3 hours ago
1
If a house can change your mood, I just don’t know why you wouldn’t want to concentrate on the joy.” Neil Bedford has been asked about his thoughts on beige homes and he’s trying his hardest to be diplomatic. “A house like this makes coming home a little more exciting,” agrees partner Daisy Fry, gesturing to their Selfridges-yellow staircase. “It cheers you up.”
The couple moved into this early Edwardian terrace in the North Yorkshire coastal town of Saltburn-by-the-Sea in 2021. Neil is a photographer, while Daisy, who has a masters’ degree in creative practices and has dotted the house with her “soft sculptures” – is now taking time out to be at home with the couple’s young son, Solo.
The pair had just finished renovating their 1950s home in Bradford when they spotted this place. “It’s great to be close to the sea. Saltburn is classed as a town, but it feels more like a village, and it’s getting more interesting all the time, with new places to eat and get coffee,” says Daisy.
Back then, the décor couldn’t have been more different; think authentic Victorian with lots of William Morris wallpaper. “It felt soulful and homely from the start, though,” recalls Daisy, while Neil adds: “With all its Victorian features, it was like a blank canvas with character and that has made it easier and more exciting to do. Our main idea was that the interiors should be fun.”
The couple started with the kitchen, which was looking distinctly battered. They turned to Daisy’s step-mum, Natalie Fry, who has her own interior design showroom, Grid Thirteen, in Leeds. “It felt really good to be able to delegate such a big chunk of this project to Natalie, knowing that she got us and our style and would handle the whole thing,” says Neil.
Despite their colourful, offbeat taste, the couple opted for the simplest of kitchens, to serve as a gallery-like backdrop, complete with display shelves for their ever-expanding collections. The cabinetry is matt-lacquered in a carefully chosen “lotus white” from SieMatic, neither warm nor cool in tone, for maximum versatility. A quartz-wrapped kitchen island has had its veining painstakingly aligned so that it appears to flow, waterfall style, from the horizontal countertop to the vertical side panel. “It’s timeless and easy on the eye,” says Daisy.
To play off all the white, the ceiling has been painted a breezy Wedgwood blue, while the hall and kitchen floors have been covered in graphic black-and-white rubber tiles, with the original Victorian tiling carefully preserved underneath. “We might change it in the future, but it’s warm and perfect for Solo’s early years,” says Daisy.
The same sense of warmth and comfort permeates the two living rooms, one more family-friendly, the other a more grownup space. Both have deep-grey walls with a matching carpet for a colour-blocking effect, while the ceilings are variously crimson red and Germolene pink. “When you have high ceilings, there’s something comforting about creating a darker room,” says Neil. “I get stressed out seeing white ceilings, why do people not do something interesting with them?”
Upstairs, the couple’s bedroom suite is a calmer mix of soft white, moody grey and drunk-tank pink. Solo’s room is full of vintage toys, from a Palitoy treehouse to Daisy’s collection of Ty Beanie Babies. But opinions are divided on whether Solo can play with the highly collectible “toys” that feature throughout the rest of the house, in particular, the couple’s collection of Japanese Bearbrick figures. “No, he cannot,” says Neil in the most emphatic of tones, while Daisy quietly adds that she lets Solo play with them when Neil is away for work.
“I got introduced to Bearbrick through their many collaborations with artists and designers,” says Neil. “They’re very pop art and once you start exploring what they’re all about, you can never have enough. We love the childlike nature of them, they’re like toys for adults and each one brings us a bit of joy.” Similarly, Supreme skateboard decks are displayed as artworks around the house (“We’re not skaters, but they’re an affordable way to buy into the artists we love”) and the pop art also extends to branding – “I’m a sucker for McDonald’s iconography, I could have a whole room dedicated to it,” says Neil.
Furniture favourites include pieces by Kartell and Seletti, both Italian designer brands with a seriously playful streak. “We love the way Kartell uses traditional furniture shapes in modern materials, like its plastic Bourgie lamp, which we have by the bed.” Seletti’s distinctive black-and-white Cut ’N Paste collection can be seen throughout the house, from mirrors to ceiling lights, to wall shelves.
The house is constantly changing and evolving, with plans for a dining room extension, and Daisy rearranging the space whenever the mood strikes. “We’re both creative, flamboyant people,” says Neil, “and we always want the house to feel like us.” says Neil.
