British Houzz: Grey Warms and Yellow Wows in a London Flat
A neutral palette gets a jolt of energy from sunny accessories and witty artwork in this new unit in an industrial area
New-build homes offer many benefits – a well-designed space, new everything – but they can lack individuality. So, when faced with the blank slate that was this two-bedroom apartment in a new development in South London in the UK, its owners sought advice from interior designer Clare Morton of Studio Morton.
“The overall challenge was to make the place feel homey and give it its own identity,” Morton says. “We wanted quite a cool, trendy feel as a reflection of this area of London. It’s very industrial here, with a lot of loft apartments and Victorian warehouses, so we wanted to bring in some of that historical interest and design.”
“The overall challenge was to make the place feel homey and give it its own identity,” Morton says. “We wanted quite a cool, trendy feel as a reflection of this area of London. It’s very industrial here, with a lot of loft apartments and Victorian warehouses, so we wanted to bring in some of that historical interest and design.”
The feature grey used throughout has soft brownish tones. “It’s a fashionable, contemporary colour,” Morton says, “and it’s a warm rather than a blue, cold grey. The light is really nice in here with the floor-to-ceiling windows, so it’s really good as a base colour.”
Pieces in bright, cheerful yellow sing out against the grey feature walls throughout the apartment. “Yellow is such a happy, sunny, warm colour,” Morton says. “People love it but can be quite scared of using it.” Not Morton. “I can say, ‘We are going to make yellow work; it’s going to look lovely!’”
The sofa is styled with mid-century lines. It’s teamed with a metal coffee table that brings gritty style to the space and references the industrial heritage of this area of London.
Wall painted in ‘Elephant’s Breath‘: Farrow & Ball; sofa: John Lewis; lamp: Jieldé; Finn small side table: Oliver Hrubiak for John Lewis; ‘London Calling’ artwork: Surface View
Pieces in bright, cheerful yellow sing out against the grey feature walls throughout the apartment. “Yellow is such a happy, sunny, warm colour,” Morton says. “People love it but can be quite scared of using it.” Not Morton. “I can say, ‘We are going to make yellow work; it’s going to look lovely!’”
The sofa is styled with mid-century lines. It’s teamed with a metal coffee table that brings gritty style to the space and references the industrial heritage of this area of London.
Wall painted in ‘Elephant’s Breath‘: Farrow & Ball; sofa: John Lewis; lamp: Jieldé; Finn small side table: Oliver Hrubiak for John Lewis; ‘London Calling’ artwork: Surface View
Heavy cotton and simple white voile curtains hang at the windows. “People get very excited about floor-to-ceiling windows until they have to live with them,” Morton says. “They let in a lot of light, but what happens when you come out of the shower and are wandering around? Voiles create an extra layer of privacy while still allowing the light through.”
Media unit: Habitat; coffee table: Maisons du Monde
Media unit: Habitat; coffee table: Maisons du Monde
When Morton was asked to design this apartment, the kitchen had already been installed by the developers. “It was quite lucky because they chose attractive high-gloss cabinets in a beige colour, which was a bit different,” Morton says. “The mirrored splashback is made from smoked glass, so it’s darker,” she adds. “It’s a nice detail that helps to create a sense of depth too.”
A neat grey rug softens the engineered oak flooring in the dining area. “This big room is open-plan, so I wanted to use a rug here to designate this as the dining space,” Morton says.
Dining chairs: Cult Furniture
Dining chairs: Cult Furniture
A small but clearly defined hallway helps to keep the rest of the apartment tidy. “It’s very important to have hallway space that’s used,” Morton says. “So there’s a bench in here and coat hooks to show that this is where you sit to take your shoes off and put your bags down before you go into the apartment. It has to be clear. I’ve noticed this about myself and others: we all need to be told, ‘This is your space for doing this!’”
