One-bed wonders: Tasha Freeman on designing small spaces

Bauwerk limewashed walls lend a softly textured look, and a neutral backdrop for design flourishes. These include a striking Iroko wood kitchen – something that’s been on Tasha’s interior design bucket list for a while. “I’ve wanted to do one for such a long time,” she smiles. “I love working with reclaimed woods. It takes such skill to restore, but the history and character of a piece makes it so worth it.” The timber in question was sourced from reclamation studio Retrouvius, one of Tasha’s go-tos. “The Retrouvius team is wonderful,” she enthuses. “I love everything they stand for and take a lot of inspiration from them.”

Certainly, salvaged items feature heavily in Tasha’s designs. “I try to be as sustainable as possible with all of our builds, considering the materials we use and repurposing items where possible,” she says. It’s a philosophy she applies to every project, including her own home in Kensal Rise. Likewise, at Chesterton Road, vintage pieces – along with green accents – are peppered throughout to keep things interesting. “I love the reeded kitchen cupboards paired with the cherry wood table and the vintage olive Eames chairs,” she says. “The Carimate armchairs were a wonderfully rare find; I get such immense satisfaction from seeing an antique piece in a new setting.”

Another standout discovery was the reconditioned set of V&A glass-fronted doors that separate the living space from the hallway. Upstairs, jade Zellige tiles complement the wood of the bath surround. Continuing the verdant theme, a living wall has been installed across the principal bedroom’s balcony, accessed by a new trio of double doors that bring the outdoors in.

There’s an originality to the way Tasha renovates a space, which comes down to the details. Her fine-tuned understanding of composition, materials and light was honed at an early age. As an undergraduate, Tasha headed from her King’s College film studies to evening photography classes at Central Saint Martins before embarking on an internship with architecture and design practice Collett-Zarzycki where she “fell in love with the career”. Establishing her eponymous studio in 2015, Tasha’s client base has grown organically ever since. Today her portfolio covers residential and boutique commercial projects around the world. An “obsession” with vintage furniture and salvaging is now spearheading another arm to her business. “We often restore vintage items and will be launching an online shop,” she says. “I have a storeroom full of finds, having built wonderful relationships with lots of fantastic dealers.”

As well as her penchant for second-hand, Tasha is also a skilled ceramicist, working on a soon-to-be-released collection from her dedicated studio in Kensal Rise. “I’m also taking on some shorter consultancy projects,” she says. “I love meeting people and helping them find quick ways to make their homes work better from them, whether that involves paint consultancy or furniture sourcing.” However small a project – or a space, for that matter – one thing is clear: Tasha is thinking big.

Chesterton Road and Elgin Crescent are available to purchase.