A Victorian villa that is a satisfying contrast of modern innovation and old world charm

For Tom Morris, writing and interior design are disciplines cut from the same cloth. ‘It’s that idea of telling a story,’ says Tom, who branched into interiors in 2018 after years of writing for the likes of AD and Monocle, where he spent three years as the design editor. It was a transition that happened by accident: a friend asked for help choosing furniture and a steady stream of projects followed. ‘My approach to interiors is rooted in what I’ve learnt through writing,’ explains Tom, who now works under the business name, Morrisstudio. ‘It’s about getting to know the client in the way I would an interviewee and tying the threads together.’ 

In this case, the blank page that faced Tom was a handsome double-fronted Victorian villa in London Fields. The owners – an advertising director and her husband, who works in renewable energy – had already called on Harry Kay, of London and Cumbria-based architecture firm Built Works, to overhaul the four-floor space. ‘It had charm and generously proportioned rooms, but it was just a shell,’ recalls Tom, who joined the project a year after the architects, in June 2019. ‘It felt like a huge job, because it meant starting from scratch.’ Thankfully, the owners were full of faith, having come across Tom during his Monocle days. ‘We wanted someone with fresh ideas and a taste that would help our own evolve,’ explains the owner, who was more than convinced of Tom’s ability after seeing pictures of his own flat in the Barbican. 

For them, the house needed to offer the best of both worlds: a space that was completely energy efficient but retained the charm of a Victorian building. As such, cutting-edge technology is integrated throughout – everything from a heat-recovery system to high-performance foam insulation. Harry expanded the ground floor at the back and side, adding an impressive brick and glass extension to the rear that now accommodates a light-filled dining area leading to an open-plan kitchen and library. On the other side of the house, a drawing room runs the depth of the original footprint and leads on to another, smaller side extension, which plays host to a study and – much to the husband’s delight – a golf simulator room. Space was carved out in the existing basement for a utility room and loo, while five bedrooms are spread across the upper two floors. On the first floor, an extension at the back accommodates a bathroom, while a former spare room became a large dressing room for the main bedroom. 

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With the space reconfigured, Tom could get to work enhancing the house’s charm. ‘We wanted to counteract the modernity of the technology and new architecture by bringing in hand-crafted elements and the natural world,’ explains Tom, gesturing to a large Victorian dresser in the dining area, which offers a satisfying contrast with the extension. William Morris’s ‘Blackthorn’ wallpaper in the first-floor bathroom serves a similar purpose, softening the clean lines of the extension, while paying homage to the house’s age. ‘It makes it feel as though the outside is flooding in,’ says Tom, who used another Morris pattern, ‘Marigold’, on the landing. 

Like all good stories, Tom has deftly woven together various narratives. He responded with gusto to the owners’ request to incorporate lots of wood, wrapping the walls of the library in oak bookshelves, which he designed in conjunction with Harry at Built Works. Then there is the palette of blues and browns, which reflects the owners’ love of the British coast and sets the tone for the entire house. In the drawing room, it finds form through walls in Edward Bulmer Natural Paint’s ‘Aerial Tint’, while in the study, it is in the blue floor tiles and slubby brown walls. ‘The sea is everywhere in this house,’ says the owner, whose shell collection, thanks to Tom, now proudly sits in a frame above the drawing room chimneypiece. A pair of ultramarine-painted wardrobes in the spare room may be an optimistic take on the British sea but, as Tom explains, ‘These elements of colour add to the interest.’ Elsewhere, there are splashes of red: the vintage Bruno Rey dining chairs, for instance, which were inspired by the pair of rowan trees outside the house. ‘Tom influenced us when it came to choosing colours beyond the safe and neutral,’ the owner explains.