My Houzz: Hard Work Pays Off With an Elegant and Light Apartment
A creative executive in England rehabs her first home, a turn-of-the-last-century apartment with good bones
Charlotte Cosby fell in love with her first home, a top-floor period apartment in Dorset, for its wonderfully light rooms and interesting architectural details. But until she got the keys, she hadn’t quite realized how much work it needed. Armed with a tight budget but ready to put in the elbow grease, Cosby embarked on an ambitious redecorating mission until she’d created exactly the eclectic, colorful home she’d dreamed of.
“When I got the keys and started moving my stuff in, I was mildly horrified at what I’d missed!” Cosby says. “There were lumps of sealant around the bath, and the whole place was grubby. Oh, and the kitchen backsplash turned out to be constructed from gaffer tape. There was also a massive hole in the wall in the bedroom. How on Earth had I missed that? My dad was quite angry with me at that point!”
And so started a nine-month process of stripping the wallpaper from every room, removing old tiles ("They’d been stuck on top of wallpaper, so at least that bit was easy"), cleaning and repainting.
“I replaced all the rotten windows too,” Cosby says. “It took ages, sanding skirting boards — days and days of sanding! I ripped the kitchen and bathroom out, and took off sections of the wall and reskimmed it.”
She did everything herself with the help of handy friends and family.
And so started a nine-month process of stripping the wallpaper from every room, removing old tiles ("They’d been stuck on top of wallpaper, so at least that bit was easy"), cleaning and repainting.
“I replaced all the rotten windows too,” Cosby says. “It took ages, sanding skirting boards — days and days of sanding! I ripped the kitchen and bathroom out, and took off sections of the wall and reskimmed it.”
She did everything herself with the help of handy friends and family.
The newly decorated walls now form a beautiful backdrop to an array of curated finds and curios. This tapestry fire screen from a flea market, for example, flips up to double as a small table. Cosby painted the edges of it in pale purple to cover some damaged areas. The Japanese print was a souvenir from a vacation in Tokyo.
Fire screen frame painted in Brassica, Farrow & Ball; mirror: Ikea
Fire screen frame painted in Brassica, Farrow & Ball; mirror: Ikea
This sofa blanket was a hand-me-down from Cosby’s aunt (a souvenir from Portugal that Cosby had always had her eye on) and the mint green leather chairs in the bay window (seen in the first photo) were her grandmother’s. “I didn’t especially love these chairs, but they remind me of her and my granddad, so I had to have them,” Cosby says. “Now they’re part of the room; I couldn’t part with them.”
Sofa: Sofa.com
Sofa: Sofa.com
A lot of Cosby’s furniture and accessories are salvaged finds.
“I think my style’s a real mix, whatever takes my fancy,” she says. “I like to just bring together all the things I like — traditional and modern. You can tie everything together through color. There are bits from the 1970s, early 1900s, yesterday! It’s a proper mix — cheap and more expensive too. A lot of it’s actually from the [dump]. All my dining room chairs were [$1.35] each…. I just painted them.”
Silvergate wallpaper in a custom color: Farrow & Ball; woodwork paint: Dix Blue, Farrow & Ball; orange vase: Alfies Antique Market
“I think my style’s a real mix, whatever takes my fancy,” she says. “I like to just bring together all the things I like — traditional and modern. You can tie everything together through color. There are bits from the 1970s, early 1900s, yesterday! It’s a proper mix — cheap and more expensive too. A lot of it’s actually from the [dump]. All my dining room chairs were [$1.35] each…. I just painted them.”
Silvergate wallpaper in a custom color: Farrow & Ball; woodwork paint: Dix Blue, Farrow & Ball; orange vase: Alfies Antique Market
Looking at each of Cosby’s rooms, it’s clear her work at Farrow & Ball has made its way into her own aesthetic.
“You can see it in all the color, I think,” she says. “I’ve picked up and learnt so much, including not to be scared of bright, bold shades. You start to notice how color can influence your mood. I needed some rooms to be quite relaxing and allow me to chill out. I also wanted to create a flow between rooms, and the colors help that.”
