SEE PHOTO GALLERY Take a tour around this stunning London home

Creative floral arrangements and a host of candles greet visitors to floral designer Simon Lycett's elegantly decorated town house in south London

The Shed is where Simon and his partner Nicholas host Christmas lunch at their London home. This is not a place where tools are stored, although it did start life as a garden hut.

Thanks to a makeover that included the addition of shingle walls and roof, pale flooring and transparent furniture, today it is a chic environment that happens to be in a delightful town garden.

“We serve lunch in the kitchen, then everyone walks over here and is given an umbrella if it's raining,” Simon explains.

Simon's gorgeous floral decorations have featured everywhere, from the film Four Weddings and a Funeral to the weddings of the Beckhams. He tends to keep things simpler in his own home, though he insists, “You have to have a bit of sparkle, and if ever there's a time of year when you can throw diamante and glitter around, it's Christmas.”

“The house is not big enough to be cool and modern,” he insists. “It's for entertaining in, which was why we wanted a big open space.”

Not surprisingly, his garden is a triumph. A typical London back garden, it has been cleverly fashioned to serve as two extra rooms. A sheltered dining area, dug out soon after they arrived, connects to the kitchen, with The Shed in the garden above.

See more photos of this elegant south London home

WORDS ANNABEL FREYBERG
PHOTOGRAPHS MARK LUSCOMBE-WHYTE
JANUARY 2010

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