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Houzz Tour: A Versatile House Designed with Longevity in Mind
It took a full-scale redesign that prioritised practicality and sociability to create this beautiful forever family home
Reconfiguring and redesigning an entire three-storey house is no small task, which is why the couple who bought this Hertfordshire property enlisted a team of professionals to help. An architect rethought the space, taking it from a warren of rooms to something more open and sociable, while Dorota Hrstic of Miri Design came on board to plan the interior.
“We were called in from the start, which made life much easier,” she says. “We figured out the design and sourced all the materials, but also worked on the spatial plan – where everything goes – from the plumbing to the position of the sockets.”
The family were moving from a smaller property and didn’t have enough furniture, so Dorota also sourced everything they needed, as well as reappropriating a lot of what they did have. “The master bed and bedside tables ended up in the guest room, the study furniture was reused, and the existing living room furniture found a home in the kids’ TV snug,” she explains.
Dorota also had one eye on the future. “We planned for the long term,” she says. “We were thinking about what this family of six was going to need in five or 10 years’ time, so this is a real forever home.”
“We were called in from the start, which made life much easier,” she says. “We figured out the design and sourced all the materials, but also worked on the spatial plan – where everything goes – from the plumbing to the position of the sockets.”
The family were moving from a smaller property and didn’t have enough furniture, so Dorota also sourced everything they needed, as well as reappropriating a lot of what they did have. “The master bed and bedside tables ended up in the guest room, the study furniture was reused, and the existing living room furniture found a home in the kids’ TV snug,” she explains.
Dorota also had one eye on the future. “We planned for the long term,” she says. “We were thinking about what this family of six was going to need in five or 10 years’ time, so this is a real forever home.”
A wall between the kitchen and living room (behind the camera) was taken down to create one large, sociable area. “The owners have a lot of parties, so they wanted a versatile space,” Dorota says. “This is a grown-up room now. The kids have their own lounge where they can game and watch TV.”
The flooring is wood-effect porcelain tiles, which work well with the underfloor heating. Dorota suggested an Art Mode TV, which looks attractive and is neatly wall-mounted.
Walls painted in Light Blue, Farrow & Ball.
The flooring is wood-effect porcelain tiles, which work well with the underfloor heating. Dorota suggested an Art Mode TV, which looks attractive and is neatly wall-mounted.
Walls painted in Light Blue, Farrow & Ball.
The living room windows were replaced by a run of glazing that includes doors, and the opening was reconfigured.
The house has a large garden to the rear. “It’s a wonderful space and seems endless,” Dorota says. The greenery is carried inside thanks to houseplants dotted throughout and the use of green in many rooms.
The house has a large garden to the rear. “It’s a wonderful space and seems endless,” Dorota says. The greenery is carried inside thanks to houseplants dotted throughout and the use of green in many rooms.
The kitchen before.
The new kitchen units were made bespoke by a local cabinet-maker, with an island that includes a circular bar area for informal dining or drinks.
Cabinets, Dwayne Edwards. Pendant lights, West Elm.
Cabinets, Dwayne Edwards. Pendant lights, West Elm.
Dorota’s design considered aesthetics, practical issues such as storage, and also how the family uses the house, both from day to day, but also for entertaining and socialising now and then. She installed a bar and drinks cabinets, for instance, between the now open-plan kitchen and living room.
The splashback above the range cooker was made by a specialist and is toughened glass made to look like antique mirror. It helps to make the large kitchen-diner feel even bigger.
A generous dining table means the whole family can eat together comfortably. Dorota helped select the sliding glass doors, choosing sage green interior frames to tie in with the room’s colour scheme.
Island painted in Studio Green, Farrow & Ball.
A generous dining table means the whole family can eat together comfortably. Dorota helped select the sliding glass doors, choosing sage green interior frames to tie in with the room’s colour scheme.
Island painted in Studio Green, Farrow & Ball.
The ground floor cloakroom features bold wallpaper that brings in the fun, playful element the owners wanted.
Safari Soiree wallpaper, Divine Savages. Sanitaryware, CP Hart.
Safari Soiree wallpaper, Divine Savages. Sanitaryware, CP Hart.
“The owner absolutely loves green; it was her favourite colour long before it was having the moment it is now,” says Dorota, who picked it for the main bedroom and its dressing room, echoing the green of the garden just beyond those big windows.
Walls painted in Vert De Terre; dressing room joinery painted in Lichen, both Farrow & Ball.
More: 22 Ideas for Green Bedrooms
Walls painted in Vert De Terre; dressing room joinery painted in Lichen, both Farrow & Ball.
More: 22 Ideas for Green Bedrooms
Dorota sourced a lot of the furniture from scratch for this house. Again, she used the Houzz Pro Room Planner function at the design stage to show the owners exactly what might go into each space.
“I could attach images of all the paint colours, furniture and fabrics,” she says. “The owners could then see everything and also move images around, so if they wanted to know what a lamp would look like on a bedside table, they could do that themselves. It also helped them to keep an eye on spending. Each new item gets added to the room budget tally, so they could easily see the total cost.”
