SPLASH OF COLOUR

Seven years ago, Olivia Rubin launched her vibrant, rainbowinspired brand. At home, however, the palette is more muted - with the occasional pop of pink...

- BECKY DONALDSON

When designer Olivia Rubin's husband Ben Kaye missed the opening night of her fashion brand's pop-up shop on Marylebone High Street in London in 2021, he had a very good reason. "He called me to say that he couldn't come because he had to see a house that wasn't on the market yet. The estate agent said: 'It's now or never," she recalls with a laugh.

"He pretty much put in an offer without even showing me, saying: 'You're going to love it - it's just been completely redone."

The couple, who had been living in Maida Vale, were looking for a property further west with more space for their growing family, which includes two daughters aged 11 and eight. After struggling to find something suitable, it was Ben's impulse that secured them the terraced house in north-west London.

After relocating from Los Angeles, the previous owners had only lived in the property for six months before unexpectedly inheriting a house in Kensington. Before their transatlantic move, they had given interior designer Michelle Kelly free rein to do as she wished.