Bench: John Lewis; hooks: vintage
Bench: John Lewis; hooks: vintage
An 11-metre-long balcony runs the length of the living, dining and kitchen area. “It’s huge and has plenty of room for casual sitting with a book and a glass of wine, but also for dining and barbecues,” Morton says.
Simple tempered glass forms the boundary and ensures that light flows straight through and into the apartment.
Simple tempered glass forms the boundary and ensures that light flows straight through and into the apartment.
Morton chose art that had a Victorian or early-20th-century feel for the apartment. This is a reproduction of an old magazine cover.
Artwork: Surface View
Artwork: Surface View
The use of warm grey feature walls and yellow as an accent colour continues in both bedrooms. “Yellow just lifts the whole thing. It’s homey and warm,” Morton says. “I wasn’t sure about using it in all the rooms, but as this apartment is quite small, using the same accents throughout almost makes it feel bigger. You’re not compartmentalising the space; you’re treating it as a whole.”
Bed: DFS; Type1228 desk lamp: Anglepoise
Bed: DFS; Type1228 desk lamp: Anglepoise
A lot of the cushions are made from natural cottons and linens printed with images and typography. “They are reminiscent of sacks used in warehouses to tie in with this industrial area,” Morton says.
A stool: ByAlex from John Lewis
A stool: ByAlex from John Lewis
The chunky chest of drawers references the warehouses and industrial buildings of this corner of London, and provides generous storage space.
Chest of drawers: Maisons du Monde; chair: Cult Furniture
Chest of drawers: Maisons du Monde; chair: Cult Furniture
Small vintage wooden packing crates become shelves when attached to the wall. “They provide a great way to display pictures,” Morton says.
Natural wood crops up in all the rooms and looks beautiful against the soft grey walls. “It was really important to keep on bringing that warmth through,” the designer says. “The flooring [in the main living area] is oak, so I wanted to pick up on that, taking it up onto walls or using it on lamps.”
To create pockets of interest, Morton used touches of other colours against the coherent grey and beige scheme. The metal tables beside the bed, for example, have blue tops “just to bring another colour into the space.”
Bed: DFS; Sticks desk light: Steuart Padwick; tables: Content by Terence Conran from John Lewis
To create pockets of interest, Morton used touches of other colours against the coherent grey and beige scheme. The metal tables beside the bed, for example, have blue tops “just to bring another colour into the space.”
Bed: DFS; Sticks desk light: Steuart Padwick; tables: Content by Terence Conran from John Lewis
Another industrial reference, this chair combines the metal and warm wood found elsewhere in the apartment. It was inspired by anonymous historic factory and school furniture.
Yardbird chair: Cult Furniture
Yardbird chair: Cult Furniture
A gallery wall of artwork above the bed brings lots of personality to this room. Most of it is by London-based artists, with many pictures bought locally.
Butterfly print: Ikea
Butterfly print: Ikea
The apartment’s signature grey continues into the ensuite bathroom.
Sink and toilet: Villeroy & Boch; faucet: Hansgrohe
Sink and toilet: Villeroy & Boch; faucet: Hansgrohe
Typographic artworks that call to mind posters of the late Victorian era pepper the apartment, including one of the bathrooms.
Toilet: Villeroy & Boch
Toilet: Villeroy & Boch
TELL US
What do you think of the combination of grey and yellow in this chic London apartment? Share your thoughts in the Comments section below.
What do you think of the combination of grey and yellow in this chic London apartment? Share your thoughts in the Comments section below.
Who lives here: A young professional couple
Location: Bermondsey, South London, UK
Size: 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms
Interior designer: Clare Morton of Studio Morton
The apartment is designed with an open-plan living, dining and kitchen space along one side. It has floor-to-ceiling windows, which flood it with light and overlook a neighbouring park.
A warm grey creates feature walls in every room. “The apartment is only a two-bedroom space, so I didn’t want to mix things up too much,” Morton says. “One colour brings consistency.” The design was built up from there, with natural tones added to complement the grey, a mix of industrial and mid-century-inspired furniture, and bright shots of yellow.