Interior Styles Real Homes Tour

A Modern Victorian Home Tour – Estelle Derouet

June 22, 2018
A Modern Victorian Home Tour - Estelle Derouet

My first Real Home Tour went down a real treat with you all so today I thought we’d take a wander around a distinctively Modern Victorian styled home of Estelle Derouet and her family.  She also happens to live in my hometown of Epsom in Surrey.

 

A Modern Victorian Home Tour – Estelle Derouet

A Modern Victorian Home Tour - Estelle Derouet

It would be rude of me not to introduce you before we go poking about her wonderful home. So meet Estelle who was born in the rather beautiful Loire Valley. Having left her native France nearly 20 years ago, Estelle came to work in London and never left. A working mum of one, she has spent most of her career in marketing and PR for IT software companies. She also writes a blog Savage Interiors if you fancy taking look.

This fabulous Victorian property is home to Estelle, her husband Jon, their son Louis (9) and their British Blue Mandoo and was originally built-in 1896. With 6 bedrooms it’s a wonderfully generous sized abode filled with treasures both modern and antique that make it unique and personable to Estelle and her family.

The House

A Modern Victorian Home Tour - Estelle Derouet
Having bought this Victorian house five years ago, Estelle has set about creating a Modern Victorian style dream. Seamlessly blending old with new to create a unique and personal look whilst taking into account the property’s architectural qualities sympathetically.

Estelle has also brought in contemporary elements that a modern family home need in terms of functionality and aesthetics. It would be wrong not to.

A Modern Victorian Home Tour - Estelle Derouet

Her love of antiques and the unusual are displayed to their full advantage and enhance their surroundings perfectly.  Estelle also manages to combine modern contemporary pieces that work surprisingly well side by side. Her eye for detail and what works is a much-admired skillset when it comes to styling her home.

I’ve always admired the architecture of the Victorian era, if not the over-enthusiastic ornamentation that was the epitome of this time. Victorian properties are simply packed full of character with high ceilings and intricate details and well-proportioned rooms. Estelle has not only embraced these but has created a home that harmoniously blends Victorian and modern styles together to create a unique and welcoming home.

 

Living Room

A Modern Victorian Home Tour - Estelle Derouet

This fireplace is just one of four of which Estelle sourced to fit in with her homes late Victorian era. It was an eBay find and it looks amazing in her living room.

I adore this room as it’s a display of how wonderful the Victorian Modern style works. From the cheeky “The Queen Dear” artwork from Prefab77 to the antique mirror.

The collection of art and curiosities are again a nod to the Victorian era although they preferred gaudier overly stated pieces to adorn their homes with, Estelle’s collection is more refined and tasteful don’t you think?

 

A Modern Victorian Home Tour - Estelle Derouet

Painting the walls in a lighter shade of grey adds a sense of the modern to her living room. The Victorians preferred to don their walls with what would have been highly ornate wallpaper and/or moody darker colour scheme.

The fitted shelving and cupboard space adds a feeling of depth and makes use of the high ceilings that Victorian properties are popular for. It’s also great to see that Estelle has opted to paint the ceiling the same colour as her wall her which really brings out the architrave details.

 

Modern Victorian Tip: Make use of high ceilings and alcoves by adding fitted units and/or artwork to accentuate and provide useful modern-day storage.

 

Modern Victorian  Details

A Modern Victorian Home Tour - Estelle Derouet

Estelle definitely has an eye for detail when it comes to styling her home. It’s helped that she has an ongoing love affair with antiquities and seeks out unusual finds to adorn her home.

This dashing young man (known affectionately as Cecil), is just one of Estelle’s fabulous finds. It adorns her moodier bluey black walls adding the look and feel of the Victorian era to her bedroom space. The glimpse of the antiqued foxed mirror and fireplace again exemplify the overall look and feel of this space.

 

A Modern Victorian Home Tour - Estelle Derouet

Estelle also breathes life into vintage finds like this lampshade where she gave it a contemporary twist with some spray paint and created an ombre look to it. There appears to be no end to her ability to incorporate the Modern and Victorian look to her home.

 

A Modern Victorian Home Tour - Estelle Derouet

The hallway captures the Victorian era beautifully with sourced chandelier and metallic elements that offer light reflective qualities.

Dining

A Modern Victorian Home Tour - Estelle Derouet

Estelle was fortunate that the previous owners left behind the dining table and chairs, which can seat up to 14. The mirror over the fireplace was found by her in a reclamation yard for £100 and certainly adds to the appeal of this beautifully styled dining room.

Everywhere you look you are treated to carefully thought out details that not only provide interest but more importantly character and personality that a period property deserves.

 

Bathrooms

Whilst Victorians were massive on patterned tiles Estelle has opted for modern larger and unadorned tiles. There are still references of the era with the freestanding bathtub and cabinetry albeit in a more refined modern way. Carefully curated pieces adorn the bathroom adding personality, interest and character.

