Urban Sanctuary

Interior designer Rebecca Wakefield’s London terrace proves it is possible to create an oasis when you’re living with two under two

- Leanne Amodeo

Going for the easy route when there is a challenge to be had? Definitely not something interior designer Rebecca Wakefield and her quantity surveyor partner Josh would do. Taking on a wreck that hadn’t been touched for 50 years was actually part of the game plan. ‘The fact that it was crying out for a total renovation appealed,’ says Rebecca. ‘The idea of ripping apart a house that was in reasonable condition just to turn it into my idea of a stylish home would go against the grain.’

The fact that Rebecca was pregnant with their first child, Jude, now two, and suffering terrible morning sickness didn’t dim her excitement or vision either. ‘I always design projects with the intention to make spaces feel calm, bright, and timeless – and this was the focus for my own home, too. I’m quite a high-octane person and where I live needs to be a sanctuary: somewhere restful and peaceful where my family and I can retreat,’ she explains. To better manage the renovation, Rebecca and Josh divided it into two phases.

The first involved the complete refurbishment of the upper level, along with the two ground-floor living rooms. New internal walls were installed upstairs, engineered oak chevron flooring was laid downstairs and the entire house was rewired and replumbed. It was important to both Rebecca and Josh that they restore their home’s Victorian charm so they reinstated features sympathetic to its era, after ripping out those that had been added during the 1950s.