The wallpaper in the hallway is the first project Cosby ever completed for Farrow & Ball.
Lotus BP 2051 wallpaper: Farrow & Ball; wall paint: Teresa’s Green, Farrow & Ball; trim paint: Pointing, Farrow & Ball
“You can see it in all the color, I think,” she says. “I’ve picked up and learnt so much, including not to be scared of bright, bold shades. You start to notice how color can influence your mood. I needed some rooms to be quite relaxing and allow me to chill out. I also wanted to create a flow between rooms, and the colors help that.”
The wallpaper in the hallway is the first project Cosby ever completed for Farrow & Ball.
Lotus BP 2051 wallpaper: Farrow & Ball; wall paint: Teresa’s Green, Farrow & Ball; trim paint: Pointing, Farrow & Ball
Turn the corner into the kitchen and it’s all about deep blue. “This room started out as Hague Blue, but when Stiffkey Blue came out, I just had to repaint it,” Cosby says. “No one even noticed, but it seems so much deeper to me. I’m obsessive about color! ”
Wall paint: Stiffkey Blue, Farrow & Ball; dining chair paint: Skimming Stone, Farrow & Ball; table: Ikea; lampshade: John Lewis; plate: Anthropologie
Wall paint: Stiffkey Blue, Farrow & Ball; dining chair paint: Skimming Stone, Farrow & Ball; table: Ikea; lampshade: John Lewis; plate: Anthropologie
“The dining room is my favorite part of the flat,” Cosby says. “Not so many houses have a dedicated space to eat now. I was one of the first of our friendship group to buy a place, so it was lovely to have people around for dinner.”
Rug: Anthropologie; pendant light: Habitat
Rug: Anthropologie; pendant light: Habitat
Other than all the redecorating, very little work was needed structurally on the flat. It was a case of making the most of what was there and taking time and care with the beautiful features.
“Taking up the [linoleum] was great. And there are so many cornicing details in this flat that weren’t made to shine before,” says Cosby, who started her renovations by painting the coving and moldings white.
Cosby’s dad helped her install the kitchen — “It’s Ikea, so it was just a giant Lego project that was fun to do with my dad” — and a friend installed the flooring.
Wall paints: Pointing and Skimming Stone, Farrow & Ball; cabinets: Ikea
“Taking up the [linoleum] was great. And there are so many cornicing details in this flat that weren’t made to shine before,” says Cosby, who started her renovations by painting the coving and moldings white.
Cosby’s dad helped her install the kitchen — “It’s Ikea, so it was just a giant Lego project that was fun to do with my dad” — and a friend installed the flooring.
Wall paints: Pointing and Skimming Stone, Farrow & Ball; cabinets: Ikea
Most of Cosby’s quirky art collection is from Etsy, and she does a lot of silkscreen printing herself. “Curiosities seem to find me rather than the other way around,” she says of the items on display here. “Things catch my eye, and I love flea market finds that remind me of a [photo] shoot or an event I went to. Most items on show in my house are a memento of something.”
Other items are more random. “I found the lobster pictured here in a fish shop, then made it into a fascinator [hat] for a wedding,” she says.
Another of Cosby’s approaches to displaying art: Simply stack it on a chair. “I started to make much bigger holes than I meant to with the electric drill, so this is my solution,” she says.
Other items are more random. “I found the lobster pictured here in a fish shop, then made it into a fascinator [hat] for a wedding,” she says.
Another of Cosby’s approaches to displaying art: Simply stack it on a chair. “I started to make much bigger holes than I meant to with the electric drill, so this is my solution,” she says.
Cosby painted this design on the hallway floor. “I wanted tiles here, but the door wouldn’t have opened…. So I just thought I’d paint my own floor tiles instead. I went through a phase where I painted everything. I even painted my curtains!”
One of Cosby’s favorite things about her home is the unusual architectural details. “I like the fact that in the hallway you have to take a couple of steps down, turn a corner and step up to the bathroom,” she says.
