlined, probably the most modern part of the house.
The luxurious master bedroom is a carefully balance of colour, pattern and texture. An outsized headboard picks up on the soothing colour of the walls and is complemented by a smattering of cushions in similar tones, and a glossy throw to complete the look.
With an adjacent area for relaxing in, the master bedroom bears a strong resemblance to a suite in a luxury hotel. Throughout the house Alison has capitalised on the space at hand and created sprawling rooms that are further enhanced by the high Edwardian ceilings.
Tell us what you think:
We love how Alison's home combines modern living with Edwardian luxury. If you had to choose a favourite room in this house, which would it be? Tell us in a comment!
