When Emma Bowman, together with her husband James, daughters Darcey and Phoebe, and their pets, bought their Edwardian home in Bath two years ago, they knew they had a major project on their hands.
From restoring original features and structural alterations to create a more family friendly layout to sympathetic decoration that both reflects the Bowman family’s lifestyle and respects the Edwardian grandeur of the house, their forever home has been a labour of love.
Classic Limed Oak from our Knight Tile collection
A calming neutral colour scheme in soft creams, warm browns and gentle greens runs throughout the house, with additional feature walls in period wallpaper, interesting textures and mini ‘vignette’ display nooks.
To visually connect the main living spaces, Emma chose to install Classic Limed Oak flooring from the Knight Tile collection throughout the downstairs as well as on the upstairs landing and into the family bathroom. Emma has enhanced the traditional beauty of this classic oak design, with its subtle copper tones and limed finish, by opting for full-sized planks in a herringbone pattern for a more contemporary style.
Classic Limed Oak from our Knight Tile collection
In the kitchen, the new open plan layout has been designed to suit the family with defined cooking, cleaning and seating zones and plenty of storage. Emma’s eye for detail is as evident in this room as in every corner of the house.
Emma said: “For me, it’s the details that make the house our home. From things like the pot filler to the wall-mounted wine rack, they are both functional and beautiful additions so the practical engineer husband and the design-oriented wife are happy.
Classic Limed Oak from our Knight Tile collection
“I’m known for making small changes until a space is just right. In the kitchen, there was a lovely display shelf to one side of the window but the wall on the other side didn’t look quite right. That particular bit of wall bugged me every time I looked at it. So we asked our carpenters to fit an extra small shelf to match the larger one. It’s hard to beat a bit of symmetry! And I love how it visually ties in with the dining room fireplace too.”
Many might say that tackling such a major renovation all in one go is madness, but as the family could remain in their old house while the main construction work was completed, Emma feels that the hard work was worth it.
“Having our first Christmas here was special. It helped us move on from the stress and fall in love with the house – thankfully it’s even better than I imagined it would be. Our house seemed to belong to the tradesmen more than us for a long time, but now it’s very much ours!”
To follow the family’s progress as they put the finishing touches to their beautiful home, visit @ourhighviewhome on Instagram.
Want to read another? Check out our recent blog about Neurodiverse-friendly flooring.