A Modern Victorian Home Tour - Estelle Derouet

The walls to the master bedroom have been painted with Hardwick White by Farrow and Ball perfect for a vintage bathroom.

There’s also the carefully chosen antiquities and modern ornamentation that pull both modern and Victorian together.

 

A Modern Victorian Home Tour - Estelle Derouet

This roll top bath was another of Estelle’s eBay finds and cost all of £40 although she did have to completely refurbish it and have it re-enamelled. Her endeavours have certainly paid off don’t you think?

Bedroom

A Modern Victorian Home Tour - Estelle Derouet

Painted in Farrow and Balls Inchyra Blue, the master bedroom is Estelle’s sanctuary and you can see why. Lots of natural light floods in through large Victorian windows adding to the sense of space to this fabulous room.

 

A Modern Victorian Home Tour - Estelle Derouet

Again, modern art contrasts and compliments the predominately Victorian aesthetic in the master bedroom.

 

A Modern Victorian Home Tour - Estelle Derouet

The chandeliers that adorn Estelle’s family home have all been sourced by her to fit in with this beautiful period property. The rather fabulous statement antique foxed mirror was found for Estelle by Louisa Grace Interiors who are antique specialists based in Banstead, Surrey.

 

A Modern Victorian Home Tour - Estelle Derouet

The use of soft furnishings layered adds comfort and a welcoming aesthetic to the bedroom spaces.

 

A Modern Victorian Home Tour - Estelle Derouet

Estelle has created a cosy bedroom for her son by adding lots of textural delights as well as proudly displaying his artwork on the walls.

Kitchen Of Dreams

A Modern Victorian Home Tour - Estelle Derouet

Estelle’s home is no stranger to the public domain either. Featured on the front cover of Real Homes and At Home by Sarah Beeny magazines, Estelle’s kitchen really is one to relish.  It’s undergone an extensive refurbishment to bring about what can only be described as the kitchen of dreams.

I’ll leave Estelle to tell you the story behind the transformation of what is the heart of her home.

 

A Modern Victorian Home Tour - Estelle Derouet

Estelle’s carefully extended contemporary Kitchen/Dining area with large bi-folding doors onto spacious decking, ideal for entertaining.

Our kitchen was the last project in the renovation of a late Victorian property that had barely been touched for 50 years. Being in a conservation area, we had to go through three planning applications before getting permission to build the extension We replaced a higgledy-piggledy lean-to comprising a tiny kitchen, a dingy dining room and a Victorian loo and created a large open-plan kitchen with double aspect bi-folds opening into the garden.

 

A Modern Victorian Home Tour - Estelle Derouet

 

We wanted something that looked vintage with a bit of character so I started to source items to create a physical mood board of vintage tins and Madeleine trays found on eBay. The original plans relied on bi-fold doors to bring light into the space, but we quickly realised that it would be too dark. We changed the plans and added the biggest Velux windows our budget could stretch to, which meant a tweak to the kitchen layout to reposition the cooker, which we had bought it before they even had planning permission!

 

A Modern Victorian Home Tour - Estelle Derouet

The finished space includes a concrete tiled floor, a vintage school science bench and a ‘driftwood’ kitchen we spotted in a magazine. Whilst we had a clear vision of what we wanted, we never thought it would be as good as this!

 

A Modern Victorian Home Tour - Estelle Derouet

I love the wonderful contrasting textures Estelle has used to create instant visual interest to her kitchen space. From the polished marble to the warmth of reclaimed wooden shelving for keeping all those everyday kitchen essentials to hand. Like the rest of her home, wherever your eye falls you find interesting pieces that are aesthetically beautiful as well as functional for example the vintage Madeleine moulds are beautiful in their own right.

 

A Modern Victorian Home Tour - Estelle Derouet

To appreciate the full extent of what Estelle and her family endured you only have to take one look at the before photo above.

 

A Modern Victorian Home Tour - Estelle Derouet

The after photo just goes to show that with careful planning what can be achieved. It’s an amazing transformation and I personally love everything about it! It’s such a wonderful light filled space.

 

A Modern Victorian Home Tour - Estelle Derouet

You can read the full story behind the kitchen build here on Estelle’s blog, Savage Interiors.  You can also see more of her wonderful home and her latest antique discoveries on Instagram by clicking here.

 

Have we all fallen in love with this beautiful Modern Victorian home? I know I have. Estelle’s home is proof that with time and effort and, ultimately the love of period antiquities, you can combine both modern functionalities and aesthetics with Victorian drama.

Have a wonderful weekend and thanks as always for stopping by!

Maria xx

 

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2 Comments

  • Reply Sally worts June 22, 2018 at 10:35 am

    Such a fab home & a great read 🌺🖤🌺

    • Reply Maria June 22, 2018 at 1:47 pm

      Thanks Sally! I couldn’t agree more. It’s a beautifully curated and put together home. Estelle has an eye for detail for sure!

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