London home makers have sophisticated tastes in colour and design. They are also super-savvy at sourcing and they’re dab hands at DIY.
This was abundantly evident from the rooms of our reader winners in our first Home Design Awards, which fell into five categories: Living room, Bedroom, Kitchen, Bathroom and Garden.
We chose two winners in each category, one from among our reader homeowners, the other from our professional entrants, including architects, interior designers and influencers..
Our 10 winners, and their winning projects, are featured in the gallery above.
Video: our judging day at Sketch London
Judging took place in the spacious Lecture Room and Library at über-glam Sketch London restaurant. This Grade II-listed townhouse in Mayfair was designed by Scottish architect James Wyatt in 1779.
Today, Wyatt might not recognise the venue’s famous pod loos, fantasy murals and stairs with trompe-l’oeil dripping paint.
But on the first floor light floods in through handsome original windows and the graceful ceilings remain, with pink and sky-blue mouldings studded with tiny lights.
Up for debate: judging took place in the Lecture Room and Library at Sketch London (Juliet Murphy)
The expert panel
On our panel of expert judges were Janice Morley, editor of Homes & Property; myself as a long-standing design writer and Dan Hopwood, past president of the British Institute of Interior Design.
Then there was design journalist and author of Mad About The House, Kate Watson-Smyth and interior designer and TV presenter Sophie Robinson, both with an impressive number of Instagram followers.
Also on the team were style-savvy Marianne Shillingford, creative director of Dulux, Kristy Gray, digital editor of Homes & Property, and Laura O’Connell, product manager at Thomas Sanderson.
Our panel: from left, Kate Watson-Smyth, Dan Hopwood, Laura O’Connell, Janice Morley, Marianne Shillingford, Kristy Gray, Barbara Chandler and Sophie Robinson (Juliet Murphy)
Prizes worth £1,000
The prizes were luxury hotel-style bed linen from Tielle Love Luxury, worth £550; a sleek Bose Home Speaker 500, worth £400, and a £50 voucher to spend in the Lecture Room and Library, Sketch London’s luxurious two Michelin-star dining room.