Keeping traditions

While modernising her period home that hadn't been touched since the 1970s, interior designer Bianca Serrao Jones stayed true to its Victorian heritage and introduced plenty of modern touches

- WORDS MARISHA TAYLOR | PHOTOGRAPHY JAMES FRENCH

When the pandemic and stamp duty holiday aligned, interior designer Bianca Serrao Jones and her husband Devin felt it was the right time to upsize from their one-bedroom flat in Hither Green. 'We loved our first home, but I was longing for a project,' says Bianca. 'One weekend we took a different route on a walk and found an estate built in the late 1800s by Archibald Corbett. The handsome houses and sense of community immediately clicked. Coming from South Africa originally, I'm still enamoured by the classic Victorian terrace - I've always been a little obsessed! We knew straight away this was where we wanted to put down roots.'

Eventually, the couple struck gold when a Corbett house came on the market with a south-facing garden and some original details intact, though it hadn't been touched since the 1970s. Typical of Corbett's designs, it had high ceilings - thought to give you 'breathing space' - wide layouts and generous proportions, qualities that instantly appealed to Bianca and the couple put in an offer there and then.