Urban Chic

- Stephanie Smith

Not wanting to leave London’s East End, but needing more space and a larger garden for their dog, Annie Tidyman and her husband Rich Robinson started looking for a place they could put their mark on. ‘That was six years ago and properties were selling quickly,’ says Annie. ‘We’d chosen this part of Hackney as the place we wanted to live, as it has a real community feel, with great shops, cafés and green spaces. We were also thinking about starting a family.’

Having lost out on several properties, Annie, a creative director and artist, knew this Victorian terrace was a winner as soon as she walked in. ‘The family who had lived here before had built a basic extension and installed a nice grey kitchen, but other than that, everything was very run down,’ she says. ‘That suited us, as we wanted to create our own look but not pay out to extend – it just needed a total makeover.’