Transatlantic Edge

Alex and Mishari’s family home may be deeply rooted in north London, but it gets its edge from Brooklyn and colour inspiration from the Mediterranean – all mixed up with cool British textiles

- Joanna Whitson

Concrete fire surrounds, pendants direct from Fifth Avenue and cabinets painted in what Americans would call ‘Barn Red’: it’s no coincidence that Alex and Mishari Al-Bader’s kitchen has more than a hint of New York sass about it. ‘We joke that our neighbourhood is the Brooklyn of London,’ says Alex of their NW postcode, a few miles north of Notting Hill’s stuccoed heartland. But there are also some subtler Mediterranean touches that deliver a post-holiday glow, even in the depths of a British winter.

It didn’t take long for Alex and Mishari to work out their style – a mix of urban influences and sun-warmed paint shades. ‘We both have a passion for colour and we love city life,’ says Alex.