Georgie Ludlow, founder of Oskoe shares a peek inside her light, bright home
Georgie Ludlow is the founder of stylish family interiors brand Oskoe. She lives in Barnes with her husband and two daughters.
Q How did you come to buy the house and what drew you to it?
A I fell in love with Barnes after visiting a supplier here back when I worked as Head of Marketing for Leon Restaurants. We were renting in Fulham and were just about to begin house hunting, so I instantly took my (now) husband to the Brown Dog pub and that night we both just knew this was where we wanted to live.
After doing a bit of research it became clear there weren’t many houses in our price bracket and we narrowed it down to a beautiful row of former little railway cottages on a pedestrianised road. We popped letters through everyone’s door and at the same time our now home came on the market. We were so excited about the project that lay ahead – the previous owner had owned it for quite some time and had hardly spent any time here!
Q What was it like when you first moved in and have you done any renovations?
A Think brown carpets, green bath fittings, rope handrails on the stairs (?!) lots of dark brown wood – that was all greasy and sticky in the kitchen (yuk!), thick white security bars on the windows (!) a tiny downstairs bathroom and galley kitchen. It was a struggle to get in the warped front door covered in old wisteria and the back bedroom window was days away from falling in, with the tree in the garden’s branches scraping on it!
Q What was your decorating vision and where did you look for family interiors inspiration?
A We were really set on creating a minimal, calm space. We wanted to use as many natural materials as possible as well as opening up and making the best use of the little space we had. We pulled pages out of magazines, created mood boards and inspiration files – I loved doing this! We spent many hours researching and planning, my husband focused on the storage in order to ensure best use of the space and I was militant about finding the finishes we really wanted.
Q What did you do to your daughters’ room?
A I never felt an overwhelming desire to paint walls pink, add lots of baby bits, or create a traditional nursery. I really didn’t want to add lots to the calmingly minimal space we had created and come to love. Originally this was our spare room so when I got pregnant we just moved the furniture around to add a little cot and changing table and bought the special antique mirror from a beautiful local shop. In all honesty I wasn’t a huge fan of the decoration and textile choices on the market at the time. However, as my eldest daughter grew older we realised there were bits she did need and finally through Instagram I started to discover pieces that fitted with the style we had spent so long creating, they just weren’t available in the UK. This is how Oskoe began.
Q Owning a family interiors brand, how have you incorporated Oskoe pieces into the house?
A The girls still don’t really have a lots and lots of stuff. We believe strongly in encouraging them to use their imaginations to create play. Although whenever they see new Oskoe stock they often wish it was for them, we have tried to stay quite strict and we only really give them new toys for birthdays and at Christmas. The House Storage bag in the kitchen is absolutely perfect for hiding the less beautiful toys and they both love to sit at the NoFred mouse furniture sets to play, read, draw and eat. As they have grown we have added bits and pieces as and when we needed them – muslins, changing bags, play mats (when they were babies), and the sleeping bags, duvets, tableware as they have got older.
Q Which room do you love the most?
A The kitchen – light floods in through all the glass and when the sun sets down this side of the house it creates beautiful shadows on the kitchen wall. I love the juxtaposition of the modern clean white units against the concrete worktops, full of character and imperfections.
Q And finally, favourite way to spend a family day at home?
A We never imagined being in this house with two children, but many years later our eldest daughter is settled in the great local school and pottering around Barnes at the weekend is perfect for us. A visit to the farmer’s market and our local café for coffee then a walk along the river and an afternoon in our courtyard garden in the summer or in front of the log burner in the winter, watching the girls play is perfect. My husband also runs his own business and with us both working so hard during the week we love catching up and making plans, feeding each other ideas and talking about our businesses.
GET THE LOOK
Top picks from family interiors brand Oskoe
Natural Stacking Toy; £34 oskoe.com
Mouse Chair & Table Bundle; £475 oskoe.com
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