Anna and Peter Peterson wanted a home with an interior that featured a generous floor for cooking, dining and living, and a play space for their three young children – Karolina, one, Emilie, four, and William, five. The property they bought dates from the 1880s and over the course of two years the Petersons reconfigured the interior, opening up the top floor all the way to the roof and moving the staircase from one side of the house to the other. They also created a basement space, which stretches from the front garden through to the far end of the back garden, and inserted a large glass light well, which runs up from the basement to a skylight in the kitchen above so that both levels benefit from as much natural light as possible.

In keeping with Anna's wish to create a contemporary interior, the architectural features are clean-lined and the decoration is equally simple. Rooms are painted white and colour is used sparingly. “We wanted to mix our art and antiques in a modern interior,” says Anna, “and we think art comes up better on white walls.”

Click here to take a trip around the Petersons' home.

WORDS ROS ANDERSON
PHOTOGRAPHS ROWLAND ROQUES-O'NEIL
JUNE 2009