A Small Converted London Victorian Is Classic, Cheerful, and Full of Character
Adrienne Breaux
·11 min read
Chelsea Mills, a managing partner of a creative marketing agency and photographer, and her partner Kirby moved to London from Toronto in 2022, finding this rental apartment to live in. Credit: Chelsea MillsCredit: Chelsea Mills
"We spend the most time in the multi-purpose main room — it’s a hybrid kitchen, dining, living room (and part-time office)," Chelsea writes. She adds that their sofa, from Loaf, "is so comfortable!" Credit: Chelsea MillsCredit: Chelsea Mills
"We struggled with how to make a home out of a rental space where we had no inventory of our own furniture and decor available to us, given we had put our belongings in storage when we moved overseas," Chelsea describes of a design challenge they've faced. Credit: Chelsea MillsCredit: Chelsea Mills
"Although we have been in London for nearly three years, we aren’t certain if we will relocate to the UK permanently. Thus, given the expense to ship furniture and belongings overseas, we haven’t committed to bringing everything we own over on a boat just yet." Credit: Chelsea MillsCredit: Chelsea Mills
"We’re also hesitant to incur major expenses related to furnishings and decor for the same reason — a tension I have been trying to balance with wanting to make our living space comfortable and personal." Credit: Chelsea MillsCredit: Chelsea Mills
To furnish their home on a budget, they searched "Gumtree, Facebook Marketplace and charity shops for pieces to make the flat both functional and beautiful, and feel like us. We found a sleek polished black coffee table, a huge contemporary mirror, and replaced the lamps and lampshades in the living room." Credit: Chelsea MillsCredit: Chelsea Mills
"We kept the original rug, table and benches and armchairs, but bought cozy shearling throws, down pillows and DIYed a big canvas artwork to bring the room together." Credit: Chelsea MillsCredit: Chelsea Mills
"This is our little record area — we love having analog date nights at home, cooking a lovely meal and curating a playlist to go along with the food." Credit: Chelsea MillsCredit: Chelsea Mills
Chelsea says she loves the ways they've brought some of their "personality to the flat through different artworks dotted around. They are a mixture of charity shop and flea market finds, local artists, and my own photography, and are all unique and one of a kind." Credit: Chelsea MillsCredit: Chelsea Mills
The couple has quite the wine bottle collection in their kitchen. "We love organic and local wine, and the cooler the label, the better. The bottles make for great (and cheap) decor!" Credit: Chelsea MillsCredit: Chelsea Mills
"The kitchen area is small but mighty. I love the vintage railroad artwork; it was a good charity shop find. I love a fun label on a bottle of wine, and like displaying them on top of the upper cupboards in the kitchen — it's such a fun decor hack." Credit: Chelsea MillsCredit: Chelsea Mills
Chelsea explains that they packed some of their "favorite smaller decor items from Canada over time to make the house feel more personal, such as artwork and our collection of vinyl records. Those little touches — and our cats having made the move with us — have really made it feel like home." Credit: Chelsea MillsCredit: Chelsea Mills
Chelsea describe that after their move to the UK, they had to start from scratch in the bedrooms, "buying rugs, dressers, nightstands, lamps, curtains, bedding, etc." Credit: Chelsea MillsCredit: Chelsea Mills
"I was in Tokyo for work this past summer and stumbled upon this incredible little shop selling hand-painted swaths of fabric. I bought one thinking I would frame it, but decided to glue it on to wooden sticks and create a wall-hanging instead. It reminds me of a great trip every time I look at it," she describes of a proud DIY. Credit: Chelsea MillsCredit: Chelsea Mills
"Our spare room is super tiny, but we make it work as a hybrid office/ bedroom for our overseas guests, when we are lucky to have them! (The desk is tucked behind the door, not pictured)." Credit: Chelsea MillsCredit: Chelsea Mills
"I DIY'd the bobbin mirror in our spare room. I loved the style, but couldn't find a mirror in the size we needed (or in budget...) so I ordered a bag of small wooden half-spheres and some black spray paint, found a frameless mirror from Amazon, and went to work." Credit: Chelsea MillsCredit: Chelsea Mills
Chelsea says she wanted a "warm, organic, cozy vibe" in the spare bedroom, and "the layers of neutral bedding I think achieves that — I like the mix of materials from the linen bedding to the corduroy headboard to the hemp-y feeling of the bolster pillow." Credit: Chelsea MillsCredit: Chelsea Mills
"This is our bedroom. When we first moved in, it was a clean canvas. We replaced the shabby chic nightstands originally with some basic IKEA Malm, before eventually finding this great pair in walnut. I swapped out the knobs with marble ones I found at H&M Home." Credit: Chelsea MillsCredit: Chelsea Mills
Chelsea says her favorite room is the bedroom. "I am most proud of its transformation, and how it all came together makes me happy every time I walk in." She explains that over time, she "sourced items secondhand from Marketplace or charity shops, brought some sentimental items over from Canada, and bought a few pieces new to bring it all together." Credit: Chelsea MillsCredit: Chelsea Mills
