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A new Apartment Therapy house tour revisits designer Donna Wilson’s 1860 cottage in Leytonstone, East London, and spotlights its vividly colored renovated kitchen. Wilson says a 2023 project with Ludwig Willis Architects also added an ensuite bedroom, utility room and loft studio and shower room; the cottage is in a conservation area, and the planning process took several attempts.
Apartment Therapy has published a new tour of designer Donna Wilson’s 1860 cottage in Leytonstone, East London, drawing attention to a renovated kitchen Wilson describes as a “stained glass window kaleidoscope of colour.” The feature also details a 2023 renovation that added rooms above the kitchen, showing how the family reworked the historic home while meeting conservation-area planning requirements.
Wilson and her partner, furniture maker Jon Almond, found the detached cottage 13 years before the new tour, when their son Eli was a baby. Wilson told Apartment Therapy that the listing showed an overgrown, rundown property, but the description “detached cottage” and its large garden persuaded the couple to arrange a viewing. They live there with their two sons, and the household also includes a cat, six chickens and a lab puppy named Barley.
The couple first decorated the house to make it feel more personal after what Wilson called a basic, gray-and-beige renovation by developers. They brought in Wilson’s artwork, Almond’s custom furniture, found objects and patterned textiles. The 2023 project, designed with Ludwig Willis Architects, went further: the family rebuilt the kitchen and added an ensuite bedroom, utility room, loft studio and shower room. Wilson says the loft has large windows that bring in substantial natural light.
The kitchen is the tour’s visual focus, with Wilson describing its colors as a kaleidoscope that prompts a reaction. Apartment Therapy’s listing identifies Lick’s pink 01 eggshell as the kitchen paint color. The article also names a reclaimed science desktop from Retrouvius and a Quooker hot-water tap among the kitchen resources. These details are the publication’s account of the home and its furnishings, rather than an independent assessment of the renovation.
How the Renovation Changed the Cottage
The renovation is an example of how a family adapted a 19th-century home for current use without treating the interior as a neutral backdrop. Rebuilding the kitchen and creating rooms above it gave the household more functional space, while the bright colors and handmade furniture reflect the owners’ work as a designer and furniture maker. Wilson’s account also makes clear that the project involved trade-offs: she and the children moved out for six months during construction, and she says some work remains unfinished.
The story matters to readers interested in renovation because it connects the finished rooms to the conditions behind them. The property’s conservation-area status shaped what could be changed, especially on the side visible from the road. The reported result is not simply a striking kitchen, but a larger redesign shaped by planning rules, a historic building and the family’s needs.
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From Overgrown Cottage to Family Home
When Wilson and Almond bought the home, it had already been altered by developers. Wilson described that earlier interior as “basic, gray/beige, and a bit run-of-the-mill.” Their first round of changes added art, textures and objects gathered over time, making the rooms feel more connected to the family. Apartment Therapy previously toured the home in 2019; the new feature revisits it after the more extensive 2023 work.
Wilson said the cottage’s conservation-area location made planning the project its biggest challenge. Changes visible from the road had to remain in keeping with the original building, she said, while planners had concerns about the proposed work at the rear. Wilson told Apartment Therapy that the couple made several attempts at the application before it was approved. The source does not provide the application dates or a detailed account of the final approvals.
What the Tour Does Not Establish
The Apartment Therapy feature is a homeowner interview and house tour, not a full technical account of the renovation. It does not give the project’s budget, the complete timeline, the exact scope of structural work or a detailed record of the planning decisions. Wilson says the house is still not completely finished, but the report does not specify which tasks remain or when they might be completed. The available source also does not independently verify construction details or provide statements from the architects or local planning officials.
The Family’s Ongoing Home Project
Wilson’s account suggests that work on the house may continue, though she has not given a schedule or identified the remaining jobs. Apartment Therapy’s report does not announce another renovation phase or a planned update. For now, the published tour records the home after the 2023 redesign, with the family living among the new rooms, the colorful kitchen and some unfinished work.
Key Questions
Where is Donna Wilson’s cottage?
It is in Leytonstone, East London, and was built in 1860, according to the Apartment Therapy feature.
What changed in the 2023 renovation?
Wilson said the couple rebuilt the kitchen and created an ensuite bedroom, utility room, loft studio and shower room above it, working with Ludwig Willis Architects.
Why did planning take several attempts?
Wilson said the cottage is in a conservation area. Changes visible from the road had to fit the original building, and planners had concerns about the proposed work at the rear.
What is the kitchen’s listed paint color?
Apartment Therapy lists Lick’s pink 01 eggshell for the kitchen and names a reclaimed science desktop from Retrouvius and a Quooker hot-water tap among its resources.
Is the renovation finished?
Wilson told Apartment Therapy that the build was not completely finished. The report does not say what work remains or when it will be completed.
Source: apartmenttherapy.com
