Lonika’s Former Home
Lonika’s first family home in Queen’s Park was a former railway worker’s cottage dating from 1876. While it required no structural work, the house’s original character had faded owing to various modernisations over the years. Lonika recaptured its charm by lining the bathroom with floor-to-ceiling tongue and groove panelling. In the sitting room she added bookshelves and designed a wooden surround for the boarded fireplace which she had opened up.
Vibrant textiles formed the starting point for each room. For the headboard in the main bedroom, she used a deckchair stripe leftover from the table backdrop at her wedding. She combined this with a canopy using a washed linen with a block print from Jaipur, edged with a silk tassel fringe. For furniture, she trawled reclamation yards and antique fairs across the UK and beyond to find treasures rich in character and history.
'Though the cottage was mostly pulled together over a five-month period, it has the layered look of an interior that has been added to slowly over a number of years. Granted, it is perhaps more colourful and fabric-filled than a Victorian railway worker’s cottage would have been, but it feels honest, warm and tremendously inviting.'
- Elizabeth Metcalfe, House & Garden
