Reviving a Brighton Arts & Crafts Home
The challenges and creativity that went into revamping this Brighton house by Lolita Colenso Design
Lolita Colenso Design was asked to transform a beautiful Arts & Crafts house set in its own generous grounds with adjacent woods, on the outskirts of Brighton, into a sanctuary for its owner and two children, keeping as close as possible to its original 1920s style.
The previous owners had removed all the original features, extended and “modernised” the house, so in order to bring the house back to its roots Lolita and her team had to first look at the best it had to offer, which came from the external fabric of the house. Their inspirations and references aligned exactly with the client’s vision and so the transformation was a very easy collaborative process. Lolita’s approach was informed by former and later classic designs of Art nouveau, Arts & Crafts and Mid Century modern.
A Light-Filled Transformation
The kitchen is always the heart of the home and, in this project, it truly is. The huge open plan living eating and kitchen space features a brand new glass box modern extension that allows light to flood in. The colours of the kitchen were inspired by a 19th-century Italian yeast pot from Puglia. This large object with its earthy almost copper reds, creams and browns marble like designs when combined with the surrounding woodland tones have inspired a vibrant palette of copper and green. The result made a perfect match with the client’s vision for the space.
The house generally was in a very poor state of repair and Lolita’s work was overshadowed by complete rewiring and updating of the plumbing which was necessary. Lolita removed over 100 ceiling spotlights and their associated wiring. Even the foundations of the house had to be reinforced to protect it from rainwater.
One of the first works Lolita did was to move the large utility space from the heart of the kitchen into the back room of the house and create a modern fireplace in the new chill out area. The new all glass extension to the back of the kitchen-dining area took the longest to realise as Lolita had to wait 12 months for the installation. However, it was worth waiting for, as it allowed huge amounts of natural light to penetrate deep into the centre of the room. Lolita created a bright and open space with full-height expanses of glass offering stunning views of the surrounding landscape and trees, in turn creating a lot more ground floor square footage. Lolita had to incorporate a large dining table to fill the space and is the perfect addition for entertaining.
End-grain parquet flooring was the next exciting part to the project, it was installed throughout the hallway, study, cloakroom and central space of the kitchen, helping to create warmth and soul and a smooth flow between the rooms. Floor stain was applied by hand to create that lived-in look and feel.
Reimagining the Details: Fireplaces, Fixtures and Glass
The fireplaces in the house were all lost in translation and were in need of complete change. Lolita approached this task cautiously. The hallway and master bedroom fireplaces were wrapped in blue and turquoise Art Nouveau tiling creating a focal centre piece to the spaces, while in the living room the fireplace was transformed into a Mid Century stone cladding wall. Lolita used local recycled riverbed stone to create this easily recognisable iconic setup.
Each and every window, glass pane and doors were replaced to suit the period of the house. From local craftsmen we commissioned stained glass windows to the front and to the side of the house, drawing inspiration from Sussex-based designers like William Hardie and their commitment to artisanal detail.
Interview: Inside the Design Process with Lolita Colenso
Absolutely sat down with Lolita to find out a little more about the intricacies of the project.
How did the homeowner come across Lolita Colenso?
On this occasion it was word of mouth, Lolita Colenso Design works with properties in need of restoration and updating, and that appealed to the client.
What was the homewoners brief to you? Were there any musts and must nots?
The client had bought the property because of its original period, location and the potential, so the brief was to maintain the spirit of the Arts & Crafts house, yet at the same time to re-organise the interior to open the house up to the landscape beyond. Make it personal and lived-in for the owner and his two children.
Were there any particular challenges with this project? If so, how did you overcome them?
The main challenge was the state of the house. Every part of the house needed to be repaired or replaced. The living room proved to be challenging as it was a very long and dark room, with a very low ceiling – you had to step down to enter. We removed all hanging ceiling lights, exposed and stained original wooden beams and divided the room into three distinctive seating areas.
For the kitchen, why did you go for this particular layout? Can you break down certain areas, especially the island?
The layout of the kitchen was dictated by the room shape, we had a long line of windows on one side which naturally suggested the place for floor standing cupboards and sink. Also, it felt very natural to place a larder and integrated fridge freezer on the right of the run. Whereas the island had to be the centrepiece of the kitchen area and had to have a clear view from every angle. No wall hanging cupboards were needed as the ceiling had wonderful chunky beams to admire. The extraordinarily long dining table which can seat 24 was placed in the glass extension, and a mid-century modular bookshelf system and a fireplace create the partition and the link between the kitchen and dining areas.
Can you also tell us about where the kitchen is from, why this style, and colours?
The kitchen style was conceived through vigorous searches and various checkpoints. It had to be classic and not too modern, masculine in style, but it had to have a magnificent island. That is where Plain English’s most iconic design “Spitalfields” was considered. After deciding on the paint colour and the worktop it felt the right choice. There is something timeless about this kitchen and it is definitely very well made.
Can you also tell me about the design of the bathroom? What was it like before, and why did you go for the layout, and these fixtures and colours?
The previous bathrooms were old and neglected, taps didn’t work, sinks were cracked, baths leaked and they all had strange identical cramped layouts. The intention was to create space and comfort. To emphasise an Art Deco style, each bathroom had to have rich colouring, marble, oak elements but still be different from one another. There are four bathrooms and a guest cloakroom in total. Most over-indulgent of the four is the master bathroom with its Turkish baths like marble tiling on the floor and along the wall, Andalusia tiles spread across walk-in shower and glorious brass fittings.
The master bedroom is a magnificent room, with barn height like ceiling and a large fireplace. It had to be dark, but not entirely. Oak flooring, dark green paint works wonders against Art Nouveau tiles and a queen size bed from PORADA works perfectly. Not too dark, not too light, but always comfortable with views over the newly laid croquet lawn and on to the new garden studio.
Box Out: Inner Workings
The project at a glance
Design by Lolita Colenso Design: complete repair, restoration and full refurbishment to the entire house and a brand new garden room Location: Brighton Cost: Approximately £300,000 including kitchen, glass extension, floors, fireplaces, bathrooms Time: It took longer than it should have as labour work was stretched due to restrictions and we had to wait for the glass extension. In total around 15 months and we are still adding final details and touches and working on the double garage coach house now.
These are suppliers of some of the products are from: Kitchen units – Plain English Bathroom units – Lefroy Brooks, Imperial Bathrooms, Fired Earth and Burlington Bathroom tiles – Fired Earth, Master Tiles Fireplaces tiles – GOLEM Paint – Little Green Mosaic floor in the kitchen and utility room – Otto Tiles Stone floor in the glass extension – Mandarin Stone
lolitacolensodesigns.com | Photography: Alex Maguire
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