A warm, witty London home with an exquisite small garden

For interior designer Charlotte Crosland and the owner of this reconfigured central London flat, a shared vision has resulted in generously comfortable rooms accented with splashes of red
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Jan Baldwin

The impression in every room is of light and welcome. Wall colours are pale: delicately embellished in the main bedroom and a spare room by decorative artist Rosie Mennem, a gentle pink in the drawing room, and a misty grey in the kitchen. Floors are also pale, whether reclaimed oak, carpet or sisal. It isn't until you start to dissect the decorative schemes that you recognise how every room is shaken from its neutral repose by generous helpings of colour, in particular red. And not just any old red - a rich strawberry, more warming than warning. In some rooms, such as the drawing room, this edible colour is dominant. Here, the upholstery of the buttoned sofa echoes the red coat worn by the lady in the Persian painting hanging over the chimneypiece and the heavy fringing of the velvet slipper chairs. In the kitchen, the colour features on four buttoned chairs by Christopher Howe, which chime with patterned raspberry and cream cushions on the window seat and striped mugs hanging from wall shelves. A buttoned chair in the same style brings a further burst of red to the study, where it matches rows of files that almost glow on the lead grey shelving.

Downstairs, the flashes of red are quieter: a pelmet in the curtained dressing room; a cushion in a spare room; striped ticking lining the cupboard doors in the smaller spare room; and a gathered bed valance in the main bedroom. Introducing splashes of red into a room of quieter colours is an old decorating trick, designed to pull the eye to a chosen focus. Constable used the same ploy in his art - a red shawl or saddle cloth to catch the viewer's attention and direct their gaze. Charlotte has an artist's eye when it comes to arranging a room, working closely with clients to establish their own personal tastes and editing it down to a cohesive look, be it in classic country-house style or more modern for a newbuild. 'I like to adapt,' she says.

Charlotte Crosland Interiors: charlottecrosland.com | Charlotte Crosland is a member of The List by House & Garden, our essential directory of design professionals. See their profile here | The Plant Specialist: 01494-866650; theplantspecialist.co.uk