The story behind our new and exclusive ‘Nightingale’ location house, where pops of on-trend cobalt blue burst out of a versatile space that exudes art-gallery calm. The very things that make us fall in love with our homes are often the same factors that help to create a successful location house.

In the case of ‘Nightingale’ in London’s Kensal Rise – a new and exclusive addition to our location library – owner Selene was instantly wowed by this late Victorian house’s grand proportions; big rooms, high ceilings, ‘everything – including the staircase –  done on an impressive scale. Even on the first visit, there was something so uplifting about the sense of light and space here,’ recalls Selene. The couple and their three children moved here eleven years ago but, at the time, it took some imagination to appreciate the finer points of this house as it was looking pretty grotty back then, ‘It was a total wreck – it had been a botch job from the Forties to the Noughties!’ The couple had no option but to rip it apart and start again, re-wiring, re-plumbing and installing central heating. But for creative people – the couple both had careers in fashion – properties like this are often the holy grail – because there’s no sense in paying for someone else’s taste when you’ve no shortage of ideas of your own. While they had to sacrifice some period features, such as the cornicing lost whilst removing and replacing whole walls, other things were a joy to rediscover – such as the beautiful original tiled floor hiding under three layers of lino and carpet. Their vision for the house was simple – literally – to bring an art-gallery inspired minimalism to the bare bones of the house and then to layer on the colour and personality via things like rugs and art, objects and books, ‘I’m drawn to practical, utilitarian looks and get comfort from being in a clean, organised environment that’s not too cluttered or overwhelming,’ explains Selene.  So walls throughout are painted in the barely-there white of Farrow & Ball’s Wevet, ‘it gives that gallery space look, but softened by a slightly powdery finish.’ Against this blank canvas, statement colours leap out. In the light and spacious living room it started with a vintage rug in cobalt blue, chosen during a lengthy visit to revered rug dealer Sofiane Zarib in Marrakech, ‘it’s not a flat colour, there are so many tones and because it’s old, it brings a real sense of life to the room’ smiles Selene. Likewise, in the main bedroom, another rug from Sofiane Zarib dictated the colour scheme, this time in soft peachy-coral tones, for a more soothing look, ‘colourwise, I seem to go for either really soft shades or primary, almost-neon, brights.’ Selene is a firm believer in living in a low impact way, ‘it means thinking carefully about what I eat, wear or live with in our home,’ so for the floors, she had the existing floorboards taken up and sanded, then re-laid before being painted, while reclaimed oak was used for the kitchen floor. The low-key material palette in here includes concrete countertops, repurposed from their previous kitchen and plywood cabinets – also used in the bedrooms, ‘I love plywood, it has so much character, I associate it with reassuring, functional spaces like schools and libraries.’ Apart from some classic Vitsoe shelving, almost all the furniture is vintage, picked up on trips to Kempton antiques market or more locally, via the markets on Golborne and Portobello roads, ‘We don’t tend to go out looking for a table or whatever, it’s very organic the way things come into our lives.’ She also makes pieces her own in the way she uses them, such as the trio of vintage lights from Retrouvius, clustered at varying lengths to create a beautiful lighting feature over the antique kitchen table. The couple love to incorporate natural elements into their look, beautiful pebbles serve as soap dishes while a piece of wood that they picked up on a Lake District walk has been suspended by the hob as a pan-hanger. This thoughtful ethos has crept into Selene’s professional life too as she has stepped away from ‘feeding the fashion monster’ and retrained as a meditation teacher. When a close friend who’s a successful locations director advised them that their house would make a stunning shoot location, we’re proud to say that they signed up exclusively with Fresh Locations. ‘Our friend was full of praise for the way that Fresh Locations agency works, while another friend had had a lot of work through Fresh. The team are amazing, very upfront and real! So we signed on and had a commercial shoot the following week.’ Having a location house is part of Selene’s wider philosophy, ‘it’s a gift to have a space like this and I’m not precious about it. we need to utilise what we have and if it can contribute to my source of income while I’m in a career transition then that’s wonderful.’ The house’s other assets also help to make it a wonderful location for photoshoots and film. It’s at the end of a row, so benefits from extra light and has a generous double driveway and side return for vehicles and crews. As well as the house itself, photo and film location clients will appreciate the area with its great selection of cafes including local legends Gracelands and Minkies, as well as amazing sushi from Mitsuko Sushino and ‘the best salads in the world’, delivered from Vickie’s. So again, the very things that make Selene and family love living here help to make it a great location house too.