Emily Johnson, the vivacious founder of Stoke-on-Trent-based ceramics brand 1882 Ltd, firmly believes in ‘magical thinking’. You can feel it vibrating through the bold mash-up of jewel hues, enchanting wallpaper murals, lush textiles and graphic modern art that she has swathed across every inch of her four-bedroom west London home.
Emily drew design ideas from the arrival of her baby son Jake, born just a month after she moved into the terrace house on the eve of the pandemic’s first lockdown in 2020.
‘I thought about all the things I enjoyed in my own childhood – like Roald Dahl and Alice in Wonderland – and realised a lot of the charm I’d loved in those stories had disappeared from my life, so the house was a chance to bring back a little fantasy,’ she says. ‘Why not have a bit of fun and escapism?’
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The house had been ‘very neutral’ at first, but Emily reconfigured much of its layout, including removing the vast atrium the previous owners had installed in addition to the glass-topped side return. This allowed her to create two bedrooms, a new bathroom and a utility room on the first floor above.
For the main bedroom, she designed built-in wardrobes and a little window seat – ‘where you can sit and read a book looking out onto the tree-lined street’ – and created her ultimate ‘Italian porn star’ bathroom with glossy tiles and speckled terrazzo. On the second floor, a jungle-themed bedroom and bathroom provide a vibrant haven for Jake.
As for the dramatic colour palette, you might call the Luis Barragán-inspired clashing of carnation pink with cobalt and Caribbean blue with peacock green a brave decision, but Emily disagrees.
‘I decided to go big or go home,’ she says, laughing. ‘I felt, if I’m going to do it, I’m going to do it all. I knew painting only the walls and leaving the ceilings white just wasn’t going to work here, so in each room I painted the walls and ceiling in one colour and then contrasted the woodwork and cornicing with another.’
Emily’s ambition for 1882 Ltd, launched in 2011 with her father Christopher (they are fourth and fifth generations respectively of the Johnson pottery family), has always been to marry traditional English techniques with cutting-edge contemporary design.
‘Inherent in our DNA is adventure, because with ceramics you never know what’s going to happen. The sheer impossibility of luck and alchemy that goes into making a cup, plate or vase is staggering, but it’s also what makes it so cool.’
That same spirit lives on in her home. Naturally, every surface is adorned with pieces Emily has made in collaboration with artists and designers such as Bruce McLean, Shona Heath, Martyn Thompson and Bethan Gray; but she has drawn inspiration from ‘their vivid imaginations and creativity’ for the house’s personality too.
Against a wonder wall of mythical creatures sits the softness of Gray’s mermaid-ombre-hued ‘Nizwa’ cabinet; Thompson’s love for dark, muddy hues echoes in the deep shades of chocolate and purple in the bedrooms; and jolts of tangerine pay homage to McLean.
Plus, Max Lamb made a dining table by hand for this home, delivering it between lockdowns. ‘Being surrounded by their work is like being surrounded by family,’ says Emily.
The result of this design melting pot is an easy-going, ever-evolving space that Emily and her son move around in according to the seasons. ‘In the summer, we spend way more time down in the kitchen; in the winter, we’re at the other end where it’s all snuggly,’ she says.
It is also the dream gathering place for family and friends. ‘From nattering over a cup of tea to throwing a full-blown disco, it is somewhere everyone feels safe, warm and free. Free to dream, free to laugh, free to dance,’ she enthuses.‘The only thing missing is a proper old disco ball.’ 1882ltd.com
