Claire’s Stunningly Beautiful Edwardian Semi | Downstairs

It’s not often that I come across a home where I wouldn’t change a single detail, but this morning’s home tour is the exception to the rule. We’ve recently featured the utility room from Claire‘s Edwardian semi, and back in 2017 we had a tour of her kitchen, but as there have been some updates to the space since then we couldn’t not include some pics of the gorgeous open plan kitchen. And just wait ’til you see the lounge. The gorgeously styled alcoves! Those parquet floors! That bar cart! Prepare to want to pin EVERYTHING…

We moved into our Edwardian Semi in leafy Moseley just outside of Birmingham in 2012. We were actually looking for a project house to buy, renovate and sell but I found this house and knew that it wouldn’t be one to sell on!

It needed extensive work to bring it up to date and we set to work pretty quickly; rewiring, replumbing and replastering all three floors with quite a bit of remodelling too. We knocked down an old extension and rebuilt it creating our large open plan kitchen, living and dining area.

The porch

We replaced the old 60s style porch with something more fitting with the period of the house and had a local window maker follow a design we created. The tiles are the Waverley from Fired Earth, the unit which we use to store shoes in was from Swoon Editions, the luggage rack is available form Lisa Valentine Home and the print is from Desenio. The walls are simply a bright white emulsion.

The Hallway

This is the area of the house we have probably done the least in. The original floorboards were hidden under carpet so we exposed those! We painted the walls in Homebase Putty.

The rug is from French Connection Home, one print is the original deeds of the house which we found hidden in a locked gun cabinet in a built in wardrobe and had framed, and the other is from Neptune.

The chandelier and the lamp are both from The White Company. The plant is from Isherwood and Co, a gorgeous local little plant shop who I buy a lot of my house plants from.

The Kitchen

We designed the kitchen to be a social space with a large island and plenty of seating. The orangery style roof lantern lets in so much light – we spend most of our time in here.

The kitchen was made by a local cabinet maker called Choice Interiors who worked with us to bespoke make the kitchen of our dreams, within our budget. The worktop is Silestone Lagoon and one of the best choices we made – it is so durable. The cupboards are all painted in Little Greene, again it is really durable paint – the main cupboards are Tusk and the island is Dash of Soot. The walls are on off white – it is Dulux Timeless that we have used in various places across the house. The floor is Botticino Tumbled Marble from Floors of Stone.

We love to bring things home from our travels and the dining table is one of those impulsive purchases. We saw the style of table a lot when in Bali and couldn’t help but buy one and ship it home. The bench came with the table and the chairs are Hans Wegner Wishbone replicas from Cult Furniture.

The gallery wall is a mix of prints from Olive et Oriel and David Ehrenstrahle which I had framed locally.

The sofa area is an ongoing work in progress and the sofas have been on my to-do list to replace forever! Maybe this year will be the year! The cushions are from Neptune and the round mirror is from The White Company.

The hanging ivy is again from Isherwood and Co. The wall lights are the Upton Contemporary Wall Lights from Fritz Fryer.

Living Room

The is the latest room we have finished furnishing. We have gone through a few paint colours before finding the perfect one – it is Mole’s Breath from Farrow and Ball and their colour consultant Emily helped me chose it. We built the units in – they are painted Tusk by Little Greene. The floor is a parquet varnished with Danish Oil.

The sofa is the Oscar in Prussian Blue from Sofa.com and is the most comfy thing I have ever come across. The armchair, side table, standard lamp, coffee table and bar cart are all from West Elm – I love their products.

The rug is a original Beni Ourain which we bought in Marrakech and brought home in our luggage!

The items on the shelves are from a number of places but many of them are from Hudson Home including the lidded seagrass basket, bobbled bowl and wooden ‘o’ jar. The white bowl and wooden tray are from Hunter and Co.The wall light is from Fritz Fryer.

Stay tuned to see the upstairs of Claire’s bee-you-tiful home.