Welcome to this bijou home curated with antiques and rich colour

Poppy Nightingale’s nomadic childhood fuelled her passion for unique spaces and small-home living, evident in the bijoux 17th-century Highgate house she has carefully curated with antique finds.

Poppy Nightingale was raised with small-home living. What’s more, staying in one place for any period of time was an unfamiliar concept until she metaphorically ‘left home’ and began to experience what it feels like to lay down roots.

The daughter of radical American parents who chose to give her a nomadic upbringing, Poppy’s childhood spaces were transient, whether it was a cabin on a small sailboat in the South Atlantic, a tent in Tahiti, or the backseat of a car rambling down a road in Nepal. ‘Some years before I was born, my parents gave up their jobs in favour of a life lived on the road and seas,’ she explains. ‘Throughout my childhood, I never lived anywhere for more than a few weeks or months.’

Poppy became adept at creating spaces of her own, often unnervingly confined and while on the move. These experiences, unsurprisingly, instilled in her a love of unique spaces and led her from a career in fashion design to one focused on interior design. Working with her husband Mark, who has a background in architecture, they own architecture and interior design practice Public House.

This home is a late 17th-century, single-story, one-bedroom former servant’s house in Highgate. ‘When we saw the house and its tiny proportions, we knew we would only be able to bring a few pieces with us, and that suited us just fine,’ says Poppy. ‘There is absolutely no room for unconscious living, and if anything is left out of its place, the entire system fails.’ She adds: ‘In creating our home, we imagined it belonged to early 19^th-century naturalists, so we curated items that these characters would need, from lamps and a few wooden chairs to some artworks and artefacts collected on travels.’

When they found the property, it was in a very sad state, and they essentially removed everything – from boards blocking up fireplaces to knackered 90s carpets – to reveal the true house. With Mark’s architectural knowledge and Poppy’s flair for interiors, and their shared love of all things old and heritage, beautifully lit rustic rooms have been dressed using antiques, art and pieces found at reclamation yards. ‘We did buy a few new things like the toilet and shower fixtures, but very reluctantly,’ adds Poppy.

Poppy and Mark strongly believe in letting nature take its course and use the term ‘rewinding’ – essentially the polar opposite of modernising – to describe their interior approach. While they do their utmost to prevent damaging decay, they firmly believe in allowing time to work its magic. ‘Old oak furnishings are ideal for this; they continue to improve with age and are easily repaired. We appreciate how honest repairs not only look good but also add a narrative,’ says Poppy.

Describing themselves as ‘Luddites’, both Poppy and Mark share an unexplained affinity for ageing and decrepit things, finding that new items possess a somewhat singular dimension. ‘Old things have substance and add so many layers to life, not just to an interior,’ syas Poppy.

Experienced in acquiring antiques for their home and business, the couple are well-versed in the art of sourcing and make it a priority to seek out antiques wherever they find themselves. For larger furniture pieces, they rely on the many small auction houses scattered around the UK and the monthly Sunbury Antiques Market at Kempton Park.

It goes without saying that anyone who has crafted a home primarily using old items and materials, from decorative antiques to salvage, is choosing a more sustainable way of life. Poppy and Mark, however, make additional choices to contribute to a greener, cleaner world. ‘We dress in essentially a uniform of dark-coloured wool in the winter and light linen in the summer,’ says Poppy. ‘This immediately reduces excessive purchases of items outside of those guidelines.’ The same principle applies to their home: ‘We’ve established a set of constraints, such as only acquiring dark-wood pieces and purchasing plates and cutlery exclusively from antique fairs.’