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Every room in Lucy St George\u2019s north London home is a different size and shape. This suits the designer perfectly, because she\u2019s \u201calways been a fan of the one-off and the quirky\u201d. St George\u2019s love of the offbeat is the reason she co-founded Rockett St George with business partner Jane Rockett, in 2007. Since then the homewares brand has acquired a reputation for witty pieces \u2013 flamingo-legged lamps, hand-shaped chairs \u2013 inspired by their vintage finds. \u201cWe\u2019ve always sold things we like: eccentric designs with personality.\u201d<\/p>\n
The home she shares with her two daughters feels out of the ordinary, too. Outside, it\u2019s a standard Edwardian terraced house: brick-fronted and bay-windowed, with stained-glass panels glowing in the wide front door. Inside, the look is Studio 54 with a bit of fin de si\u00e8cle excess. Surfaces gleam with gold and silver. Classical sculptures lurk among the waxy houseplants. A disco ball scatters sunbeams across the ceiling \u2013 like a blingy Jackson Pollock \u2013 in the afternoon: \u201cWe call it disco o\u2019clock.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before she moved in, St George says, she had stood at the bus stop outside for years, commuting to work. \u201cOne day I noticed a for sale sign so I thought I\u2019d have a look. It felt right. I believe in fate when it comes to homes.\u201d Exuberant is a polite way of describing its previous incarnation, as the last owner also had her own distinct style. A commotion of print and pattern filled the two-storey interior: \u201cThere were four different wall coverings, all beautiful but OTT. As we arrived to look around, people were flocking out, in shock. Some people didn\u2019t even make it upstairs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Squeezed into an end-of-terrace plot, the wedge-shaped house presented a challenge. \u201cBecause it\u2019s an awkward configuration it was a case of working out the best way to use each room.\u201d She began by knocking through three small rooms to create the eat-in kitchen. The plaster was stripped back to reveal the patina and texture of the London brick, glowing black tiles came from Marrakech, and the ceiling was lined in tin tiles. \u201cAlthough it\u2019s northeast facing, the shiny surfaces bounce the light around so it never feels dark,\u201d St George says. Instead of culinary paraphernalia, framed artworks are propped across Ikea worktops. \u201cI wanted the kitchen to feel sociable, not conventionally kitcheny.\u201d<\/p>\n
St George, an impulsive, enthusiastic DIYer, did most of the decorating with her mother, a former antiques dealer: \u201cShe\u2019s meticulous, I\u2019m a bit gung-ho, so we make a good team.\u201d St George painted the sitting room cocoa-brown in homage to her 70s childhood \u2013 \u201cI didn\u2019t like it then, but now it\u2019s taken on a nostalgic appeal\u201d \u2013 but the old, striped wallpaper underneath still shows through. \u201cMy mother would have steamed it off first,\u201d she says, adding she was keen to just get it done. \u201cIf I could I\u2019d paint round the pictures and just do the bits you see.\u201d Overhead, the gold cornice is a legacy of the previous owner. \u201cI might not have had the courage to do it myself. But because I inherited it, I love it.\u201d<\/p>\n
St George approaches decorating like dressing. \u201cIf I wear a block colour I\u2019ll mix it with different textures: studded shoes, a sequinned jacket. It\u2019s what I\u2019ve done here.\u201d Upstairs, in a bedroom, black walls contrast with floral curtains. Tatty carpets were uprooted and the original floorboards stencilled using wall paints to make a feature of the unrestored floor. In the bathroom, bold, feather-print wallpaper is set against original panelling. Another bedroom basks in deep rose pink, inspired by a Moroccan roof terrace. Nearby, daughter Grace, 21, is painting her bedroom green. \u201cI\u2019m allowed to express myself in the rest of the house so why shouldn\u2019t she?\u201d<\/p>\n
She remembers being dragged to car-boot sales as a child. \u201cNow I do the same with my girls. My rule is one in, one out, but because I\u2019m a maximalist I can\u2019t resist adding new things.\u201d A prancing fairground horse, complete with flashing lights, was a gift. \u201cI saw it with my mother and said, \u2018That\u2019s the craziest thing ever.\u2019 She bought it for me secretly.\u201d A sprawling leather sofa began life as the back seat of a coach.<\/p>\n
Rockett St George pieces \u2013 a feathery juju hat from Africa, chairs inspired by Balinese furniture \u2013 remind her how much the company has grown. \u201cAt first we sold our pieces on eBay,\u201d St George says, \u201cbut the response was so positive we decided to start the business. We pooled our savings, and bought Building a Website for Dummies<\/em>.\u201d They now have a concession at Liberty and recently collaborated with paint manufacturer Craig & Rose to produce a range in their signature, saturated hues.<\/p>\n