Emma and Graham Carlow by Bruce Hemming

Emma and Graham Carlow

Photographs Bruce Hemming

Words Katie Treggiden

Styling Sally Maton

After living in their Lewes house for a year Emma and Graham Carlow began a major refurbishment. ‘It was a bit of a state,’ Emma says recalling that the kitchen was so tiny she could stand in the middle and touch both walls. Knocking out walls and adding a glass extension helped to reconfigured the whole ground floor.  The original steep staircase was replaced to make the pitch safer.  All exterior walls were insulated, fake period fireplaces removed, and underfloor heating installed finished with a Marmoleum floor. Luckily Emma’s Dad is a builder and they project managed the work together.

Emma, is a designer of wallpaper and fabrics, and some of her designs like the wallpaper and cushions can be seen in the guest bedroom and bathroom.  Her inspiration comes from vintage toys that she collects and her own childhood.

Graham is a photographer and the renowned photograph of the Queen in front of the Unikko Blue fabric from Marimekko in the guest bedroom is by Polly Borland, (Graham was assisting at the photo shoot) and taken for the Golden Jubilee celebration.

Emma came across the McIntosh table and chairs via a friend who had bought a house when the previous owner (who had gone into a home) left behind some of his furniture. They are covered in a hand woven fabric from Eleanor Pritchard. The pink armchairs c1960 are from British firm Scandart.  A lucky find on eBay was the 1960s teak display unit bought for £400, which turned out to be by Danish designer Poul Cadovius, who designed one of the first modular storage systems known as the Royal System.