• Inside The Pink House
    • Home Tours
    • Living Rooms
    • Kitchens
    • Bedrooms
    • Kids Rooms
    • Bathrooms
    • Me & my roomwreckers
    • Shopping
    • Art
    • Opinion
  • Expert Advice
  • Travel
  • Press
    • About The Pink House
    • Work with me
    • Contact
Menu

The Pink House

  • Inside The Pink House
  • Amazing Homes
    • Home Tours
    • Living Rooms
    • Kitchens
    • Bedrooms
    • Kids Rooms
    • Bathrooms
    • Me & my roomwreckers
  • Pink House Loves
    • Shopping
    • Art
    • Opinion
  • Expert Advice
  • Travel
  • Press
  • About
    • About The Pink House
    • Work with me
    • Contact
Anna Atwal's pink drawing room in Edinburgh/Photo: Susie Lowe

Anna Atwal's pink drawing room in Edinburgh/Photo: Susie Lowe

Inside Anna Atwal's fabulous designer townhouse

June 6, 2017

When I posted a phone snap of Anna Atwal's perfectly pink Edinburgh drawing room (above) on Instagram a few weeks ago, it's safe to say it was a huge hit: "Looks delicious" "Total house crush" and "Wow. Wow. Wow. Anna has amazing taste" were just a few of the superlative comments. It was pretty clear that you lot were as excited about her house - and everything in it - as I was.

But what's extra special about Anna's home is that you can buy nearly every gorgeous thing inside it - from the wallpaper and paint, to the lamps and the sofas - in her expertly curated boutique PAD Lifestyle, which is filled with fabulous decor finds from some of the interior world's biggest names, as well as the hottest new designers.

So I'm very excited to finally be able to reveal this tour of her home, complete with Susie Lowe's beautiful photos. And if you like anything you see, simply head to PAD's online store www.padlifestyle.com or visit the bricks-and-mortar boutique on Edinburgh's Howe Street to bag one for yourself.

Oh, and before we crack on with the tour, just to add that Anna and I will be working together to create features and product edits for PAD's own blog/social channels, some of which will pop up here from time to time, so watch this space - and PAD's blog - for more fabulousness...

Anna in her kitchen/Photo: Susie Lowe

Anna in her kitchen/Photo: Susie Lowe

Anna Atwal is showing me round the third property in Edinburgh’s New Town that she and husband Haj have lived in – and renovated – over the past three years. But, confides Anna, one’s different. “We won’t be selling this house in a hurry,” Anna smiles. “This is the one we’ve been looking for, on the perfect street. This is home. So we’re here to stay.”

It’s easy to see why it’s a keeper – the house has me at ‘hallway’, a generous space which hints at the colour and pattern delights to come: green original encaustic tiles, leafy Christian Lacroix wallpaper and a throne-like rattan chair upholstered in deep pile apple green Designers Guild velvet. Turns out this chair is part of Anna’s own range of bespoke, hand-crafted furniture made in Indonesian and sold bespoke through PAD (you can pick any colour of velvet you like): “I love creating these unique, fun pieces.”

The hallway (those tiles!), with a chair Anna designed herself and sells on PAD/Photo: Susie Lowe

The hallway (those tiles!), with a chair Anna designed herself and sells on PAD/Photo: Susie Lowe

As we move towards the stairwell, light spills from above, reflecting off the pale walls and whitewashed floorboards. “I started by painting everything white, then layered on colour bit by bit,” explains Anna. The result is a wonderfully bright home, with grey accents below dado rails and on doors, fitted wardrobes, fireplaces and chimneybreasts to ground the space, and pick out interesting detail.

The white floor and walls also help to showcase the townhouse’s many eye-catching accessories, most of which can also be found in PAD Lifestyle, which sells a fabulous interiors-meet-fashion mix on Edinburgh’s Howe Street, and online (they ship anywhere in the world).

The stunning blue sitting room is filled with PAD decor/Photo: Susie Lowe

The stunning blue sitting room is filled with PAD decor/Photo: Susie Lowe

The sumptuous sitting room from the other side/Photo: Susie Lowe

The sumptuous sitting room from the other side/Photo: Susie Lowe

As I stand there coveting everything around me, I ask whether PAD stands for “Pretty Awesome Décor”. Anna laughs: “I’d love to say yes – and in essence in does mean that – but it’s really ‘pad’ as in ‘your home’. It’s also a launch ‘pad’ for independent designers – I love helping new, talented designers reach a bigger audience of design-thirsty consumers.”