“I could attach images of all the paint colours, furniture and fabrics,” she says. “The owners could then see everything and also move images around, so if they wanted to know what a lamp would look like on a bedside table, they could do that themselves. It also helped them to keep an eye on spending. Each new item gets added to the room budget tally, so they could easily see the total cost.”
“The owner is drawn to nature and loves florals,” Dorota says. She sourced a scenic wallpaper for the main bedroom, which then suggested the colour scheme.
“It’s a really soothing design,” she says. “When you see it with the natural light flowing in from the garden, it looks beautiful and helps the room feel very restful.”
Miyako Scene wallpaper, Designers Guild. Four-poster bed, Raft.
“It’s a really soothing design,” she says. “When you see it with the natural light flowing in from the garden, it looks beautiful and helps the room feel very restful.”
Miyako Scene wallpaper, Designers Guild. Four-poster bed, Raft.
A generous bathroom opens off the main bedroom.
The owners wanted the toilet in their en suite hidden behind the door, and for the room to include a walk-in shower, freestanding bath and double vanity unit.
“It was difficult to work out the right layout,” Dorota says. “We did about seven different layout designs for this room and had about five meetings where we were literally drawing baths on the floor! The owner wanted to be able to have a bath overlooking the garden, and we pulled it off eventually.”
The vanity unit was made bespoke to fit the space. “It was important that it didn’t feel as if it was squeezed in,” Dorota says. The tiles are porcelain with a marble design.
Bath; vanity unit; brassware, all CP Hart.
“It was difficult to work out the right layout,” Dorota says. “We did about seven different layout designs for this room and had about five meetings where we were literally drawing baths on the floor! The owner wanted to be able to have a bath overlooking the garden, and we pulled it off eventually.”
The vanity unit was made bespoke to fit the space. “It was important that it didn’t feel as if it was squeezed in,” Dorota says. The tiles are porcelain with a marble design.
Bath; vanity unit; brassware, all CP Hart.
The children all got involved in the design of their rooms, and the whole house was created with a sense of playfulness that would appeal to them. “The boy whose room this is loves fish, so we found this wallpaper for him,” Dorota says. “It was lovely that the kids got involved.”
The children had outgrown their beds, so these were sold, but, Dorota says, “We did reuse two of the wardrobes for the kids’ rooms and spray-painted them to fit with the colour scheme.”
Acquario wallpaper, Cole & Son.
The children had outgrown their beds, so these were sold, but, Dorota says, “We did reuse two of the wardrobes for the kids’ rooms and spray-painted them to fit with the colour scheme.”
Acquario wallpaper, Cole & Son.
The boys with bedrooms on the top floor both love travel and history, so map wallpaper was perfect for their rooms.
Map mural, Andrew Martin.
Map mural, Andrew Martin.
The maps are different, but create a theme on this floor. “The idea is that you can stand on the landing and look left and right into their rooms and each is framed with a map,” Dorota says.
Map mural, Andrew Martin.
Map mural, Andrew Martin.
The bathroom on the top floor that serves the two boys’ bedrooms has a more monochrome look, with grey speckled tiles and black details.
So are the owners glad they hired a designer to help them? As they wrote on Houzz, “[Dorota and Julia] have helped in so many ways – beyond what I understood interior design could mean … Exceeded all expectations and saved me hours and weeks of my life … We wanted to ensure we didn’t make silly but costly mistakes. [The team] were incredible value for money and, with the discounts provided, have largely covered the fee … We are delighted.”
Tiles, Mandarin Stone.
Tell us…
What do you like most about this family home? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
So are the owners glad they hired a designer to help them? As they wrote on Houzz, “[Dorota and Julia] have helped in so many ways – beyond what I understood interior design could mean … Exceeded all expectations and saved me hours and weeks of my life … We wanted to ensure we didn’t make silly but costly mistakes. [The team] were incredible value for money and, with the discounts provided, have largely covered the fee … We are delighted.”
Tiles, Mandarin Stone.
Tell us…
What do you like most about this family home? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
Who lives here? A family of six
Location Hertfordshire
Property A detached house over three floors
Size Seven bedrooms and five bathrooms
Designer Dorota Hrstic of Miri Design
Architect Duncan James Design
Project manager Will Cawrey & Co
Photos by Kostas Arapidis
“The owners wanted the house to feel special, but it needed a lot of rejigging,” Dorota says. “It was a really big project and they weren’t sure how to tackle it and didn’t have the time to do it all themselves.”
Their brief was to create a colourful, bold, fun and light home. “They needed help visualising it all,” she says. “We came up with concepts and then used Houzz Pro’s Room Planner, so they could ‘walk’ around the rooms and through the whole house, and approve everything before we started.”
Luckily, the owners were very decisive. “They knew what they liked and didn’t like, so we got through all the decision-making quickly,” Dorota says. She then collaborated closely with the project manager, who was working from her plans. “It took two years in total, but the project manager was brilliant at planning it all and setting expectations, so the owners always knew what would happen when.”
Ceiling light, Soho House.