A Georgian cottage in Highgate with expertly layered interiors by Ben Pentreath

A cottage in the city is perhaps the ideal home if you want the best of both worlds, especially when that cottage is a charming Georgian house on the edge of leafy Highgate, with its elegant architecture and sweeping views of London. One of a terrace of listed houses, it is home to a young family who had already lived there for some years before they decided to remodel it. In need of a little help to refresh the house and make it a better fit for their lifestyle, they called in the architect and interior designer Ben Pentreath. Well-known for his ability to create comfortable, stylishly eccentric interiors that respect the fabric of old houses, Ben was a natural choice for the family, who were keen to preserve the building's considerable period charm.

Diminutive in scale, the house nevertheless has good proportions and "sensibly-shaped Georgian rooms", says Tamara Hales, interior designer at Ben Pentreath. With three children, the owners needed the house to be both functional and comfortable and were determined that the house retain an unpretentious, homely feel, in keeping with its relatively humble layout.

The house had been extended before, but only to give it a rather dark and unfortunate galley kitchen. The priority for Ben was to remove this and create a new lower ground floor kitchen with more space and light, plus a distinctive octagonal bay study in place of the old downstairs WC. Otherwise, original features were retained wherever possible; Tamara and her team painted pine floors and kept in Georgian shutters.

MAY WE SUGGEST: A Georgian house decorated by Ben Pentreath in his layered signature style

Ben Pentreath is no stranger to strong colour in his interiors, and these clients were equally game for adventure. "They had an amazing energy and enthusiasm and they loved colour and pattern," says Tamara, "so we had a lot of fun together." In the downstairs rooms rich colours and riotous patterns take precedence, although they are cleverly arranged so as not to be overwhelming. In the main sitting room, upholstery in a loud and lively GP&J Baker pattern is the first thing to catch the eye, but this is neatly balanced by soothing walls in Farrow & Ball's 'Setting Plaster'. The octagonal library, meanwhile, is painted in the same company's sumptuous 'Brinjal' purple–surely the perfect colour for this unusual, den-like space.

The kitchen is perhaps the most adventurous room of all, with Morris & Co 'Blackthorn' wallpaper creating a snug, enveloping feel next to the reclaimed York stone floors. The whole thing could be a cosy country kitchen, but the addition of bright green cabinets, patterned Mexican tiles, and expanses of orange in the range and curtains take it firmly out of twee territory.

Upstairs the colours and patterns become distinctly more restful, though they don't disappear entirely. Seagrass rugs, muted walls, and plain curtains and shutters make for altogether gentler rooms, but the buoyant prints of the bedspreads remind us that these rooms are very much of a piece with their joyful, exuberant fellows below.