One of the local artists Anna champions is Edinburgh-based textile designer Hatti Pattisson, whose ‘Into the blue’ velvet cushions adorn Anna’s blue sitting room. “Hatti was the first local creative we started stocking at PAD – she’s an amazing artist,” she enthuses.

Anna's master bedroom with Jonathan Adler splatter cushions and Kelly Hoppen bedspread/Photo: Susie Lowe

Anna's master bedroom with Jonathan Adler splatter cushions and Kelly Hoppen bedspread/Photo: Susie Lowe

As well as supporting up-and-coming artists, Anna has an expert eye for curating items by some of the interior world’s biggest names - including Jonathan Adler, Kelly Hoppen and Designers Guild - both at home and in PAD.

Perhaps her biggest designer crush is on Christian Lacroix – her house pays homage to his fabrics and wallcoverings, which add decadence and colour to nearly every room (and are of course sold in her shop). The mostly-white wow-factor kitchen, for example, is set off and softened by a Christian Lacroix palm tree mural.

Christian Lacroix palm print wall mural in the marble kitchen/Photo: Susie Lowe

Christian Lacroix palm print wall mural in the marble kitchen/Photo: Susie Lowe

The tropical kitchen mural is repeated in five-year-old son Leo’s bedroom, with added splashes of green. “Leo’s obsessed with the Incredible Hulk and all things green right now,” says Anna. “This mural worked perfectly in his room.” An oversized Bluebellgray beanbag (just out of shot) waits invitingly for someone small to superman onto it.

Anna's five-year-old Hulk-lover's bedroom with its pops of green/Photo: Susie Lowe

Anna's five-year-old Hulk-lover's bedroom with its pops of green/Photo: Susie Lowe

The hit of green in the Pols Potten lamps in the blue sitting room – which I christened thus due to its striking navy feature wall (Designers Guild’s Moonlit Night) – is another example of how Anna uses colour to take rooms to the next level.

The oversized Pols Potten lamp with green shade ups the wow factor/Photo: Susie Lowe

The oversized Pols Potten lamp with green shade ups the wow factor/Photo: Susie Lowe

Navy blue feature wall painted with Designers Guild Moonlit Night/Photo: Susie Lowe

Navy blue feature wall painted with Designers Guild Moonlit Night/Photo: Susie Lowe

And then there’s the dreamy first-floor pink drawing room, with which I fall instantly in love. A huge Muuto peachy-pink sofa, rose gold over-sized lamp bases, pink faux foxgloves in the fireplace and splashes of pink on inside of lampshades combine to create a restful yet glamorous space.

I ask after a pink neon light, spelling ‘amour’ – can I buy one at PAD? Anna shakes her head. “I ordered in a number of these for the shop, but unfortunately they got damaged in transit so I couldn’t sell them. This was the only one that survived, so I decided to keep it.”

Sideboard and giant hand by Jonathan Adler/Photo: Susie Lowe

Sideboard and giant hand by Jonathan Adler/Photo: Susie Lowe

Sofa by Muuto; cushions by Christian Lacroix; coffee table by Jonathan Adler/Photo: Susie Lowe

Sofa by Muuto; cushions by Christian Lacroix; coffee table by Jonathan Adler/Photo: Susie Lowe

 A beautiful Jonathan Adler grey wingback chair/Photo: Susie Lowe

 A beautiful Jonathan Adler grey wingback chair/Photo: Susie Lowe

Giant lucite hand, Jonathan Adler/Photo, Susie Lowe

Giant lucite hand, Jonathan Adler/Photo, Susie Lowe

The soaring ceiling of the pink room is accentuated by a super-sized mirror, large lamps and the big sofa. “Playing with scale is one of my top interior design tips - I especially love oversized lamps; they make such a statement.” Any more interior advice? “Accessorize with abandon! Make your home your own – there are no rules…”

Although Anna has no formal interior design training – her background is in PR and advertising – the years spent refurbishing their string of properties (along with an office refurb and another two flats) have clearly taught her everything she needs to know. “Some interior designers can be a bit sniffy about the fact I don’t have any qualifications, but I’ve learned as I’ve gone along. I’m always playing around with colours and layouts and different items from PAD.” How does husband Haj feel about the ever-changing decor? “Oh he’s happy to let me get on with it. Although sometimes he will come into the shop, see something he likes and say, “why don’t we have that in our house?!”

