Wealden Times | WT245 | October 2022 | Kitchen & Bathroom Supplement inside

Above: On the back wall of the kitchen next to the Karlsson
flip clock is some original artwork bought from a Japanese
artist living in Edinburgh Right: A traditional mountain
scene painting has been given a subtle contemporary
treatment with the playful addition of a McDonald’s sign
“I painted one wall copper! And navy blue was really in
at the time, but there were hardly any windows, I don’t
know what I was thinking because it made it really dark.”
Moving back into the lounge, beneath the wall print is
a stylish radiator cover from Famgizmo which doubles up
as a shelf, zhooshed up with Lick paint and a rattan cover.
The TV unit, an Ikea hack, is accessorised with reclaimed
scaffold boards and elevated with hairpin legs, giving the
illusion of space, essential in a room with low ceilings.
Glancing through the patio doors to my right, I spot a
balcony and beyond it the lush greenery of the riverbank,
in the background a faint hum purrs soothingly from
the river below. I start to imagine long summer evenings
spent there post work, unwinding with a book or perhaps
enjoying an al fresco supper together. But Sophia explains
that it’s currently a workshop for many of the pieces she
makes herself, “The balcony is a bit of a work in progress,
I do a lot of my spray painting and painting out here.”
Back in the lounge the seating area is a cosy little
corner made up of a rather fetching fluffy white
armchair from Habitat, a second hand steal at just £45
and upholstered by Sophia. There is also an accessible
armchair for James who is a wheelchair user, and the
charcoal sofa from John Lewis is another bargain,
furnished underfoot with a washable rug from Ruggable,
bedecking the timber floor installed by James’s dad.
Family is an integral part of Sophia and James’s
lives with little reminders cued throughout their
home bringing loved ones closer. “I like to use little
memory triggers, to remember my dad or granny
and what I recall of them,” Sophia explains.
Sitting on the refurbished bamboo coffee table,
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