The renovation of this Kingsland villa turned it into a real sanctuary

The hallway is one of Fiona’s favourite zones. “Although this is a humble house and the way we’ve finished it is humble, there’s something about the space in here,” she says. “Friends have suggested taking a foot off it to add onto the bedrooms since it’s so huge, but the hallway makes the house.” The lighting here includes a pendant that was already installed when the family moved in, which they matched with a wall lamp by Made.

Inspired by old houses they’d seen on a trip to Argentina, the couple used a thin slice of Corian in Witch Hazel for the kitchen benchtops. “When we renovated, it was fashionable to have a thick, marble-look slab, which I didn’t like,” says Fiona. “When I asked for a 1cm-thick surface, nobody believed it’d look good, but I think it looks perfect.” They coordinated the plywood, walnut and veneer cabinetry by Opus Libero (with the visible joints Fiona requested to celebrate their craftsmanship) with Radial bar stools from Città.

Resene Atomic cloaks the walls in this space mostly reserved for grown-ups, while Lawrence chairs from A&C Homestore, a Humla coffee table by Hans Bølling from Bauhaus and a sofa from Freedom congregate on a rug that used to live in Fiona’s grandmother’s house in Wales. “I love that it hasn’t faded in the middle where her dining table stood,” says Fiona. The neon sign was made for the couple’s wedding by Custom Neon and the Ledlux Massimo table lamp is from Lighting Direct.

In this room judiciously decorated with only the essentials, including a Vetro wall light by Made, a Vivienne bath by Toka Boutique from Stonebaths is positioned beneath a pink ceiling in a custom Dulux colour amid walls in Resene Half Black White. “I love wooden houses, but they can be a bit echoey,” says Fiona. “We wanted to bring in some weight to make the bathroom feel solid, and these Ecostone Oslo tiles from Tile Space were a good way to do that.”