Chances are, by the following week, they probably will.

Cushions by Hatti Pattisson; sofa upholstered in Designers Guild/Photo: Susie Lowe

Cushions by Hatti Pattisson; sofa upholstered in Designers Guild/Photo: Susie Lowe

The Pink House loves...

Oversized lamps bring sculptural statement, colour and form to a room.

Art hung low means you can easily see it, and it feels more accessible

Fabulous chandeliers ramp up the wow-factor

I-can’t-believe-they’re faux flowers everywhere are an excuse for some stunning vases

Splashes of green bring vibrancy to the rooms – green goes with everything

The dark blue sitting room wall camouflages the large TV with ease

 

CREDITS - ALL DECOR SOLD AT PAD LIFESTYLE

Paint colour names – all Designers Guild and available at PAD

  • The white up the stairwell and in the Drawing Room (pink room) is Cool Marble No 7.
  • The white in the kitchen is Polished Cement No. 21.
  • The grey chimney breast in the pink room is Cheviot Flannel No.39
  • The dark grey below dado rail in the kitchen and on the stairs is Nottinghill Slate No. 36.
  • The grey panelling in the blue room is Patrician No. 41.
  • The blue wall in the blue room is Moonlit Night No.43.
  • The grey on the doors is Partrician No. 41.
  • The chimney breast in Leo’s room – Nottinghill Slate No. 36.

Hallway

  • Oversized lamps with black shades, by Pols Potten.
  • Wallpaper in vestibule is Christian Lacroix “Eden Roc Amazonie”.
  • Grey pendant lamp hanging down centre of stairwell, by Scandinavian brand Muuto, called Under The Bell.

Pink Room

  • Pink sofa, Muuto.
  • Artworks of the girl blowing a bubble/with popcorn by fine art photographer Romina Ressia.
  • The head-and-shoulders close-up with paint splashes is called “Imagine” by Michal Lukasiewicz. “It gives me great inspiration every day,” says Anna.
  • The Berber rug: “The Beukelen” by Berlin brand The Knots – “Pad is their exclusive stockist in the UK. A favourite of mine”.
  • Coffee table in burled mappa wood, by Jonathan Adler from the Bond range.
  • Sideboard, also Jonathan Adler's Bond range.
  • Giant lucite hand, Jonathan Adler. 
  • Grey wingback Milano chairs, Jonathan Adler. 

Blue room

  • Squashy velvet sofas: “these are sofas we bought for our first house, but have had them revamped in Designers Guild velvets and linens for this room”.
  • Cushions are Hatti Pattisson 'Into the Blue' velvet cushions. 

Kitchen

  • Fitted kitchen by Roundhouse.
  • Kitchen island (also Roundhouse) made from polished, book-matched Staturio marble.

Master bedroom

  • Bedspread by Kelly Hoppen.
  • Gold splatter cushions by Jonathan Adler.
  • Knitted cushions - “these are 'Vigga' cushions by a Danish brand called Care By Me – a seriously beautiful collection of hand knitted cashmere and Danish wool home and fashion, by a very talented and beautiful lady called Camilla. If you're looking for ‘hygge’, she's the one!”

A version of this feature appeared in the June 2017 issue of i-on, Scotland's largest lifestyle magazine, for which I write a regular interiors feature. Click here to read the magazine online.

