Camilla Thomson and her fiancé Paul had been renting for five years so when they found and bought their 1930s London home, they couldn’t wait to put their own stamp on it.
Over the past two years they have created a calm haven with gentle natural colours, sharing their renovation story on Instagram @camillas_casa. We talked to Camilla about how she combines colours, textures and interesting patterns for a contemporary minimalist style that’s anything but dull.
Camilla said: “One of the things we were most looking forward to when we bought our home was being able to decorate in our own taste, to create a home that’s a sanctuary from hectic city life and reflects who we are and what we love. Since moving in I’ve experimented with different styles, but I find I always revert to minimalist designs. I find the more pared back look is less challenging on the eye and this helps us chill out.
“Throughout the house I’ve used a restrained palette of natural creams and browns for a seamless flow from room to room, from off-white milk and soft taupe through to rich chocolate brown and almost black.”
Canadian Urban Oak from our Van Gogh collection available in rigid core and gluedown fitting format.
The soothing power of natural design
The elegant and welcoming living room epitomizes this approach and is where Camilla and Paul love to put their feet up and relax at the end of a busy day. Scandi blue sofas sit alongside warm beige walls and a rich brown chimney breast, while an impactful geometric rug in classic black and white contrasts with the soft blond colouring and lightly brushed texture of Canadian Urban Oak flooring.
Camilla explained: “The living room originally had an engineered wood floor but this had a very orange tone which didn’t fit in with our preferred aesthetic. We looked around for a more muted tone which would complement our desired taupe and brown colour scheme and fell in love with the light natural blond of Canadian Urban Oak.”
Part of the Van Gogh range, Canadian Urban Oak is available as a long 56” x 9” ‘floorboard’ plank as well as a matching 28” x 7” herringbone size, in both rigid core and gluedown formats, providing the flexibility to mix and match laying patterns from room to room, even over changing subfloor conditions.
Camilla said: “We were delighted to discover that the rigid core format meant that our favourite design could be simply installed straight on top of our existing wood floor, which meant less mess and upheaval. The floor looks so realistic, feels great and the wood grain effect is spot on. There is no movement in the floor; you’d never know that’s how it’s been laid!”
Flooring that works as hard as you
In fact, Camilla and Paul loved the fresh natural look of Canadian Urban Oak and the convenience of the rigid core format so much that they also opted for this design in their new garden room, which they had built at the end of their garden as a home office and gym.
Camilla told us: “I work from home most days so having a detached office that I can ‘go to’ for work has helped me separate my working and leisure hours. The garden room has full width bi-fold doors so I can sit at my desk and gaze across the garden. Our favourite neutral colour palette continues here too, with a soft canvas colour on the walls, black furniture and oak slat panelling.
“The natural look of the flooring really brings the outside world indoors, while the acoustic backing means that any noise from using the gym equipment is significantly reduced. An extra bonus of the rigid core format is that it’s suitable for installation over new build subfloors that are still drying so we didn’t have to wait before being able to finish this space.”
A self-confessed decorating addict, we’re sure that Camilla’s attention will soon turn to other rooms in her lovely home and we can’t wait to see the results. You can follow her story too on Instagram @camillas_casa.
