REASON TO clebrate

Justin and Zunaid’s transformed home is ready for guests to enjoy its pared-back beauty

- Justin and Zunaid

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The owners Justin Coakley, a content creator, interior designer and stylist (@design_ at_nineteen), lives here with his partner, Zunaid,a doctor, and their whippet, Aalto

The property A 1930s four-bedroom terraced house in south-west London

Project Cost £151,000

Christmas for interior designer Justin Coakley never meant snow falling and chestnuts roasting over an open fire. Raised in South Africa where December is mid-summer, Christmases were spent by the pool rather than in scenes of Dickensian whimsy.

‘It’s all cold meats and salads and ice cream for pudding. It’s 35 degrees and the last thing you want is a hot dinner,’ laughs Justin. ‘I love English Christmases. Getting cosy and warm, and lighting the fire when it’s all snowy; I actually prefer it.’

This year he and his partner, Zunaid, are looking forward to welcoming friends and family in to enjoy the house they’ve finally completed after a top-to-bottom renovation; the process dragged on due to Covid-enforced lockdowns.