A London Flat Inspired by Danish Design

Name: A-K Parker and Jeremy Gleeson
Location: Stoke Newington, London
Size: 628 square feet
Years lived in: Rented for 3 years

Light, airy and fun are my first impressions of this lovely one bed flat in Stoke Newington in London. A-K, a half-Danish art director in advertising, draws a lot of her inspiration from classic Danish design, which she likes to mix up with interesting objects she and her boyfriend Jeremy collected over the years while travelling. Some of the pillows on the couch are from their recent trip to Turkey when they were sailing with Jeremy’s company MedSailors (they do amazing holidays in the Mediterranean), the splattered ice cream ornament on the shelf is from their last holiday to Tokyo, the meditation chimes were from Dharamsala in India by the Dalai Lama’s temple and the quirky wooden men sculptures on the drawers were from Olinda in Brazil.

The couple have also managed to be really savvy in sourcing amazing stuff for free—the mirror in their bedroom was found on the side of the street in Broadway Market. The sofa bed was donated by friends. The gold painted wooden letters on the shelves were from a guy taking them down off his shop in Camden. And my absolute favourite thing in their house is this greasy spoon menu in the kitchen, which A-K spotted from a skip near Blackfriars bridge, when the greasy spoon she loved at uni were doing a revamp.

A-K told me the biggest challenge to them was the fact they don’t own the flat; even nailing things on the walls needs permission from the landlady! Having said this, with all the lovely things they’ve filled this beautiful place with, they’ve certainly owned the flat with their personality.

Our Style: Fun

Inspiration: Danish design

Favorite Element: Light from French windows and tall ceilings and working fireplace.

Biggest Challenge: Not owning the space and being able to nail things on the wall / really make it our own.

What Friends Say: It’s a lovely quiet, green space, especially for where we live in London.

Biggest Embarrassment: Noise that travels between the flats, typical of a Victorian terrace conversion.

Proudest DIY: Decorating my flower pots and bamboo sticks.

Biggest Indulgence: Coat rack and Liberty cushions.

Best Advice: Chuck stuff out.

Dream Sources: Nook on Church Street, Unto this last, Liberty

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