Claire and Michael had been looking for awhile when she came across a listing for this flat online. It was love at first sight. “I love the kitchen with its exposed beams and double height ceiling,” begins Clare, who is the founder of POP Bakery. “It was also the fact that the couple before had spent three years renovating it to a high standard, and then not lived in it very long before selling. It meant there were lovely details like the doors and brand new wooden sash windows that hadn’t had lots of wear and tear.”  

My Style: Colorful, eclectic, lots of vintage, pattern and art on the walls!

Inspiration: Lots of different designers, Beata Heuman numero uno, Luke Edward Hall, Matilda Goad, Kaitlyn Coffee, 8 Holland Street, Rita Konig

Favorite Element: My growing art collection and my £200 stripy sofa.

Biggest Challenge: Getting my boyfriend to trust me on seemingly bold choices like a red velvet sofa and green walls. His taste is much more minimal but he loves it now and says he’ll trust me completely with the next place we do up!

Proudest DIY: I so wish I was good at DIY but I’m really not. My proudest design decision is probably the beautiful Ottoline De Vries wallpaper in Daniel’s room. And combining it then with the bold red and white stripe blind by Ian Mankin!

Is there something unique about your home or the way you use it? Limited space means our wardrobes are in Daniel’s room, which is a bit of a pain. Fine for now-ish, but if we have another kid, we’ll have to be a little more savvy with storage solutions! Will watch lots of the Home Edit as homework!

What are your favorite products you have bought for your home and why? I love buying vintage plates and crockery for my dresser in the kitchen. Since having Daniel, it’s been a little trickier to get to the car boot sales. Me and my mum loved going to so much, but we hope to be back there soon!

Please describe any helpful, inspiring, brilliant, or just plain useful small space maximizing and/or organizing tips you have: I wish I could say the inside of my cupboards are super organized, but they really aren’t. We actually found with this flat that the people before did lots of carpentry that looked nice on the outside but wasn’t actually functional on the inside. We recently customized the inside of our wardrobes as they were literally just shelves, which were a nightmare to use. I plan on buying containers to sort the kitchen cupboards as again they’re all just open cupboards which isn’t the best use of space. In terms of tips the only one I could share is thinking about kids toy storage a little differently. Not getting the obvious ugly boxes. I use old baskets and wooden trays — they look prettier scattered around his room than your more typical kids storage units or tubs would I think!

Finally, what’s your absolute best home secret or decorating advice? Take your time. So tempting to rush it but more fun to take your time and let your style evolve and you’ll be happier with the end result!

• Living room — “Oval Room Blue” Farrow and Ball
• Bedroom —”Setting plaster” Farrow and Ball
• Daniel’s room — Chintz Constance wallpaper by Ottoline De Vries

• Sofa — Loaf
• Lamp — Pooky
• Shell cushions — Tamar Mogendorff
• Star lamp — The Chuffed Store
• Instrument candlesticks — Tat London

• Wavey bowl — The Chuffed Store
• Glass Pendant Lights — Retro Vius

• Random ceramics — Etsy
• Cup and spoon hit pink print — Sophie Harding

BEDROOM

• Bed — Loaf
• Blinds — Archive
• Fruit hooks — Host Home

• Wallpaper — Ottoline
• Blinds — East London Cloth
• Fabric — Ian Mankin
• Lamp — Polly Fern
• Goose lamp — Trouva
• Shelving — String Furniture
• Stripy frames — All The Things

Thanks Clare!

This tour’s responses and photos were edited for length/size and clarity.
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