5 great style steals from this contemporary monochrome home

1 Make bold choices

The distinctly grown-up living room is a sophisticated retreat reminiscent of the living rooms of the owner's childhood where 'it was always so glamorous.' The black and white brings clarity - 'because nothing in life is never that clear,'- and it was also inspired by a memory of a pair of the owner's mother's black and white check gloves that she used to love playing with as a child.

2 Play on scale
‘I love the scale and graphic beauty of the ceiling-height sliding ladder and the clock face that was found in a junk shop in this library room,' says the owner. It was born with the discovery of the salvaged ladder (from an old Postal Sorting Office in Liverpool) and the clock, which has been hung ‘as it would have been even though bits are missing,' says the owner. The space is also all about ‘books, books, books - a design statement in their own right.

3 Create a witty focal point
The hall in this house is an homage to the owner's dogs - lucky them. Their sheepskin lined bed nestles below a an elegant art installation with the surprising addition of a sculpture of a bone. Tempting though it must be, it hasn't been devoured, so far.

4 Mix up materials
‘The kitchen was the perfect space to marry my love for marble and unlacquered brass,' says the owner. The taps came from a junk shop and were not exactly popular with the plumbers. ‘Tradesmen don't like fitting something out of the ordinary, so you have to be tenacious,' advises the owner. Even though it's not huge, this is the central hub of the house, where everyone gathers, to cook, to work, to chat.

5 Personalise the bedroom
‘I wanted to create somewhere to withdraw to,' says the owner, ‘and set out to deliberately make the bedroom quite traditional. The damask is fabulously unfashionable but I like the idea that it reminisces with the old world which is a part of me, she says. In shades of greys and pinks and that amazing coronet, it's very pretty but also very intimate.