Inspiration of the Week: the divine detailing of a designer’s digs

They say that the devil is in the detail, but one look at this heavenly house on Hanover Road, will give you cause to doubt the truth of that statement. This joyful four-bedroom Edwardian home, in north-west London’s Kensal Green, has been exquisitely overhauled by its owner, lampshade designer Alice Palmer, who has considered every nook and cranny – and made the most of them. Her eye for colour, contrast, pattern and palettes is remarkable and has resulted in rooms that sing. Those that move into them – for the house is on the market – will inherit something special.

What Alice has done so cleverly is devise spaces that are greater than the sum of their parts,  yet full of parts that are themselves utterly divine. Take, for instance, the sitting room, with its red-and-white striped mantelpiece. On its own, this surround could work happily as the only strong statement in any space. Here, however, its marching lines are echoed throughout the room, bouncing from painted shelves and two-tone rug to plump frilly cushions. Its rich red is picked up in a doorframe, a painting, a pompom fringe, one of Alice’s own pleated shades. This a scheme in the truest sense.

Throughout the house, contrast make a case for clever clashes. Pink and green – fit for a queen, as the rhyme goes – lend the kitchen a cool and calming atmosphere, while the handsome hodgepodge of dining chairs remove any air stuffiness from the space, despite its grand proportions. Upstairs, the bedrooms host a marvellous melée of patterned fabrics, all in soft colours, so as not to compete. (We love the jolly painted bunting border running around the children’s room too.)

The material palette has similarly benefited from Alice’s mix-and-match magic – in the bathroom, a slender band of small splattered tiles are an ingenious addition to the swish greyish marble, acting as a stylish eye-catcher.

All this is proof that care, attention and thinking outside the box is the ultimate recipe for considered interiors with charm and character. But you already knew that, didn’t you?