The final reveal for Tim Neve’s Mayfield project
Photography courtesy of Atelier Photography
A lot has happened in the two years since I last interviewed renowned Interior Designer, Tim Neve at his newly purchased renovation project in Mayfield.
When we last met, Hipwell Haus was a century-old, decades-empty carcass of a building that Tim was totally, utterly, and madly in love with. It had taken years to find this site – a building that promised the successful bringing together of his private life and his design business. The building was perfect for Tim and seeing him in the derelict space was like chatting with a kid in a candy shop.
To the untrained eye, it was a vast space of empty window casings, debris, floors with massive holes, and voids where there once were staircases.
To Tim though, it was so much more. The creative vision he described to me on that day has now been realised in the most incredible way. So much so, that he is receiving international media attention and accolades for his bold design choices.
And wouldn’t you know it: Tim’s favourite space in the house is the relatively untouched 120m2 downstairs street-front room which was intended to be his design studio. Perhaps it’s because when Tim sees an untouched space, in its original form, it excites him to imagine all of the iterations it could possibly be.
“This is still my favourite space in a way, even though it’s an empty space because it’s such a blank creative canvas,” Tim said.
An arched set of black steel and glass double doors between the untouched front room and the rear of the house act like a portal taking you into another world. The concrete floors and raw brick walls, make way for the heart and soul of the home in an unmistakable Tim Neve aesthetic.
“I’ve always loved a warm colour palette which has become my signature style. I also drew inspiration from the rust tones in the brickwork, introducing another layer to my finishes.”
Tim’s use of neutrals and curves can be described as gentle and calming. Yet, his bold play on mixing patterns and textures really packs a design punch. He does not stray from his vision and takes the time to meticulously research and plan his selections.
“One of the first things I purchased was the natural stone that I’ve used in the kitchen and bathrooms. It was really hard to get my hands on at that point in time. It was literally before I'd done anything else in the building but I knew I had to have it.”
Another very early decision in the selection process was light switches.
“I knew I didn’t want to end up with white light switches. Before I got into the nitty gritty, I wanted to secure these. As an interior designer, it’s easy to get carried away with the details of furniture first, but with a few projects under my belt now, I stood back and thought I didn’t want to worry about furniture until I was actually ready for it.
“That’s actually very unlike me. Normally I’ve got all the furniture ready to go in. This time around, I knew I needed to be smart and focus on the design details first. I sourced these switches online from Buster and Punch in the UK and had the colour customised.”
Once Tim had secured his stone, which makes for an impressive focal point in the kitchen, he used this as a reference point moving forward with future selections.
Referencing the design detail in the stone, Tim shares, “Mother Nature has helped a lot.”
The pink undertone of Polytec’s Rojo Walnut used on the kitchen joinery, perfectly complements the Italian copper faced double ovens, Polytec copper kickboards, and custom copper finished range hood fascia made by the team at Vista Kitchens. The oversized Lo and Co cabinet handles are the jewellery that finish off this picture perfect kitchen.
Tim has made great use of breeze blocks from DiLorenzo Tiles throughout the home. As well as running them along the face of the kitchen island and as the structural component of his outdoor kitchen, he has also made use of them as shower screens in his bathrooms. No need for Windex here!
The flooring in the kitchen, dining, and living space is a blonde cork plank, which he has also run up along one of the walls behind the dining table. The other walls and ceiling are all finished in a lime wash that Tim applied himself.
“I really like the natural texture running through cork. It’s random, no two pieces are the same. It’s also perfect having a 9-year-old armed with a Nerf gun in the house! Everything just bounces off it.”
All of the lighting and ceiling fans were sourced through Beacon Lighting. There are very few downlights. Instead, Tim has opted for a combination of downlights, ceiling pendants, wall pendants, and lamps.
“I worked closely with Grant at Beacon to achieve this layered lighting plan. He was great. He was like, ‘Oh, what if we do this? What if…’ We sat down and talked about it for quite a while.”
Tim explains that whilst he had a clear vision of what he wanted to achieve, he also made design decisions along the journey that weren’t a part of his initial plan. This is how Tim operates – he works with the site in its original form and is happy to pivot with his choices.
“I like solving as I go. The staircase wasn’t originally going to be curved. It was going to be a regular staircase. It was the result of much hard work from a whole range of trades to achieve this incredible curve.
