Inside a ‘Distinctly British’ and Richly Layered Home Designed to Be the Opposite of Its Owners’ Middle Eastern Residence
Yellow London balanced earthy color, tactile textures, and low lighting to create a warm family home
For the owners of this Surrey Hills home, their English residence was never meant to mirror their main home in the Middle East. Where one embraced a more neutral aesthetic, the other was imagined as unmistakably British.
Tasked with bringing that vision to life, interior design studio Yellow London created a home that balances tradition with a fresher, more contemporary edge.
Living Room: Wrapped in emerald green wallpaper by Thibaut, the living room is a joyful place to entertain friends and family. In the window, a custom bench seat is framed by blinds in a Fermoie fabric. The fireplace fender was made by Acres Farm, and the coffee table by Carl Hansen.
Set within the rolling Surrey Hills, in the South of England, the 1930s-1950s property already had the bones of a classic family home, but founders Cath Beckett and Liv Taylor were careful not to lean too heavily into country cliches.
'The clients’ main residence in the Middle East played a large role in shaping the design, as they wanted this property to feel distinctly British in contrast,' explains Cath. 'The aim was to balance that traditional British style with a modern aesthetic that felt true to the clients.'
Boot Room: In here, Yellow London revived the existing cabinetry with a wash of Paint and Paper Library's Caravan and added Pierre Frey's Alpilles Ocre to the walls.
'We did this using color, texture, and low-level lighting to add warmth and character,' she continues.
'They specifically wanted to move away from the neutral schemes of their Middle Eastern home, so we didn’t need to push when it came to being bolder – they were clear that they wanted to use color throughout, particularly deeper, earthier tones.'
Garden Room: The walls of the garden room are painted in Farrow & Ball's Sulking Room Pink to complement the wall hanging by Lucy Kent Art. The sofa and coffee table are from Soho Home, with bespoke pillows, and the rug was sourced from Nordic Knots.
The house already had an easy sense of ease to it, but Cath and Liv's design choices bring a new depth and softness.
Earthy greens, rusts, dusky pinks, and deep blues appear repeatedly throughout the home, sometimes boldly, sometimes more subtly, helping each room feel connected without becoming overly coordinated.
Powder Room: The powder room received a small but mighty makeover, with GP&J Baker wallpaper and paneling painted in Paint and Paper Library's Kigali.
'The aesthetic is modern yet layered, with an emphasis on color and flow,' says Cath. 'It feels distinctly British but not overly traditional, and each room has its own identity while remaining connected.'
It is this cohesion that gives the house its particularly calm atmosphere – there are shifts in mood from space to space, but never jarring ones.
Kitchen: The kitchen was refreshed with a unique approach, layering up different green tones to create a calming space. The accent trims and cabinetry are painted in Farrow & Ball's Bancha, while the perimeter cabinets are in Lichen, with Bancha again on the kitchen island.
Although many home renovations begin with a full rip-out, the designers instead chose to work with what was already there in the kitchen, preserving the original cabinetry and updating the space cosmetically rather than structurally.
'To avoid wastage, the clients and I chose to do updates to the kitchen instead of re-fitting the entire room,' says Cath. 'The bones of the space, like the cabinets, were already in great condition, and so we painted these varying shades of green and replaced the countertops with white marble with a matching backsplash.'
Kitchen and Dining Area: At the eat-in area, a table and chairs by Carl Hansen sit on top of a Jennifer Manners rug. The walls in this open-plan space are painted in Paint and Paper Library's Paper II.
'Using multiple shades of green in the kitchen was a risk we’re glad we took,' Cath continues.
'Committing to several tones within one color family can feel muddled if the tones aren’t carefully balanced, but by layering darker greens on the island cabinets and shelving with a paler shade on the perimeter cabinetry, we created a subtle contrast that added dimension to the kitchen,' she explains.
Sitting Room: Across from the kitchen, the sitting room pairs a blue sofa from Soho Home with a David Seyfried ottoman upholstered in Volga Linen's Plain Linen in Terracotta and antique Birdie Fortescue chairs recovered in Le Manach fabric from Pierre Frey.
Open to the kitchen yet noticeably softer in mood, the sitting room was designed to feel intimate and welcoming.
'The kitchen and sitting room were designed as one open-plan scheme, using earthy green, rust, and navy tones,' Cath adds. 'Flow between the rooms was important, so to connect these spaces we used the same color scheme throughout the kitchen, sitting room, and study,' she adds.
'We upholstered a set of antique armchairs from Birdie Fortescue with Le Manach fabric from Pierre Frey in the sitting room,' Cath continues.
'The combination of vintage pieces with modern fabrics fits seamlessly into the design ethos of this project, and they are super comfy!'
Living Room: The sculptural sofa and two velvet armchairs in this space are both by Soho Home, and sit comfortably on a Peter Page rug. The large artwork is again by Ed Burkes, with smaller pieces by Lucy Kent Art.
