Interior design ideas: transforming a Victorian home – in pictures

Proof that the best interior design is often collaborative, this mid-Victorian terrace house in Brighton is the work of two men: the owner, event manager Kindred Rose, and his long-time friend, interior architect Richard Dewhurst. The four-storey house now has a distinctive industrial vibe that suits the building (many of these houses were converted into workshops in the 1950s) and, more importantly, Rose himself. Photograph: Michael Franke/Michael Franke

“Kindred craved a space where life-drawing, sculpture and yoga could take place, which is not an easy task in a narrow four-storey house with two floors below ground level,” Dewhurst says. “So I suggested we create a studio on the top floor by going up into the roof.” It is a new space but they wanted to give the impression that the room had always existed, so Dewhurst stripped the chimney wall back to the brickwork and exposed the original floorboards (painted in Leyland trade eggshell in RAL 7024 from paint-direct.co.uk). “I love the structure of the brickwork,” Rose says. “And the fact that it hasn’t been seen since 1875." Photograph: Michael Franke

Rose has kept the furniture simple, opting for vintage pieces, such as the early 20th-century leather armchairs, wooden coffee table (all from swagantiques.com) and the reclaimed Czech factory lights (from trainspotters.co.uk) that accentuate the height of the ceiling. The pair of small wood-burning stoves, coupled with the matching bookcases, bring a sense of symmetry and order. The idea of stacking paintings on a shelf high above the floor was a piece of serendipity. The shelf was created to display pieces of sculpture but when Rose came to empty the attic, he found a lot of paintings that he wanted to keep but didn’t feel quite suited the space. Stacking them along the shelf was a perfect solution. Photograph: Michael Franke

Rather than trying to make this small, windowless toilet appear larger, Dewhurst has embraced the darkness, lining the lower part of the wall with orange wall tiles (Metro tiles in Wapping, £19.75 per m/sq, from wallsandfloors.co.uk) and painting the upper section chocolate brown. (Chocolate Colour 124 matt emulsion, £20.50 per litre from Little Greene Paint Company). The back wall is lined with a photo montage which Dewhurst had printed in sepia tone by Printed Space. The suitably Victorian loo is by Thomas Crapper and the wall mounted soap holder came from Magasino. Photograph: Michael Franke

The distressed concrete wall (or at least what appears to be) is in fact Piet Boon’s wallpaper from rockettstgeorge.co.uk and provides another layer of texture. Photograph: Michael Franke

Dewhurst turned the basement into an open-plan kitchen/eating space. There are no windows, so he kept the materials light, making the kitchen units and the walls from varnished birch plywood that will mellow and become warmer in colour as it ages, and adding touches of light-reflecting steel. Brightly painted Vitra Standard SP chairs by Jean Prouvé (£365, heals.co.uk) and a custom-made table from pigeonvintage.co.uk inject colour. As an alternative to standard recessed lights (one of Dewhurst’s pet hates), he has lined the ceiling with filament bulbs from Historic Lighting. A pair of wall-mounted lights (from hollowaysofludlow.com) add to the industrial feel and provide task light for cooking. Photograph: Michael Franke