{"id":11547,"date":"2022-06-02T09:30:06","date_gmt":"2022-06-02T07:30:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homesandantiques.com\/?p=30990"},"modified":"2022-06-02T09:52:10","modified_gmt":"2022-06-02T07:52:10","slug":"a-vibrant-colourful-edwardian-home","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/rss_feed\/a-vibrant-colourful-edwardian-home\/","title":{"rendered":"A vibrant, colourful Edwardian home"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Jo Leevers\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Thursday, 02 June 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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When you own a clothes shop just a stone\u2019s throw from London\u2019s famous Portobello Road Market, it\u2019s inevitable that an appreciation of all things vintage<\/a>, antique<\/a> and global will seep into your consciousness. But clothes designer Alex Al-Bader, whose creations for her company, Soler, have been worn by the likes of Madonna and Salma Hayek, has always had an eye for the unusual and beautiful. This is much in evidence in her home in Kensal Rise, which she shares with her husband, Mishari, and their two children \u2013 it\u2019s a celebration of her love of vibrant colours, shimmering fabrics and vintage finds.<\/p>\n

The spacious Edwardian house is filled with mid-century furniture<\/a> and design classics, set against a colourful palette that reminds Alex of her native city, Barcelona. \u2018I\u2019ve always felt at home around bright colours and patterns,\u2019 she says. Beyond the front door, which is an uncharacteristically restrained charcoal, the hallway offers a zingy welcome that sets the tone for the rest of the house: black and white tiles lead to a stair runner in deepest burnt orange, which then switches to turquoise for the painted flight of stairs leading to the top floor. Elsewhere, unexpected colours, revealed in rich wallpapers and boldly patterned soft furnishings, are combined at every opportunity.<\/p>\n

This is not a home that was ever going to give sombre grey walls the time of day. In fact, grey is anathema to Alex, who moved to Britain from Spain in her early twenties. \u2018I loved London from the moment I arrived, but I couldn\u2019t understand why everyone liked to dress in grey and navy!\u2019 she jokes. \u2018We both love the energy of colour.\u2019 It was Mishari, a stockbroker, who was responsible for the delectable taramasalata-pink walls in the kitchen. The shade, Nancy\u2019s Blushes<\/a> by Farrow & Ball<\/a>, has just the right amount of duskiness in it, Alex says, and also \u2018the tone changes throughout the day\u2019. As a contrast, he added a glossy industrial green on the cupboard doors. \u2018They\u2019re both great shades to see first thing in the morning.\u2019<\/p>\n

In the generous, double-aspect sitting room, colour is provided by piles of brightly embroidered silk cushions, hand-painted throws and a Manolo Vald\u00e9s painting with vibrant strokes of Iberian blue. A loop of colourful bunting, left up from their daughter\u2019s recent birthday party, adds to the Spanish fiesta feel. \u2018We keep meaning to take it down, but the flags suit the mood in here,\u2019 smiles Alex.<\/p>\n

Throughout the house, vintage furniture<\/a> and original art look very much at home against the daring colour schemes. \u2018We both have a particular love of mid-century shapes, but there are no strict rules about limiting ourselves to one era. If something interesting catches my eye, I\u2019ll add it into the mix,\u2019 says Alex. In the sitting room, she has happily paired cheeky Fornasetti<\/a> stools with a black and white zig zag rug; a couple of funky pendant lights<\/a>, snapped up in New York, hang from the Edwardian ceiling rose and an Eames lounger is the perfect partner to a leather button-back armchair from Ralph Lauren. \u2018We\u2019ve collected pieces that remind us of places we\u2019ve been and people we\u2019ve met,\u2019 Alex explains.<\/p>\n

In the master bedroom, the couple have used the power of pattern in the form of a wallpaper<\/a> created by Alex\u2019s sister, artist Monica Subide, for Soler. The two sisters have collaborated on clothes designs for many years, with Monica hand-painting motifs onto one-of-a-kind silk dresses created by Alex. \u2018It\u2019s like wearing a work of art,\u2019 she says. \u2018When you buy something unique, you treasure it \u2013 whether it\u2019s a dress, a painting or a piece of furniture.\u2019<\/p>\n

Wallpaper is a new direction for the pair. \u2018Monica and I are always talking on the phone or emailing ideas back and forth. Then, one evening, she sent me some drawings of dreamy floral shapes and I could immediately visualise the pattern working as a wallpaper rather than on clothes.\u2019 Those first squiggles went on to become their Girasols wallpaper (seen in the master bedroom). \u2018To me, the design has hints of 1970s style but it also feels timeless,\u2019 says Alex.<\/p>\n

Another Soler fabric has been used to cover a large pouffe in the children\u2019s bedroom, which is a large, shared room at the back of the house. Loose-woven linen curtains divide the long space into three equal sections: Shashi has one end, Eliana has the other \u2013 and a central section works as a mini cinema room. \u2018While the kids are still happy to share, this is a really nice use of the space \u2013 it flows,\u2019 Alex adds.<\/p>\n