British interior design studio Yellow London, founded by Cath Beckett and Liv Wallers, has created a colourful family home in Chelsea featuring bold and unexpected pattern

The client brief was to create a home full of warmth and personality that also maximised the space available; the owners were downsizing from a larger house in the country and wanted their new home to be tailored to suit their new lifestyle.

The cleverly designed space includes a neutral colour palette in the common parts of the house, allowing for stronger colours and patterns to be used in the rooms without being too overpowering, encouraging a real sense of arrival for the key spaces.

During the renovation, Yellow London relocated the kitchen and dining areas to the ground floor to create a brighter area for the family to spend time in. Yellow London installed Crittal windows in the dining room extension, which overlooks the back garden, which creates a feeling of space by imbuing the room with an abundance of natural light.

A bespoke kitchen by Mark Plant was designed with off-white shaker cabinetry, contrasted by a soft grey island, both featuring smart Armac Martin ironmongery. In the adjoining dining area, a modern handmade Tom Faulkner dining table complements antique bamboo chairs from the Blanchard Collective, sprayed in grey gloss to match the kitchen island and upholstered in woven Christopher Farr fabric.

The client’s favourite ochre yellow pineapple wallpaper from Soane formed the starting point for the living room, which is layered with texture and colour inspired by much loved artworks, creating a sophisticated yet intimate design scheme. Elegant high-gloss olive green demi lune consoles by Christopher Clark Workshop create symmetrical balance for the alcoves either side of the fireplace and a favourite sofa was re-upholstered in Pierre Frey Bridget bouclé fabric. Antique chairs and coffee tables from Blanchard Collective juxtapose the contemporary pieces and create a sense of heritage and timelessness in the room. 

On the top floor, a bright and feminine pastel scheme in the main bedroom was built around Bennison’s Songbird – Pink Green on Oyster fabric, which was chosen long before the renovation work started. The colour of the pink walls was carefully matched to the background of the fabric and a new custom headboard and bedside lampshades made in the same fabric were introduced for a cohesive and thoughtfully designed bedroom.

The first guest bedroom features a blue and brown floral fabric from Cloth and Clover, which was used for the roman blinds and is paired with a matching blue stripe for the headboard and bed valance. In the second guest room the client hoped to recreate a previous Yellow London project which incorporated matching wallpaper and headboard fabric and did so with a striped Thibaut pattern which was lined up precisely. The guest bathroom is calm with a monochrome colour palette and the existing round mirror above the basin has been repainted in burgundy gloss for a pop of colour.

Making the most of every corner of the home, a large armchair has been recovered in Susan Delis fabric to add an inviting splash of colour to a reading nook on the first floor. Under the stairs, on the lower-ground floor, built-in timber wine storage with a wine fridge leads to the utility room.

The home office features a custom desk and bespoke high-gloss reeded cabinet crafted by Lyden Architectural Joinery. A curated colour scheme of red and pink accents features throughout the lower-ground floor, including a De La Cuona ottoman in the TV room, which is separated from the home office by an anteroom lined with bookshelves and a freestanding cabinet.

Liv Wallers of Yellow London says of the project, “Downsizing can be a difficult process but we really enjoyed helping our clients to create a perfect London home after many years in the country. The house is filled with colour and pattern to bring a joyful atmosphere, while the neutral backdrops stop it from feeling overpowering. We have incorporated treasured family items and introduced new pieces, many of which were custom made for the space; there is harmony between the old and new, the bright and pared back.”

Cath Becket is co-founder of Yellow London, you can take a tour of her colourful flat here