At ELLE Decoration, we are lucky enough to be invited inside some of the most breathtaking houses, exploring the design choices that transform an interior from nice to next level. This year, we have scoured the globe in search of inspiration, but it does not surprise us that when we look at the properties that have most resonated with you, the majority are close to home.
There’s something especially compelling about seeing how a building not unlike your own can be made magical. Whether an end-of-terrace townhouse, a refurbished Victorian villa, Hampstead apartment or the sanctuary of an Olympic icon, these tales of decorating prowess are the ones that strike a serious chord. And, to ensure you haven’t missed any highlights, we’ve gathered them all together for you. Consider it a Christmas buffet of beautiful homes.
End-of-terrace townhouse by Benjamin Hale
Extensions for this type of Victorian property can be cookie-cutter, but there is nothing generic about this design (also shown top). From its glazed Crittal windows that face the street to a materials palette that favours oak, brick, clay plaster and terrazzo, it shows how a home’s refurbishment can be quietly revolutionary.
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The boldly colourful home of Layton Williams
‘I wanted my flat to resemble the way I am, and as a gay black man the collaboration with designer Christopher John Rogers was just perfection,’ says Williams of the fashion designer’s wallpapers and paints for Farrow & Ball – an explosion of positivity.
A winning home for Olympic star Dina Asher-Smith
‘When you’ve got that environment and that internal peace it gives you so much more energy to convert into speed and power in front of a stadium of 80,000 people,’ says the sprinter, explaining why she chose a zen colour palette for her leafy Kent home.
Coastal glamour in a seafront San Sebastian apartment
This project by Iñigo Iriarte is the only non-British house to have snuck into your top spots, and we can see why. Its brass and mirrored details are a breath of fresh sea air…
The Kensington home that reflects all sides of its owner’s personality
Paul Aziz, real estate developer and yoga teacher, asked interior design firm To&From for a neutral space with pops of colour – somewhere for him to work, entertain and relax.
How a grand Victorian villa was reimagined for the 21st century
From its new glass extension that overlooks a wild garden to an interiors scheme by Veves that favours monochrome elegance, this transformation is truly inspiring.
This Wanstead flat shows the aspirational side of downsizing
‘Our brief was to create a place that would make up for no longer having the large home that she and her late husband had created and their children had grown up in,’ says Studio Skey’s Georgina Key of her emotive mission for this apartment’s new look.
The London mansion block apartment with novel appeal
Designed by De Rosee Sa for a family of book lovers, this compact historic property is packed full of exciting storage solutions capable of artfully displaying an enviable library, while its canopied nook bed is the ideal space to curl up with a novel.
Milan apartment where the kitchen is a stage for drama
This time of year especially, the kitchen can become a mess of towering pots and plates, but the clever design for this home by Aptitude Studio allows its owners to pull a veil across it all! The theatre curtain-inspired idea is just one of the many inspirational and original touches in this home.
The fantastical home of 1882Ltd founder Emily Johnson
Emily drew design ideas from the arrival of her baby son Jake, born just a month after she moved into this terrace house. ‘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,’ says the ceramics expert.
