Surrey Homes | SH45 | July 2018 | Interiors supplement inside

This page: The front door
opens into the kitchen. The
units are from Jewsons and
the encaustic tiles are from
Encaustic Tiles Ltd
waxed to intensify the colour and protect the paint.
Downstairs, the living room/office and kitchen/dining
room are open plan and engineered oak flooring has been
laid throughout for uniformity. Both rooms have windows
to the front and rear, so light floods in most of the day.
“When I first arrived, the main room was already knocked
through, so I didn’t have to do any major structural work.”
The majority of the building work on the ground floor was
focused on creating the spacious kitchen diner. The small
downstairs bathroom was ripped out to make way for the
dining area and a skylight fitted to introduce yet more light.
Slate grey kitchen units from Jewsons were cleverly
customised by Melanie’s uncle and their modern, no-nonsense
utilitarian feel is softened by quartz sandstone worktops.
“The quartz adds a bit of sparkle and glamour,” she
says. Her signature pop of pattern is present in the form of
Moroccan jewel-coloured encaustic tiles sourced in London.
“I laid them out like a patchwork quilt and I love the
fact that they introduce a riot of colour to the kitchen.”
A vintage painted cupboard houses her collection of
glass and crockery and a Georgian folding leaf dining
table purchased in Somerset is positioned by the window
that overlooks the front garden. Next door, although the
living room and combined office is long and narrow,
81 surrey-homes.co.uk