Surrey Homes | SH33 | July 2017 | Interiors supplement inside

Previous pages: Striped tins that once held soap are
arranged on the console table in the spare bedroom.
The candlesticks alongside them were found in the
antique emporia around St Leonards’ Norman Road
Above: The striking drawing room features wonderfully
large windows which span the full length from floor
to ceiling Right: Boris the wild boar head is mounted
on the wall above a French army folding table
From the moment you walk into Karen Hahnel’s
ground floor St Leonards apartment your face
changes – and with every step further inside it gets
more pronounced. Your eyes widen, your eyebrows travel
progressively up your head and your mouth drops open.
Wow. Wow. Wow. It’s the wow factor writ large – very large.
Not just in the fabulous proportions of the main room,
with its three metre plus ceilings (with original mouldings)
and dramatic dark red marble fireplace, which was once in
a reception room in a major Victorian house. Nor even the
huge window, right down to the floor giving onto a sea view.
Although all of these are ticks on the dream home wish
list, what makes Karen’s flat so impressive is the way she’s
taken on the massive scale of the place – and run with it.
So there’s no pussyfooting around here with mimsy inperiod
chandeliers, instead the ceiling light is a huge 1950s
55 wealdentimes.co.uk