You might like
Revealed: The Pattern Project chairs I designed with DFS!
Feb 12, 2022
Revealed: The Pattern Project chairs I designed with DFS!
Feb 12, 2022
Feb 12, 2022
Play with Emily Murray - my new podcast launches!
Nov 28, 2020
Play with Emily Murray - my new podcast launches!
Nov 28, 2020
Nov 28, 2020
Breaking the loo taboo: Part 2!
Sep 6, 2020
Breaking the loo taboo: Part 2!
Sep 6, 2020
Sep 6, 2020
Lazy lockdown lunches – no cooking required
May 31, 2020
Lazy lockdown lunches – no cooking required
May 31, 2020
May 31, 2020
The best garden lights for a stay-home summer holiday
May 21, 2020
The best garden lights for a stay-home summer holiday
May 21, 2020
May 21, 2020
Pink House Helps...in the hallway (and on the stairs) 
Nov 27, 2019
Pink House Helps...in the hallway (and on the stairs) 
Nov 27, 2019
Nov 27, 2019
5 interiors tips from Queer Eye's Bobby Berk
Oct 9, 2019
5 interiors tips from Queer Eye's Bobby Berk
Oct 9, 2019
Oct 9, 2019
Renovating with kids – a guide to low-stress living
Sep 15, 2019
Renovating with kids – a guide to low-stress living
Sep 15, 2019
Sep 15, 2019
The rules of renovating a rental property
Jun 19, 2019
The rules of renovating a rental property
Jun 19, 2019
Jun 19, 2019
How to buy vintage furniture (that doesn't smell of cats) with Soho Home, Vinterior and The Old Cinema
Jun 9, 2019
How to buy vintage furniture (that doesn't smell of cats) with Soho Home, Vinterior and The Old Cinema
Jun 9, 2019
Jun 9, 2019
In Home Tours, Shopping Tags Edinburgh, Pink, Jonathan Adler, PAD Lifestyle, Luxury home, Interior designer, Colour confidence
← How I created my House & Garden Festival Style Room Race you to the beauty counter: it's Clinique + Jonathan Adler! →
Pinterest UK Awards 2019 shortlist
Winner Pinterest UK 17 Best Wow factor interior The Pink House bathroom
Amara Interior Blog Awards IBA16 Best Newcomer winner The Pink House
Best of Pinterest awards best use of colour 2017

"Fabulous family living!"

Emily Murray founder of The Pink House Living

"Hello! I’m Emily Murray, founder and editor of The Pink House. I’m a lifestyle journalist who has written and edited for loads of different publications, including Stylist, The Guardian, Grazia, Cosmopolitan, Conde Nast Traveller, Brides, and Mother & Baby. Here I am in the bricks-and-mortar Pink House in South East London, where I live with the Pink House Husband (PHH) and our two small, semi-feral boys. Our fabulous Christopher Farr sofa is covered in marker pen and chocolate, and the Eames rocker has a few suspicious stains. Come in and make yourself at home. No need to take your shoes off." 

IMG_2340.png

Follow The Pink House on Instagram

📚6-BOOK GIVEAWAY!📚 This is my bedroom as it appears in my book, Pink House Living ⚡️. If you‘re a lover of a luxurious coffee table book, complete with tactile cover and loads of interior inspo, how do you fancy winning not just my weighty to
My FABULOUS new bespoke trapeze just arrived from @flingo.and.swollop and it’s giving me ALL the Glastonbury Festival feels (plus it would be PERFECT for a Pride parade 🏳️‍🌈). I’ve actually only been to Glastonbury once, in 2000, wh
We sacked off home school and went to Whitstable for the day. It was glorious. I swam in the sea, ate oysters (though not from this #pinkpilgrimage destination sadly as Wheelers isn’t open on Tuesdays), watched my son gleefully throw stones int
🍾I now declare The Pink House Deck officially...OPEN! Swipe for mini tour and see stories/Garden highlight in bio for last night’s deck launch party details, including my attempt at becoming the Athena poster tennis girl 🎾, and what happens w
10 FACTS ABOUT ME My mum called me yesterday from Edinburgh to say her old school friend, who now lives in the US and follows me on Instagram, had contacted her to ask if I was ok, as she “hadn’t seen you on Instagram for about a week!&rd
🥂Sweetie dahling! 🥂I’m proud to be working with @johnlewisandpartners and the @britishfashioncouncil to share my (rather unconventional 🤸🏼) catwalk moment and support the very first digital-only, gender-neutral London Fashion Week! Swipe to
💖PINK DECK DEBUT!💖
Who needs foreign holidays? 😬 If you’re looking for me this summer I’ll be chilling out here with socially distanced friends and a bottle of pink fizz, ignoring small person pleas for ‘just one more ice cream&r
💖PINK LADY💖 I’ve been on many wonderfully colourful Instagram journeys over the last few days, discovering gorgeous accounts belonging to creatives from a diverse range of backgrounds. I found this beautiful artwork by über-talented fell
I hereby pledge to use my white privilege - and any other privileges I enjoy - to stop being part of the diversity problem and start becoming part of the solution. The lack of diversity in the interiors industry is shocking. Things must change, and t
As part of the work I’m doing to be actively anti-racist and diversify my account, I spent time today and yesterday researching non-white interior designers and influencers. Along the way I was reminded of some incredible creatives I already fo