“Connor from Pure Venetian Plastering finished it off with this gorgeous render. The nib wall in the living room was structural so we couldn’t remove it. It could easily have become an eyesore, but I decided to turn it into a feature, cladding it in Travertine tiles and adding a fireplace.”
True to his word when I met with Tim onsite two years ago, he hasn’t altered the proportion of any of the original window openings, with the exception of changing the dining room window to a round picture window. He has also left the entire floor plan largely unchanged, eliminating the need to move walls.
The open-plan living room flows out to an entertaining area that looks like it’s straight out of a Palms Springs resort. The crazy pave tiles from Tile Cloud, potted cacti, and the use of breeze blocks for the outdoor kitchen, complete with oversized outdoor sofas and daybeds make for an urban oasis.
The outdoor firepit and tree stump stools sit against a backdrop of the stone-clad wall, encasing the round picture window. If it gets a bit nippy as the fire’s embers dim, duck into the sauna that Tim had installed at the end of his garden. Yes, please!
Tim has chosen 2.4m high arched doors from Hardware Concepts throughout his interior which he’s painted in Taubmans Rundle Rust.
“I had lots of sample boards and carried lots of colours around. Even on sample boards I'd still doubted whether it was going to work but it’s all come together so well.”
The cork flooring downstairs makes way for a dark European Oak engineered timber floor from the team at Havwoods on the curved staircase and the first floor. At the top of the staircase is a sunlit living room with a run of east-facing louvre windows drenching the space in the morning light.
A 1.6m wide hallway with 3.1m ceilings leads to the three generous-sized bedrooms with solid timber wardrobes that Tim hand-stained himself to achieve the perfect colour and tone. All of the bedrooms have exposed brick walls, which were sprayed with a PVA mix to prevent the shedding of dust and particles.
When I first spoke with Tim about his design plans for this building, he confided that he was planning on using breeze blocks in place of shower screens.
As a designer, I often hear from clients that they really don’t like glass in a shower because it’s so hard to keep clean. When Tim told me his solution for this, I wasn’t convinced. However, they’re absolutely brilliant! They look completely and utterly at home within his aesthetic and they are entirely serviceable. Genius move.
The geometric form of the breeze blocks is counter-balanced with the curved shower niche and round skylight, which also provides ventilation.
“It’s really special. You can lay in the bath at night and see the stars.”
The upstairs powder room is so incredibly designed with a distinctively patterned floor-to-ceiling tile, that when it appeared on basin company, ‘NoodCo’s’ social media, it attracted over 60,000 likes.
Tim is about to join the esteemed ranks of Shaynna Blayze and Darren Palmer, launching a collaboration with Interiors brand, Urban Road. His range of wallpapers, cushions, and artworks are all inspired by Hipwell Haus.
“I’ve recently come back from Queensland where we had a photo shoot for the new range. I’m known for my muted colour palette but now the richer burgundies and browns are coming into play. My design evolves over time. I’m not afraid to clash, I’m not afraid to keep adding. It all ends up balancing and working so beautifully together.”
One of Tim’s new wallpaper designs is on the wall of the guest bedroom. You can see how the colour and pattern was inspired by Hipwell Haus.
Its slightly textured finish pairs perfectly with the timber floors, exposed brick walls, and the timber wardrobe doors from Corinthian Doors. On either side of the bed hang round, oversized pendant lights which perfectly balance the space.
The curated hallway takes you to the massive master suite. Tim described what his plans were for this space when I met with him two years ago, and boy oh boy did he deliver.
The ensuite could well have been a 40sqm space for a large bedroom, office, or even a theatre room. But no. This is a room of no restraint.
It’s a room of pure, unadulterated luxury. In the centre of the ensuite is an island, with twin vanities on one side and a massive double shower on the other. The smooth, white surface of a round bathtub sits against the roughness of the exposed brick wall on one side and a flowing sheer curtain on the other.
The master bedroom itself features an island bedhead with a custom 4.1m wide bedhead from Create Estate upholstered in one of the fabrics from Tim’s collection. A three-seater sofa from Life Interiors with a bespoke coffee table completes the master suite.
The final touch to Tim’s transformation of Hipwell Haus was the addition of the handmade Moroccan tiles that he purchased two years ago to run along the front facade of the building. Now even those not fortunate enough to step inside these walls, can appreciate the beauty of this old dame when passing by.
Tim is off to pour his creative genius into his next project, whatever that may be. Watch this space…
