How my husband and I transformed a shabby Victorian house into our stylish Tottenham home (EXCLUSIVE)
Pete Cuthbertson shares how he and his husband Richard Hall restored and transformed a faded Tottenham house into a beauty that retains its Victorian heritage
I run PR agency Sixteen Eleven and have worked in PR since moving to London after uni.
My husband Richard began a career in architecture and now runs Grand House in London, working with creative studios to help them grow.
When Richard and I met, he was living in Fulham, while I had lived all over east and north London. We eventually moved in together south of the river, first to Clapham Common and then Clapham South. When it came to buying, we moved north to a flat in Stoke Newington, where we stayed for five and a half years before deciding to buy a house.
Like a lot of people in Hackney looking for more space, we looked towards Leyton, Walthamstow and Tottenham, as their beautiful Victorian housing stock is more affordable. We had an offer accepted in Leyton, but the vendors were taking too long to find somewhere. We went for a cheeky viewing of this house in Tottenham, loved it and put in an equally cheeky offer. It was accepted and the rest is history.
A house in need of love
Pete Cuthbertson and Richard Hall’s home (Image: Attitude/Zula Rabikowska)
The house wasn’t derelict, but it was shabby and needed some love inside and out when we moved in in October 2022. We saw the potential immediately. It felt different from the usual Victorian terraces, with a generous front garden and long path to the door, a proper entrance hall, original cast-iron fireplaces and a surprisingly spacious, light, open-plan downstairs. Nothing put us off – we were too excited!
The house dates from around 1840–1860, and we wanted everything to feel sympathetic to its history. The renovation from purchase to how it looks now took us about a year, starting from about six months after we moved in. We began work upstairs, partly because the smaller rooms felt like quick wins. We didn’t keep any of the existing decor but tried not to replace things unnecessarily.
Our tastes meet in the middle
Our personalities definitely come through in the interiors. My taste is more traditional – I have rules about how things “should” be. Richard’s architectural background makes his taste more contemporary, and he will challenge my ideas. We meet somewhere in the middle: a modern interpretation of a classic British Victorian home.
We chose a dark, earthy palette that feels calming and cosy. The living and dining rooms are painted in dark green – Pompeian Ash by Little Greene. The hallway is a deep sage, while a dark red shade – Arras, also by Little Greene – inspired by a trip to Marrakech, appears in the kitchen and bathroom. The bedrooms are lighter. We’d always loved Tom Dixon lighting too, so we now have four pieces around the house.
In the kitchen, we painted the existing cabinets ochre and changed the handles, a saving which allowed us to splash out on beautiful Zellige tiles from Otto Tiles and Design. It now has a Moroccan-inspired, slightly 70s feel. Eventually, we’ll redo the kitchen and add big glass bifold doors leading out to the garden, but those tiles are staying. One thing we were convinced had to go was the archway between the dining room and home office. We hated it initially, but after living with it we completely fell in love with it.
Transformed inside and out
The biggest transformation was outside. The London stock bricks were almost black after decades of smoke and grime. We restored them, repointed with lime mortar and added a long black-and-white tiled path with lavender, rosemary and ivy alongside it. Taller shrubs at the front give us privacy, while the bike and bin stores have planted green roofs.
Choosing a favourite object in the house is difficult. It could be the kitchen tiles, but we also love the giant rubber plant in the living room, given to us by lovely neighbours through our local LGBTQ+ WhatsApp group. We love a dramatic houseplant! And we love that it came to us through the local community rather than simply being something we bought.
Our biggest design advice for other people when renovating is not to do everything at once. Living somewhere teaches you how the light works and how you actually use the space. So many of our original ideas have changed – the archway being a perfect example.
This is a section of a feature appearing in the September/October 2026 issue of Attitude, available on digital platforms and in print now.