It is rare to step into a first-time buyer's flat and immediately spot a cohesive decorative thread, executed with a strong sense of style. It's even more impressive when the transformation has been achieved on a budget. Yet interior designer Beata Heuman has done exactly that in her Earls Court flat, bought three years ago and completed in a few swift months. The secret, she says, lies in customising - from artwork to furniture: 'The process doesn't cost much more and your home looks unique.'
Swedish-born Beata is no stranger to inspired thinking. She spent eight years working with Nicky Haslam at NH Design and has 'learned everything on the job'. Now she has a fledging interior-design practice. 'My clients enjoy my open-minded approach,' she says, listing two exciting London projects and a Swedish villa as ongoing work. 'I like to create one-off fabrics and wallpapers and get them printed, so there's always an original element.' As a showcase for her design flair, her own home is bristling with creative ideas.
Her primary challenge was to address the flat's layout. As a designer, she knew it was important to invest in building work, so the wall between the kitchen and a spare bedroom was removed. 'Now the open-plan area feels fluid and it's brilliant to have the walk-through sitting room - however tiny,' she says. She has cleverly compensated for the lack of cupboards with concealed storage tucked within a dropped ceiling, a utility cupboard inside a structural column and tall bookshelves. 'The investment in built-in joinery was minimal as everything is on a modest scale.'
Beata has also worked hard to achieve visual unity. 'The flat is small so it was important to use cohesive finishes throughout,' she says. She replaced mismatched flooring with engineered boards, and picked key upholstery and curtain fabrics in large-scale prints, but in soft toning shades on natural linens. 'Less is more when it comes to colour,' she adds. And while the kitchen/dining room has wheat-grey walls, a pretty shade that changes from morning to evening, Farrow & Ball's 'Pavilion Gray' in the sitting room gives a sophisticated evening mood. 'The bedroom ceiling is low, so Farrow & Ball's 'Lulworth Blue' makes it seem higher, while creating a focal point.'
Beata was energised, rather than fazed, by working to a tight budget. 'I identified areas where I could spend and areas where I could save,' she asserts, explaining she does the same for clients. Consequently, she has invested in quality fixed surfaces, including a marble kitchen worktop and a stone bathroom floor, and chic soft furnishings. 'A good curtain-maker is worth the investment, because beautiful curtains add height and drama,' she says. But she has saved by buying budget bathroom fittings and found inexpensive pieces of furniture - such as the mismatched dining chairs, bought in Portobello market at £15 a piece - as well as executing most of the artwork herself.
'Everything makes a difference in a small space,' says Beata, who believes it's important to look for special versions of everyday things. 'I even decant green washing-up liquid into a pretty glass bottle.' It's the last word in clever customizing.
