Setting the tone

Tom Baxendale and Rich Cole adopted a more is more approach when decorating their historic apartment and the end result is fabulous

- MARISHA TAYLOR

Finding and buying their first property together in east London was a smooth process for Tom Baxendale and partner Rich Cole when they fell in love with the first apartment they viewed and made an offer on the very same day. ‘We’d been living in a small, rented flat in nearby Dalston and were looking to buy somewhere a little more residential,’ says Tom. ‘This apartment was part of the redevelopment of an old Victorian workhouse built in 1874 called the City of London Union Infirmary,’ says Tom. ‘The development was in early stages, but we were completely blown away by the building’s striking architecture and fascinating heritage.’

PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE