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When Sophie Rowell, founder of England-based interior design studio Côte de Folk, kicks off with a new client, she asks them to write down their ultimate wish-list. “We always say: ‘If there was a magic wand involved, what would you want?’” says Rowell. In the case of this Victorian house in south London, its owners, Daisy and Rupert, were craving a super-king bed and a shower separate from the tub. But the awkward alcoves in their primary bedroom and the pair of windows in the bathroom were obstacles they couldn’t see beyond. It’d take true wizardry to bring their dream space to life—or so they thought.
Actually, they just needed someone who really understands a good room layout. Rowell has that covered. As is often the case with narrow houses like this, there is never a spot dedicated to stashing coats and shoes. The designer addressed this by cleverly flipping the usual arrangement of the double living-room. Instead, she put a custom TV unit in the nook by the window and created a new central door so that when you walk in, you can head either left to the sofa, or right to the kitchen. But best of all, she kept the old door in the hallway which now opens to a storage cupboard. Ahead, in her own words she explains how clever spatial workarounds made the owners’ vision a reality.
Your studio’s design philosophy is to repurpose where possible. Which standout piece was given a new lease of life?
We took the well-loved sofa and gave it a complete transformation. I combined two fabrics (a bold Svenskt Tenn print and a rich chocolate velvet by Rose Uniacke) and designed a single seat cushion to create a more streamlined, modern silhouette. The result is remarkable—you’d never believe it’s the same piece. We deep-dive into how clients really live (no judgement here!) and in this case they realized they always watch TV from different seats, so Rupert got a big squishy armchair.
What was your biggest splurge?
The kitchen floor, definitely. I designed a gingham pattern which was created using linoleum in three tones to create a gingham effect. Each component comes as a square tile and the time frame between having them cut and being laid is only about 10 days, otherwise the corners can start to curl. The design process took a while to get just right, and coordinating the installation with a specialist added another layer of complexity and cost, but it was worth it. It’s one of my favorite features of the whole house and brings a bold yet nostalgic charm.
Was there a cool brand or maker that you discovered during this project?
The beautifully crafted wall lights in the bedroom from Nocturne Workshop. I love the mix of the metals and the flat-plate shape is really elegant.
How did you get that super-king bed in the primary bedroom?
These old houses have a chimney breast and two alcoves, which people usually build fitted wardrobes into, and the bed faces out to the window. Instead, we extended the chimney breast, creating space for a wide headboard (which I designed in a pitch shape and is one of my favorite details). In the wall void, we created built-in shelves for Rupert, complete with a drop-down shelf which Sarah on my team painstakingly lined with checkerboard cork tiles. On the other side, there are hidden shelves for Daisy where she can stash jewelry and products neatly out of sight.
…and a separate shower, like they asked for?
The new layout is very different to what we started with. The new tub is on the smaller scale of standard-size baths and we installed it within an inch of its life so that we could get a walk-in shower alongside it. Around the bath is marine plywood meticulously applied in 11-inch increments. There’s a level of upkeep when choosing a painted finish over a tile, but then grout requires a level of maintenance too.
What was your best save?
The blue fixtures by Burlington in the powder room is a knockout and wasn’t expensive compared to other brands. Paired with the Robert Kime wallpaper (definitely not a save!) it created a striking little space up on the top floor of the house. It’s often with these smaller rooms that you can let your creativity run wild.