When I was a child, and particularly during the summer, time dripped by. The southern sun seemingly hung at its highest for hours and hours, and one day felt like an eternity. As the warm rays crisped our necks, my friends and I would lazily weave our bikes around our cul-de-sac until we collapsed in […]

When I was a child, and particularly during the summer, time dripped by. The southern sun seemingly hung at its highest for hours and hours, and one day felt like an eternity. As the warm rays crisped our necks, my friends and I would lazily weave our bikes around our cul-de-sac until we collapsed in a salty swoosh beneath my family?s pine trees. There we?d sit blissfully unaware that one day we?d lose hold of our tether to time, and it would start slipping through our fingers fast enough to burn. While I sometimes miss the steady pace of the past, I?ll admit the recent ramp-up has taught me a thing or two about making the most of my time and not resting on my laurels. While I?ve done my best, I?ve got nothing on hard workers like Yoko Kloeden. In just six months she?s fully renovated this four-bedroom, three-floor home in south London, all while living inside with her husband and three children and running her own design business.
In order to master her 1870s-era Victorian, Yoko treated herself like one of her own clients. This meant living in the home for a year before making any major design decisions. The technique helped inform her of both the structure?s ins and...