Why follow rules when you can follow your instincts? Much more fun that way, we say. And so would longtime fashion stylist-turned-rising interior designer Sophie Rowell of Côte de Folk. Sophie was commissioned by the owners of a classic Victorian terrace in Hackney, London, to create “a more functional kitchen, more light in the hallway, more storage (that’s on everyone’s wish list!)—a house that felt more like them.” She accomplished all this, plus weaving in unexpected color moments, by trusting her gut. “No rules!” she says. “That’s the key, I think. It’s all done on instinct.”

While Sophie may not heed a rulebook when it comes to color, she does follow an overarching design philosophy: Always try to work with you have. There’s an argument to be made for building anew or replacing the old, but oftentimes, she finds, you can simply make over creatively instead of throw out completely. For this project, for instance, the clients, a young couple with a son, considered adding an extension for more space. “We convinced them not to extend out. Instead, we emphasized optimizing the original floor plan, particularly focusing on maximizing the functionality of the kitchen,” she says. And the outdated, orange-y parquet floors that the clients wanted to replace? Sophie persuaded them to refinish them with a lighter stain instead.

Let’s take a tour of this project, a winning mix of playfulness and restraint.

Photography by Chris Snook, courtesy of Côte de Folk.