Step Inside an English Designer’s Upbeat Eclectic Home
Watch and read how a designer created a light, airy and colorful kitchen and dining area, and other rooms with drama
Mitchell Parker
May 24, 2022
Houzz Editorial Staff. Home design journalist writing about cool spaces, innovative trends, breaking news, industry analysis and humor.
Houzz Editorial Staff. Home design journalist writing about cool spaces, innovative... More
Coming from a cottage with low ceilings and a closed-in feel, London designer Jessica Spencer wanted to make the main living areas in her new home one big light and airy space. She knocked down walls and relocated rooms to create an expansive kitchen and dining area that enjoys a wall of windows overlooking the backyard. She skipped upper cabinets in the kitchen to amplify the open feel and added a black island to ground the space.
In the dining area, she emphasized an exposed red brick interior wall to add warmth and interest, and she incorporated a collection of knickknacks and mismatched chairs in a range of styles and colors for an eclectic look. In the living room, black walls and a green chesterfield-style sofa create moody drama. And dark accent walls in Spencer’s bedroom, as well as her daughter’s, thread a cohesive look and feel throughout the home.
In the dining area, she emphasized an exposed red brick interior wall to add warmth and interest, and she incorporated a collection of knickknacks and mismatched chairs in a range of styles and colors for an eclectic look. In the living room, black walls and a green chesterfield-style sofa create moody drama. And dark accent walls in Spencer’s bedroom, as well as her daughter’s, thread a cohesive look and feel throughout the home.
House at a Glance
Who lives here: Designer Jessica Spencer of My Bespoke Home, her husband, their daughter and three cats
Location: Bournemouth, England
Size: Three bedrooms, one bathroom
Spencer had just moved in and had a baby when she and her husband started knocking down walls and relocating rooms. “I was a new mother, not really sure what I was doing, and there was brick dust in the air and I was freaking out constantly,” she says. “We wanted to make a big, fabulous entertainment space for our family.”
The now-open and airy kitchen and dining space enjoys sweeping views of the leafy backyard. “This is probably my favorite room in the house,” Spencer says.
Watch now: Go inside this open and airy living space on Houzz TV
Who lives here: Designer Jessica Spencer of My Bespoke Home, her husband, their daughter and three cats
Location: Bournemouth, England
Size: Three bedrooms, one bathroom
Spencer had just moved in and had a baby when she and her husband started knocking down walls and relocating rooms. “I was a new mother, not really sure what I was doing, and there was brick dust in the air and I was freaking out constantly,” she says. “We wanted to make a big, fabulous entertainment space for our family.”
The now-open and airy kitchen and dining space enjoys sweeping views of the leafy backyard. “This is probably my favorite room in the house,” Spencer says.
Watch now: Go inside this open and airy living space on Houzz TV
In the kitchen, Spencer decided not to add any upper cabinets, to maintain the open look and feel. “I felt it was big enough that we could get all the storage we needed with floor-level cabinetry,” she says. “So we skipped the top cabinets entirely. This is a thing people do quite a lot now. Six or seven years ago this was a weird kind of approach to take.… It felt like a controversial choice, but we love it.”
A substantial hood frames an antique-look mirror backsplash (called a splashback in England) that Spencer designed and created herself. Authentic antiqued mirrors were outside of her budget, so she found a piece of heat-proof glass, sprayed it with mirror paint, added some brick acid, threw some dirt on it and applied other distressing methods. “It gave it this antiqued mirror look and cost about [$75],” she says. “It was amazing. And it was one of the best things we did in here.”
The mirror allows Spencer to see and interact with people sitting behind her at the island while she’s busy at the range. “When I’m cooking I can see what my daughter’s doing behind me,” she says. “You can carry on conversations because you’ve still got eye contact. And it bounces that light around the room.”
The perimeter cabinets are a light sage color. The island is a black called Railings by Farrow & Ball, one of Spencer’s favorite colors to use in a home. It appears in her bedroom and living room as well. (See below.) “I love it,” she says. “I put it everywhere I possibly can. The darks have to appear in every room. That’s kind of the red thread that goes throughout the house.”
A bank of windows frames more greenery outside.
Find a kitchen designer near you
A substantial hood frames an antique-look mirror backsplash (called a splashback in England) that Spencer designed and created herself. Authentic antiqued mirrors were outside of her budget, so she found a piece of heat-proof glass, sprayed it with mirror paint, added some brick acid, threw some dirt on it and applied other distressing methods. “It gave it this antiqued mirror look and cost about [$75],” she says. “It was amazing. And it was one of the best things we did in here.”