If the sitting room is soft and subtle, the living room brings a bolder moment. Rather than designing the room as a formal ‘best room’ reserved for guests, Cath and Liv imagined it as the social heart of the home.
Emerald green silk-like wallcoverings form the backdrop, balanced by softer blush pinks, warm caramels, burgundy accents, and natural wood tones that keep it feeling cosseting. Overscaled artwork injects a sense of playfulness, while soft textures and lighting help maintain the mood seen throughout the rest of the house.
'We really focused on texture and low-level lighting to keep the space feeling inviting,' Cath explains. 'The clients were also very clear about the level of color they wanted, so we made sure to incorporate this with continuity from one room to the next.'
'Comfort was particularly important in the main family spaces. We chose plush rugs and carpets for the floors in spaces like the living room, where the family likes to relax and play board games on the floor.'
Primary Bedroom: Giving the room some subtle texture is a Linen Wallcovering by Vescom that acts as the perfect backdrop to the headboard in Pierre Frey fabric. The bench and nightstands were sourced from Soho Home, with a large rug by Nest underfoot.
While much of the home embraces playful color and contrast, the primary bedroom takes a noticeably softer approach.
Neutral textured walls and pale flooring create a calm backdrop, allowing the richer accents – saffron velvet cushions, a deep blue foot-of-the-bed bench, and the rust-toned bed skirt – to feel intentional rather than overpowering.
Dressing Area: The adjoining dressing room features bespoke joinery with reeded panel doors, finished with Matilda Goad & Co. handles and a bespoke vanity by Pandora Taylor.
As elsewhere in the project, even within such a neutral scheme, the layering of texture prevents the room from ever feeling flat or minimal.
A woven upholstered headboard introduces pattern in an almost painterly way, while velvet, linen, and wood all work together to give the room depth. While in the connecting dressing room, a sculptural burl wood vanity introduces warmth and movement against the pared-back palette.
Guest Bedroom: On the upper floor, this guest suite has walls painted in Farrow & Ball's Calamine paired with Little Greene's Pleat on the trims and doors. The headboard is covered in an Abbott and Boyd fabric, while a rug from Nordic Knots sits under the bed, and nightstands by Pinch London sit on either side.
There are many guest bedrooms in this home, but one of the most charming spaces is this one on the upper floor that takes the project’s approach to color and gives it a lighter, more playful twist.
Wrapped in blush, the room immediately feels cocooning, yet the palette never tips overly sweet thanks to the touch of green and deeper forest accents layered throughout.
Guest Bathroom: In the bathroom, Little Greene's Pleat is carried through on the trim and vanity. On the floor, a checkerboard floor by Mandarin Stone gives a traditional nod, paired with inky blue shower tiles.
The adjoining bathroom might be compact, but it has been approached with the same confidence and attention to detail as the larger entertaining rooms. Here, the palette is a little moodier, with inky blue tiles in the shower enclosure and creating a striking contrast against the softer cream walls and green vanity below.
'We focused the palette around earthy, deeper tones like greens, rusts, pinks, and blues; these colors are repeated throughout the house in different shades to create continuity,' adds Cath.
Kid's Bedroom: In this timeless kid's bedroom, the walls are painted in Little Greene's Portland Stone Deep to balance out the depth of Paint and Paper Library's Iguana on the cabinetry.
Rather than leaning into overtly themed schemes, Cath and Liv approached the children's spaces with longevity in mind, creating rooms that feel youthful without ever becoming kitsch.
The result is a thoughtful, flexible design that can evolve naturally alongside the family over time. In this kid's bedroom, muted blue-green joinery lines the wall and combines open shelving, a desk area, and generous wardrobe storage. 'The children’s rooms were designed to grow with them, each with bespoke joinery and layered textiles,' says Cath.
Bathroom: To create a serene primary bathroom, the walls are painted in a soft Stone II by Paint and Paper Library. The vanity is bespoke and is styled with double mint green mirrors by Reid and Wright.
One of the most impactful design moments in the project is the extensive use of bespoke joinery throughout the home.
While each room carries its own distinct mood and palette, the custom cabinetry creates a thread that ties the entire scheme together – from banquette seating and study spaces to bedroom storage and bathroom vanities.
'The use of bespoke joinery details throughout the home also highlights the consistency we were aiming for,' Cath echoes.
Study: 'Layered, balanced and fun', are the words Cath used to describe this entire home – sentiments which are reflected in this bespoke bookcase and bench wall tucked into the practical home office.
Ultimately, what makes this home so compelling is not simply its fun color palette or layered interiors, but the atmosphere Yellow London has managed to create within it.
Although rooted in distinctly British charm, the house never feels precious, overly traditional, or tied to cliche. Instead, it strikes a careful balance between elegance and ease – somewhere designed as much for everyday as it is for entertaining.
'The main consideration was ensuring the house felt welcoming despite only being used part of the year,' adds Cath. 'We hope it feels warm, layered, and welcoming. The intention was to create a home that feels comfortable and balanced while still having a strong design sense.'
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