Light fixture: John Lewis
Light fixture: John Lewis
Cosby’s office is in nearby Wimborne, so living in Southbourne is convenient for work, but it’s also Cosby’s hometown, close to family and friends, and an up-and-coming area with more affordable housing. “There’s a lot of development here now — it has much more vibrancy and energy than it used to,” she says.
This striking flamingo-tiled panel sparked divided opinions among Cosby’s friends and family. “My mum hated it!” she says. “I saw some printed tiles at a trade show in New York. I love old-school ornithological illustrations from the 1920s and this John James Audubon drawing is part of the Natural History Museum collection at Surface View.”
Flamingo tiles: Surface View; wall paint: Pavilion Blue, Farrow & Ball; bath and wall panel paint: Dix Blue, Farrow & Ball; shower: Mira Showers; floor tiles: Rebecca Hayes Interiors
Flamingo tiles: Surface View; wall paint: Pavilion Blue, Farrow & Ball; bath and wall panel paint: Dix Blue, Farrow & Ball; shower: Mira Showers; floor tiles: Rebecca Hayes Interiors
The master bedroom features a wallpaper “headboard,” a clever idea for decorating on a budget.
Wall paint: Wimborne White, Farrow & Ball; Silvergate BP 852 wallpaper: Farrow & Ball; lamp: Habitat; bedding: The Linen Works
Wall paint: Wimborne White, Farrow & Ball; Silvergate BP 852 wallpaper: Farrow & Ball; lamp: Habitat; bedding: The Linen Works
More of Cosby’s found objects, such as this cupboard and her antique maps — a bargain from an east London shop — are on display in the bedroom.
“I carted this 1950s vinyl banana leaf wallpaper back from New York,” Cosby says of the 8-by-9-foot print in her bedroom.
The gray chair was about $7 at a junkyard, and in poor condition. Cosby took a reupholstery class and fixed it up herself.
Wall paint: Ammonite, Farrow & Ball
The gray chair was about $7 at a junkyard, and in poor condition. Cosby took a reupholstery class and fixed it up herself.
Wall paint: Ammonite, Farrow & Ball
“I’ve been inspired by work in all my painting projects,” Cosby says of this armoire, bought secondhand for $4.
Blind: John Lewis; boxes: Habitat; armoire paints: Ammonite and Purbeck Stone, Farrow & Ball
Blind: John Lewis; boxes: Habitat; armoire paints: Ammonite and Purbeck Stone, Farrow & Ball
In her spare room, Cosby wanted to try something different, with no paint or wallpaper. “When I did this it was unusual — it isn’t so much now,” she says of the wood paneling. “I wanted wood that looked an aged silver rather than too new, so I approached a timber yard, which cut it down for me. It’s attached to the wall with No More Nails.”
Wall paneling: Christchurch Timber; bedding: The Conran Shop
My Houzz is a series in which we visit and photograph creative, personality-filled homes and the people who inhabit them. Share your home with us and see more projects.
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Wall paneling: Christchurch Timber; bedding: The Conran Shop
My Houzz is a series in which we visit and photograph creative, personality-filled homes and the people who inhabit them. Share your home with us and see more projects.
Browse more homes by style:
Apartments | Barn Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Floating Homes | Guesthouses | Homes Around the World | Lofts | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Small Homes | Townhouses | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | Vacation Homes
Who lives here: Charlotte Cosby, head of creative at Farrow & Ball, and her boyfriend
Location: Southbourne, Dorset county, England
Size: Two bedrooms, one bathroom
Finding this characterful, light and spacious apartment was no small task, and Charlotte Cosby spent 18 months searching for it.
“I had huge expectations and no budget,” Cosby says. “I wanted the world. I’m obsessed with light, so that was what I was gauging with every property I looked at. Most of the houses I could afford were dark, wedged between things or with a big tree in front of them, for example. But this one was so light, so open and so interesting. It has very high ceilings and the proportions are beautiful.”
It was love at first viewing. But because of that, Cosby admits, she failed to notice all of the building’s flaws.
Wall paint: Dix Blue, Farrow & Ball; trim paint: Pointing, Farrow & Ball; curtains: Ikea; rug: Habitat