A few years ago, we spotted and fell for UK interior stylist Twig Hutchinson’s summerhouse at the back of her London garden.
Photography by Rahel Weiss, courtesy of Twig Hutchinson.
As an interior and prop stylist, Hutchinson’s design skills are highly sought after by a client list that reads like the interior cognoscenti of the London design world; Homes & Gardens, Marie Claire Maison, Toast, Wedgewood, and Fired Earth, to name just a few.
“I am definitely influenced by my love of France,” Hutchinson says. While Hutchinson’s kitchen cabinets are from Habitat, she customized them by painting them with Oak Apple from Fired Earth and by changing the handles to reclaimed sash window handles she sourced at Sunbury Antiques market.
Apple crates hang on the wall and are used as storage, while a dresser has been made from antique shutters.
A tall cupboard has been painted with chalkboard paint (the washing machine and the boiler are hidden behind its doors).
Hutchinson adds an antique larder cabinet into the mix.
Hutchinson used Sanderson Grey on the walls and Oak Apple (both from Fired Earth) on the woodwork and trim.
“I wanted the kitchen to be an eclectic mix; not a streamlined space,” Hutchinson says.
“I wanted the bathroom to be really beautiful and not just functional so I chose a deep lilac/gray color for the walls,” Twig says.
The bathroom sink unit is made from a cupboard found at an antiques market; Twig inserted a sink and reclaimed kitchen tap.
“We use the summerhouse as an office, photo studio, and guest room; but it’s particularly fabulous for children’s birthday parties and big dinner parties,” Hutchinson says.
A few of Twig’s favorite props, including her most prized possession, an old wallpapered door she found in the basement of an antiques shop.
Hutchinson installed Shaker pegs around the room for the easy hanging of props and backdrops like this artist’s canvas which she painted herself.
Examples of Twig’s photo styling.
While the summerhouse was installed by The Garden House, Hutchinson customized it with bespoke windows, flooring, doors, and panelled walls.