HOME COMFORTS

After moving back to London from Somerset, the designer Pearl Lowe welcomes us into her cosy new apartment in Notting Hill

- CRISTINA LORA ALARCÓN

Christmas is coming, and as Pearl Lowe welcomes us into her family's new home in Notting Hill, we're enveloped in a delicious aura of scented candles and seasoned wood.

For the designer and her husband, the rock musician Danny Goffey, home is most definitely where the heart is. And although they only recently moved back to the capital after 20 years of country living, this mews apartment already has their intimate, authentic vibe.

It's a place where the stresses of the world fade away among velvet sofas, eclectic fabrics and vintage finds.

“Home is my sanctuary. It’s where the kettle is always on, where shoes are kicked off and where I can fully relax,” Pearl tells us.

As Danny stokes the fire – the ritual at the heart of their Christmas – Pearl describes the holiday as an exercise in warmth: old films, mismatched socks, mountains of cheese, silly games and a feast that always finishes with homemade pudding.

And now that the couple's four children – Daisy, Alfie, Frankie and Betty – have all grown up, they're looking forward to gathering them here for a family celebration.

Pearl, although you and Danny moved here by yourselves, this is still very much a family home, isn't it? In fact, your youngest, Betty, has joined us today...

"Yes. There's a new quietness, but it's gentle rather than sad. There's always one child lingering here!"

How has your relationship with the four of them changed?