The mirror allows Spencer to see and interact with people sitting behind her at the island while she’s busy at the range. “When I’m cooking I can see what my daughter’s doing behind me,” she says. “You can carry on conversations because you’ve still got eye contact. And it bounces that light around the room.”
The perimeter cabinets are a light sage color. The island is a black called Railings by Farrow & Ball, one of Spencer’s favorite colors to use in a home. It appears in her bedroom and living room as well. (See below.) “I love it,” she says. “I put it everywhere I possibly can. The darks have to appear in every room. That’s kind of the red thread that goes throughout the house.”
A bank of windows frames more greenery outside.
Find a kitchen designer near you
The refrigerator sits slightly elevated in a wall niche. Brown island stools coordinate with wood flooring to add warmth.
Browse a curated collection of bold dining room furnishings
Browse a curated collection of bold dining room furnishings
Opposite the kitchen, an exposed red brick wall brings a generous dose of warmth. A collection of mismatched chairs, some of which Spencer picked up from neighbors’ yards, surround a well-worn wood dining table. “If you get everything from one particular place, it can feel very much like you walked into a showroom,” she says. “It needs to feel a blend from lots of different things that reflect your personality. If you fall in love with it, find a space for it. Don’t worry about it all matching.”
Two large upholstered club chairs have since been added at the ends of the table.
Watch now: See Spencer share details about how she created her eclectic home
Two large upholstered club chairs have since been added at the ends of the table.
Watch now: See Spencer share details about how she created her eclectic home
The brick wall also gives the home an industrial element that Spencer builds upon with various accessories and found objects to create an industrial eclectic style. “I am a maximalist, really,” she says. “So I just love a knickknack. I love bits and pieces. And I love combining things you can find in the shops but also like going to vintage fairs and junk shops and just lots of random bits and pieces that don’t theme together in any particular way. It’s chaotic, I think, for some people. It’s not for everybody. But every piece resonates and tells a story for us.”
New to home remodeling? Learn the basics
New to home remodeling? Learn the basics
Spencer painted all the walls in the living room Railings by Farrow & Ball. “It’s a north-facing room, so there’s not a massive amount of light in there,” she says. “Rather than trying to fight that by putting light colors in and having it get kind of dingy, we’re in there in the evening anyway, we thought let’s just go for it. It was quite a leap of faith.”
She divided the long and narrow room into two zones. One side is a TV area with a green chesterfield-style sofa. Behind that is an area for lounging and reading. “Especially since we went dark we wanted that coziness,” Spencer says.
Watch now: See more of this home in the latest episode of Houzz TV
She divided the long and narrow room into two zones. One side is a TV area with a green chesterfield-style sofa. Behind that is an area for lounging and reading. “Especially since we went dark we wanted that coziness,” Spencer says.
Watch now: See more of this home in the latest episode of Houzz TV
The black walls also help disguise the TV when it’s not in use.
Spencer used the Railings color for the headboard wall in her bedroom as well. “We wanted to do one punchy wall in there,” she says. “The rest of the room is very light. There’s no darkness happening anywhere else. But just that main framing of the bed was an important moment for us.”
She has since changed out some of the decor, but after moving in she removed overhead light fixtures and installed two drop pendants instead. Mirrors hung behind the pendants reflect light into the room. “In a bedroom you don’t need that much light,” Spencer says. “When you’re going into the bedroom, that’s the time when your brain is supposed to be shutting down and getting calm. Some nice simple lighting, a simple picture, and that’s all we needed in there.”
Watch now: Step inside this designer’s colorful home
Shop now: Browse a collection of bold dining room products
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She has since changed out some of the decor, but after moving in she removed overhead light fixtures and installed two drop pendants instead. Mirrors hung behind the pendants reflect light into the room. “In a bedroom you don’t need that much light,” Spencer says. “When you’re going into the bedroom, that’s the time when your brain is supposed to be shutting down and getting calm. Some nice simple lighting, a simple picture, and that’s all we needed in there.”
Watch now: Step inside this designer’s colorful home
Shop now: Browse a collection of bold dining room products
More on Houzz
Tour more homes
Hire a local design pro
Shop for your home
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Interesting one. I love the open feel and the shelves. The way she has disguised the base of the island is indeed a revelation. I was wondering how to blend off-the-shelf units with an expensive wave shaped worktop and this could just fit the bill. Not sure I would have my Dyson on the wall there spoils the view a bit. Great ideas.
Really nice design
I love the warmth of the brick wall. Did you used brick slips. If so which did you use? Tia