Lauren Lyle, star of the hit TV show Outlander, and BBC drama Vigil always knew she wanted to renovate her new home following the previous owner who had occupied the home for over fifty years, Lauren was excited to get to work on making this house her own! Lauren explains:
“I knew the house was a do-er up-er when I bought it. It was a much bigger job than I expected but extremely rewarding in the end. I really couldn’t see it as home right up until the floors were fitted which was the last thing to happen. The light is amazing in each room and floods throughout most of the day. It has a great view of parks, gardens and flowers from all the windows. The area is also really cool with loads of cafes, markets and bars and parks within a 5-minute walk. There was a lot of space up for grabs and I was excited about the prospect of a blank canvas to make my own”
Lauren has a great affection for ‘calm, Scandinavian’ décor, and enjoys lots of ‘warm bright spaces’, explaining that she wanted “a blend of open, welcoming, and cosy so it can feel great with each season. I want the room to be able to host a party as well as a movie night, so I started with choosing the comfiest couch in the world and worked all the other elements up from there”.
Keen to use this renovation to create a dream home that was an expression of herself, Lauren made each design choice herself, to ensure that every aspect of the décor allowed her personality to shine through. When discussing the design inspiration, Lauren explains:
“I designed everything myself! The kitchen was hardest to pick, I originally wanted white clean Scandi but ended up going for navy blue, marble and gold fixtures. It was so much more fun and more of an expression of me. It also gave the space so much depth. I looked at Pinterest constantly for ideas and had a board for each room in the house. I watched every Architectural Digest video on the internet and Instagram was also amazing for ideas – I had folders of images everywhere and followed loads of renovation and interior design accounts.”
Lauren explains that she always ‘wanted wooden flooring, and loved the parquet feel of the 50’s’ and so V4’s NEHE50 Shortbread Oak was a perfect option. V4’s Natureffect® Laminate is available in both plank and herringbone designs, both made with a pine backing and a Registered Embossed grain, making it near impossible to tell apart from our engineered oak floors. The laminate blocks are easy to install, with a 5G locking system, meaning each block clicks together, for a glueless installation. The installation was completed by Lauren’s local builder Martin Kiza, who was, as Lauren describes ‘brilliant’. The Natureffect® Parquet blocks are a generous size of 143mm wide and 640mm long, which creates a spacious herringbone design. Lauren described how the Shortbread Oak Herringbone has transformed her living space to a design that ‘has kept the whole vibe very light, breezy and fresh which is exactly what I wanted. The way the sun hits them is also magical’.
Through the use of mid-century furniture, including two chairs shown above that belonged to Lauren’s Grandpa, of which she had reupholstered in bottle green suede, Lauren has been able to create a space to suit her own style. The use of light paint has aided the Scandinavian design, perfectly complementing the light and varied tones of the herringbone flooring. The end result being a calming and serene décor, which creates a perfect sense of home to relax away from her busy filming schedules.
“I absolutely love the floors – they are my favourite thing about the house! So easy to clean, stay well unmarked and look so stylish and slick. They are always the first thing people comment on when they come round. V4 were brilliant to work with, really easy to communicate with throughout the process. There was always someone on hand to help.”
