When Emma Milne Interiors were approached to reconfigure and renovate a four-storey Victorian townhouse on the outskirts of Hove, they knew the less-is-more approach would work well here. The house itself had ‘great bones’, but the layout needed updating to echo modern life.

A pared-back scheme was devised to let the original architectural features be the star of the show. A mixture of different natural materials was used throughout the house. Smoked textured oak, Belgian blue fossil stone and Carrara marble set off against floor-to-ceiling panelling and soft linen curtains make the space flow seamlessly from one room to the next.
 

Floor: Landmark Tatton in herringbone and wide-board.

Gallery

  • Kitchen with herringbone parquet and central island facing a bay window.

    In the open-plan basement kitchen and dining area, the heart of the home, a herringbone pattern sets a classic elegant stage.

  • View into a kitchen larder with herringbone parquet .

    The parquet floor continues into the modern larder. Both spaces feature timeless cabinetry from Plain English.

  • Dining Room with oak table on jutte rug and herringbone parquet.

    Nowadays kitchens are much more than a place where we cook food. It is where we get together as a family, and where we meet friends. As a result, it is just as important to consider the design of this space in aesthetic terms as it is in functional terms. This kitchen-dining space ticks all these boxes and is truly the beating heart of this home.

  • Front room interior with smoked oak floor and woodburning stove , featuring a chair upholstered in blue linen.

    On the ground and first floor, the use of the same Landmark Tatton in a plank format brings harmonious continuity to the home.

  • Interior of a bedroom with look into adjoining ensuite bathroom.

    All the bedrooms and en-suite bathrooms feature this Tatton floor. The boards have a distressed finish, giving a gentle lived-in look.

  • Interior of a bedroom featuring an oak floor, linnen curtains and a soft pink reading chair.

    Although the floor has a distressed finish, its engineered construction means that it is fully compatible with underfloor heating. So the demands of modern life are not sacrificed in maintaining character and period style.