"My husband and I are both big readers and knew we needed a bookshelf, though are quickly outgrowing it! We're going to need to come up with another solution soon as the books are piling up," Chelsea admits. "The artwork is a photo John Lennon taken by Paul McCartney, purchased after visiting his exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery (my husband is a massive Beatles fan)." Credit: Chelsea MillsCredit: Chelsea Mills
"Our bedroom headboard is a £15 DIY — a free pickup from Facebook Marketplace (my husband and I had to carry it all the way from Tooting to Hammersmith!), a swath of corduroy from a local fabric shop, a little elbow grease in the form of a staple gun, and there you go!" She says that the artwork on the left is a sketch by a local artist in Canada. Credit: Chelsea MillsCredit: Chelsea Mills
"We have limited wardrobe space, so needed a very tall dresser and this IKEA one fit the bill. It also fits perfectly into this little nook —the bedroom is actually a bit of a strange shape, meaning the layout only makes sense in this one direction," Chelsea writes. "I love the pops of color in the blue lacquered pot and olive lamp." Credit: Chelsea MillsCredit: Chelsea Mills
Chelsea Mills, a managing partner of a creative marketing agency and photographer, and her partner Kirby, who works in the pharmaceutical industry, made a bold move in April 2022. After finishing up “gut-job renovations on a rambling townhouse” in Toronto, they relocated to London, UK, with their two cats, Dolly and Frankie, and just six suitcases.
"What I love about how our flat turned out is the balance of comfortable and casual with elements that are elegant, creating an environment that is cozy, inviting, with some personality. I am really happy with how it’s turned out, and on a strict budget, no less! With a little elbow grease and a formula of existing inventory + functional basics + a few unique finds, it’s become a place where we truly feel peace," Chelsea writes. Credit: Chelsea MillsCredit: Chelsea Mills
“Although on paper we were leaving so much stability behind — great jobs, friends and family close by, a beautiful home we had renovated to our tastes — we had had this dream of living overseas at some point, and we felt after so many lockdowns there was no time like the present,” Chelsea begins. “We were very naive and full of wonderment at that time!”
"Decorating can be overwhelming and intimidating. I’ve found having a clear sense of my style identity and firm criteria for things that make it into my home (or wardrobe), helps," Chelsea advises. Credit: Chelsea MillsCredit: Chelsea Mills
The couple quickly set out to find a flat that would be a fit, but first stayed in an Airbnb for a month. “London is incredibly vast, so we spent weeks visiting as many neighborhoods as we could to get a sense of where we wanted to lay down roots. My home and personal space has always been a sanctuary for me — as a couple with demanding jobs, who travel often for both work and pleasure, we wanted a place we could escape the chaos. Needless to say, we had a lot of criteria when looking for the perfect flat!”
"Also, creating a space takes time! Be comfortable with being patient - the results are so worth it. Take time to find things that you like and you find unique and interesting, and are cool to you. Otherwise you’ll end up with a space that’s devoid of character, and not reflective of your personal style," Chelsea advises. Credit: Chelsea MillsCredit: Chelsea Mills
After an exhaustive search, they found their perfect home in a charming ground-floor converted Victorian. With soaring 14-foot ceilings, bay windows flooding the space with light, and a mix of traditional details like wainscoting and modern updates, the flat offered an ideal place for themselves and their kitties. Despite some mismatched furnishings that came with the rental, Chelsea’s talent for blending sleek minimalism with organic textures brought cohesion and warmth to the space.
“I value authenticity and individuality and I like my home like I like my life: functional, yet with character. The story is of utmost importance to me (as a marketer, I come by it honestly!), which is why I am allergic to too much in the way of box-fresh,” Chelsea describes. “I prefer to go with vibes and instinct when it comes to decorating a living space instead of a singular style classification, operating on a bit of a ‘I’ll know it when I see it’ mentality!
"This is so simple, but took me too long to apply to myself: Just like in life, it is much more interesting to have a home that is full of character and unique personal elements, rather than following a uniform style," Chelsea advises. Credit: Chelsea MillsCredit: Chelsea Mills
“That being said, I often reach for my personal style theory — polished and effortless with a little bit of interest/ edge — and I would say that translates well for my decor preferences. I like the juxtaposition between clean minimalism and sleek lines mixed with organic shapes and textures, tend to gravitate to a neutral color palette, and dislike too much of one thing. All those characteristics and preferences and traits are very much embedded into all aspects of my life, our home included.”
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