Rustic styling and handcrafted furniture give this Kent home a personal touch

Character traits are wealthy in transformation potential. The design problem is: are you making an attempt to recapture the home’s previous glory and rejoice genuine options? Or do you go for a daring, trendy look inside that may create a stunning distinction with a historic exterior?

This dilapidated nineteenth century terraced home has been remodeled by inside designer Ben Stokes (opens in new tab) who used it as a clean canvas to find his personal type – with spectacular outcomes.

Actual property improvement runs in Ben’s household. After watching his dad and mom redecorate home after home and the household transfer on to the following undertaking after finishing the final one, it appeared pure for him to take the identical path. Beginning with a small flat, he climbed the property ladder and developed his love and talent for renovating interiors.

A home with historic attract

His present house is a part of a row of 4 Grade II listed terraced homes in Tenterden, the place he lives together with his companion, Sophie Charlesworth, and their younger daughter, Margot. Constructed round 1880 as housing for employees on the native tannery, it has the tile and brick end seen in different older properties within the historic city.

‘Discovering three double bedrooms and a big rest room in a home like this does not occur fairly often – you often should compromise,’ says Ben. “It is also uncommon as a result of the peak of the rooms stays good as you climb greater.”

Attaining a signature aesthetic

As quickly as Ben and Sophie entered their residence, he was keen to go away. He stripped all the pieces proper again, eradicating carpets and wallpaper, to create a clean canvas able to renovate and redecorate together with his signature aesthetic.

“I selected this specific inside type as a result of I feel it fits the property, and since I can play with colour schemes,” he says.

Create a comfortable nation kitchen

The next summer season, the couple put in the comfortable and darkish kitchen. Ben made the impressive-looking eating desk himself, utilizing an enormous piece of wooden, for a country look that enhances the wood beams and pure textures used all through.

Stress-free type within the bedrooms

Not like the kitchen, Ben opted for lighter, softer colours and an total less complicated design for a chilled and stress-free bed room ambiance.

The second bed room takes on an identical really feel, with gentle partitions and pops of colour creating an ethereal and breathable area.

Pure pendant lights seem in most rooms – a intelligent design trick used to unify the house and provides a way of consistency all through.

The wood front room lighting stands out in opposition to the blue partitions and ceiling, including texture and heat to the room.

Through the lockdown, Ben redecorated the hallway and visitor bed room and began his personal inside design model; a retailer and enterprise referred to as Kagu (opens in new tab) – named after the Japanese phrase for furnishings.

The shop, which is simply across the nook from the place they stay, sells among the items that look so good of their residence, such because the eating room desk, and can also be an inside design agency.

Assertion items make a toilet sanctuary

Ben and Sophie accomplished Margot’s nursery just some months earlier than she was born, and the toilet later that yr, making a household residence that exudes a relaxed and comfy ambiance in each room.

Full with eye-catching art work and wow-factor lighting, Ben’s instinctive type creates a cohesive and cohesive area.

Impressed for the longer term

Whereas your entire home has been renovated and adorned with Ben’s signature aptitude, he nonetheless has plans to do extra. “This is without doubt one of the homes we have lived within the longest,” says Ben. ‘However it’s just like the Forth Bridge. Technically we’re achieved, however now we need to do new issues. I need to lay lovely previous floorboards in the lounge and a few blue stone tiles within the backyard.’

Describing himself as ‘a really visible particular person’, it is no shock that he is at all times in search of one thing new and totally different – each for his residence and for his store. Surprisingly, he and Sophie are contemplating doing one thing fully in distinction to this look, presumably transferring into a contemporary residence. Try this area…