Subscribe

Sign up with your email address to receive news and updates from The Pink House.

We respect your privacy.

Thank you!

Featured
The perfect winter sun beachwear doesn’t exis…
Nov 30, 2024
The perfect winter sun beachwear doesn’t exis…
Nov 30, 2024

LOVE BRAND & Co. have just launched their very first women’s collection (the brand previously focused on effortlessly chic beachwear for men and kids) – and it was love at first sight when I saw the stylish range.

Read More →
Nov 30, 2024
Introducing...the Hillarys Interior Squad!
Feb 20, 2023
Introducing...the Hillarys Interior Squad!
Feb 20, 2023

“I thought I’d wear a pink sequinned playsuit and twirl a gymnastics ribbon – is that OK?” When Hillarys asked for my outfit and prop choice for the Interior Squad launch photoshoot and didn’t bat an eyelid at my response, I knew we were onto a winner…

Read More →
Feb 20, 2023
Summer tablescaping on the pink pagoda
Jul 2, 2022
Summer tablescaping on the pink pagoda
Jul 2, 2022

The thing I love most about entertaining outside, is the lack of mess and clutter it creates inside! Our homes have to work so hard these days - and my boys are definitely not getting any smaller, so every spare inch counts…

Read More →
Jul 2, 2022
The Story of my London Pink House
Jun 21, 2022
The Story of my London Pink House
Jun 21, 2022

See below for my chat with journalist Georgie from Ideal Home magazine, about how The Pink House London came to be. Photos by the fabulous Susie Lowe.

Read More →
Jun 21, 2022
Why sleep deprivation forced me to leave London
Mar 18, 2022
Why sleep deprivation forced me to leave London
Mar 18, 2022

A great sleep turns me into a morning person, a jump-out-of-bed, look-on-the-bright-side, Ferris Bueller-quoting kind of person. Basically, a person who, when life moves pretty fast, has the energy to ensure I don’t miss it…

Read More →
Mar 18, 2022
Is this the sexiest pink and green kitchen ever?
Mar 7, 2022
Is this the sexiest pink and green kitchen ever?
Mar 7, 2022

This kitchen belongs to a terraced 2-bedroom cottage in Fulham, West London and was created by visionary interior designer Zoe Stopford for a client who thought an entirely grey kitchen ‘might be nice’…

Read More →
Mar 7, 2022
I'm swinging in Metro newspaper!
Feb 23, 2022
I'm swinging in Metro newspaper!
Feb 23, 2022

The Metro found out I had a trapeze in my home and they wanted to know more - so I told them!

Read More →
Feb 23, 2022
Revealed: The Pattern Project chairs I designed with DFS!
Feb 12, 2022
Revealed: The Pattern Project chairs I designed with DFS!
Feb 12, 2022

Revealed! The full range of 6 fabulous patterned armchairs I designed in partnership with DFS and Katie @comedowntothewoods, AND the crafty quiz I’ve concocted to help you decide which chair is right for you…

Read More →
Feb 12, 2022
The best room in The Pink House
Mar 15, 2021
The best room in The Pink House
Mar 15, 2021

Family spaces are all very well, but right now, after months of being locked down with two little boys and one largish ginger man, heaven is a space of my own…

Read More →
Mar 15, 2021
From Reel to REAL: my interiors style from the 1990s till today
Jan 7, 2021
From Reel to REAL: my interiors style from the 1990s till today
Jan 7, 2021

On Instagram I’ve shared a 30-second Reel video of my home style and fashion sense from the 1990s to the present day. In this blog post I’m going into more detail about the influences and inspiration behind my style in each decade…

Read More →
Jan 7, 2021
MENU