DJ, Television and Radio presenter Lilah Parsons got hands-on to transform her central London flat, she tells Emma Wells.
Lilah Parsons’ career path has been stellar. Scouted at a party in her early twenties, the art school graduate modelled for Chanel and Vivienne Westwood, only to quit the catwalk to host her own MTV chart show and Capital FM’s Breakfast Show – and now presides over her own Heart FM slot.
But it turns out that between interviewing some of the world’s biggest stars – from Lady Gaga to Bruno Mars – Lilah has also become a dab hand at putting together flatpack furniture.
‘Since I bought my own place in 2015, I’ve become pretty good at it,’ says Lilah, 32, from her airy fifth-floor flat in a concierge-serviced apartment block a short stroll from Kensington Palace Gardens. ‘I’ve done a dressing table, desk and the dining room table.
‘Being really hands on, and hunting down clever finds on the high street, has meant I could save money for the bigger, more expensive things for the flat, which needed a total transformation when I bought it.’
I’d lived in grotty model apartments in New York, Paris and Milan
Lilah was unfazed by the stained carpets, peeling surfaces and rickety built-in cabinetry on offer in the 652sq ft, two-bedroom flat when she first viewed it.
‘I’d lived in grotty model apartments in New York, Paris and Milan, so it was the potential that I focused on,’ she says.
‘The flat had been used by doctors needing somewhere to crash between shifts, and there was a single bedstead in each bedroom with a blue metal locker, with only a tiny little bath squeezed into the bathroom. But I could see it was a great little space, within walking distance of three Tube stations, and it could be opened up into something really lovely.’
The location, too, was appealing. Lilah, whose accountant father, Sir John Christopher Parsons, served as deputy treasurer to the Queen, was brought up in Kensington and despite living in Northamptonshire and all over London, had always hankered to return.
Sometimes I forget what my flat looked like before I gutted it and knocked down three walls.
‘It was so exciting to find somewhere I could afford, even it did need loads of work. I lived in the flat for a year, surrounded by boxes and bags, without changing a thing while I worked out exactly what I wanted.’
‘Sometimes I forget what my flat looked like before I gutted it and knocked down three walls.’
Wisely advised by her father to keep spreadsheets of all her spending, and working to a renovation budget of around £90,000, Lilah moved into a tiny studio flat a couple of floors down while the five-month transformation began.
‘I could get back from my breakfast show on Capital at about 10am and pop in on the builders and see how they were getting on,’ says Lilah, who counts working with Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa and Pink among her career highlights so far.
Her aim, Lilah says, was to create a serene, private sanctuary where she could have friends over for movie and takeaway nights.
First, walls were knocked down so that the wide hallway could flow into an open-plan kitchen and living space. Simple, unshowy white cabinetry from Magnet was installed, and out went the shabby carpets, replaced by hardwearing Amtico vinyl tiles in white ash effect.
Lilah, who says she is a naturally messy person, factored in lots of storage, and drew up her own cupboard designs for her builders. ‘I have far too many clothes and shoes, so I need lots of doors behind which to hide everything,’ she says.
The Giuseppe Zanotti killer heels only come out for special occasions
To make the 12ft 11in x 9ft 7in main bedroom feel more spacious, she ripped out the shabby cupboards and added a huge built-in Sharps wardrobe to the hall. This is where Lilah – whose live hosting gigs include the Snowbombing festival and the Grazia Style Awards in Dubai – stashes her collection of Accessorize bags, floaty, floral New Look dresses and Converse shoes. ‘The Giuseppe Zanotti killer heels only come out for special occasions,’ she says.
With her bedroom now a calming, uncluttered oasis – think huge white linen-covered bed, hot pink headboard and a pretty dressing table she found at Tesco and pimped with diamante handles from Zara Home – she turned her attention to the main living space, where she spends most of her time.
An obsession with monochromes and grey – evident on the walls, painted in Farrow & Ball’s Blackened – prompted her brother, Michael, to buy her a bright yellow armchair from Made.com. ‘My family were always joking about my needing to add a bit more colour, so this got me started.’
A pink and gold flamingo-themed table lamp from Graham & Green followed, along with an artwork of a reclining blue figure, by London-based Victoria Achache, with splashes of pink and green.
Even if you only have a tiny space, it’s worth having a proper dining table so you can have friends over
There are highly personal touches, too, such as the wooden trunk that belonged to her great-grandfather, now used as a coffee table and to store more clothes. But it was buying (and putting together), her fir and metal industrial-style dining table, says Lilah, that really made her flat a home.
‘Even if you have only a tiny space, it’s worth having a proper dining table so you can have friends over,’ she explains.
Despite living happily here for the past five years, it’s all change now for the DJ, TV and radio presenter. Lilah has recently become a qualified youth worker, and has returned to her first love, art – creating handpainted illustrations featuring names and initials picked out in watercolour flowers (see more details on her Instagram).
She has also put her flat on the market, for £795,000, as she wants to find a period house nearer Michael in south London, which she can renovate, and where she can have a dog.
‘I feel so proud of what I have done with the flat,’ Lilah says. ‘I really made the most out of every inch of space, and made it feel so much bigger. Looking back, I could have added a bit more colour, but I’ll experiment in my next place – I want to have lots of fun with patterns and wallpaper.’
There’s no doubt Lilah will be there with paste brush and tape measure in hand.
Get the look
Lilah’s pale grey corner sofa is covered in both vintage cushions and those from her high-street favourites, H&M and Zara Home. Perfect for small spaces, the Aissa Small Corner Sofa in Cobble Brushed Linen Cotton costs £3,150 from sofa.com.
Lilah, a dab hand at flatpack furniture, put this dining table together herself. The Solid Fir and Metal 6/8 Seater Industrial Dining Table L150 costs £324 from maisonsdumonde.com.
The gold flamingo table lamp, with graduating pink shade, is a talking point. £135 from grahamandgreen.co.uk.
Lilah’s brother bought her a contemporary yellow armchair to provide a burst of colour against all the grey. Try the Charley Accent Armchair, in Yolk Yellow, for size; £149 from Made.com.
This pretty Picasso print, “Head 1946”, hangs in the white and grey bathroom. £199 from johnlewis.com.
Walls throughout the flat are painted in Farrow & Ball’s Blackened, a cool white with just the slightest hint of grey; £49.95 for 2.5 litres from farrow-ball.com.
⬛ Lilah’s flat is for sale through TLC: 020 7370 4000, tlclondon.com.
⬛ Follow @LilahParsons on Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. Tune into Lilah on Heart FM Friday and Saturday nights 10pm to 1am.
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source https://metro.co.uk/2020/09/15/radio-presenter-lilah-parsons-on-how-she-transformed-her-flat-13269731/
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