City houses with contemporary interiors

The creation of a smart yet characterful setting for a collection of distinctive contemporary pieces in this London townhouse is especially impressive as it was achieved during lockdown by a Spanish design studio

Interior designer Anahita Rigby brings a Regency house in London out of the darkness and into the light with her soft, airy and detail-oriented design

It is no surprise that art dominates the west London house of photographer and curator Steve Lazarides. But this is no austere, gallery like space: it is a characterful, comfortable family home thanks to Maria Speake of Retrouvius and her skilful use of bold colours and salvaged materials

Known for her ability to make every room sing, Beata Heuman was the ideal choice to decorate a musician's family home. By introducing texture, colour and ingenious design details, the interior designer has softened the contemporary lines of this London house and brought the spaces to life

A clever layout rejig, a mixture of vintage and contemporary design and lashings of lovely fabrics have upgraded this flat within a Victorian house from dreary to dreamy

Not even a resident ghost could dissuade artist Sergio Roger and his partner Fernando Ansorena from creating a heavenly home in this hilltop apartment overlooking Barcelona

Looking to transform this Chelsea townhouse, the owners gave interior designer Sarah Peake carte blanche to introduce colour and pattern that would help bring the period details to life

When furniture designer James Shaw bought an empty plot in a covetable east London, it required an unusual amount of ingenuity to turn it into a home

In a former schoolhouse transformed into artist's lofts decades ago, Cassandra Ellis, founder of natural paint company Atelier Ellis, revitalised the space for family life, all whilst maintaining its original spirit of learning and sharing

Having bought the house next door to her west London townhouse, the owner called in interior designer Kate Guinness to gently layer styles and eras, filling the space with colour and pattern

The character of a neglected Victorian house in south east London has been preserved with sensitivity by interior designer Jessica Summer, who has revived its spirit with a carefully considered palette and close attention to every detail

Thanks to structural alterations and sympathetic additions this 18th-century Hampstead house has had its Georgian elegance and symmetry restored by its owner Celia Muñoz, in a way that is faithful to its age while appropriate for today

Finding a compromise between the minimalist tastes of its owner and her love of tactile fabrics and pattern, Rita Konig has subtly enhanced the airy interiors of this Manhattan house

When Tobias Vernon, the gallerist and dealer behind 8 Holland Street, opened a new space in Bath, he decided to create a superlatively sophisticated guesthouse where visitors can immerse themselves in the gallery's unique aesthetic

With her innate sense of proportion and symmetry, interior designer Pallas Kalamotusis has capitalised on the lofty dimensions of a hotchpotch mansion flat in west London to create a harmonious home

Taking on the decoration of a nine-storey townhouse for clients based in America would faze some, but Bryan O'Sullivan and his studio saw it as a place to experiment with colour and work with a host of artisan makers to create something unique and full of character

Light-filled and balanced, this ground floor home is a chic blend of natural woods, earth tones and Scandinavian-influenced design

Having set her heart on buying within a small area in the smart Cow Hollow neighbourhood of San Francisco, interior designer Lauren Weiss was delighted to find the perfect house and set about using a warm palette to make the most of the California light in this three-storey terrace

Behind the ordinary façade of Katie Glaister's 1930s house in south-west London lies an interior full of unexpected colour and personality, enriched by the work of talented artists and craftspeople