A Child-Proof Designer Interior

table shelves. Childproof Designer Interiors credit: bob smith

Living In A Showhome
Mixing Family And Business

Mixing children and a show home might seem mad, but that's exactly what Lucy Ryder Richardson has done - with great success. Want to find out more about Lucy's home?

When Lucy Ryder Richardson and husband, Adam Brown, moved to their 1970s home in south London three years ago, it was time for a drastic career rethink. With the arrival of Molly, now four, and Bert, one, Lucy was looking for a change from her role as a successful fashion journalist into something more suited to her new life as a mum.

Over a few too many cups of coffee, Lucy and her friend, Petra Curtis, bemoaned the lack of design-led shops in south London. That, together with the fact that Lucy and Adam, having spent all their money on buying their new home, couldn't afford to furnish it, encouraged Lucy and Petra to set up Showhome - in Lucy's own house.

And so it was that Lucy's home became a show place for their thriving business, selling all sorts of treasured mid-century pieces, from 1960s and 1970s Scandinavian furniture to ceramics and lighting.

In fact, most of the furniture and accessories downstairs are for sale. 'I do find it quite hard to part with some pieces,' admits Lucy. 'But I try to change things around, so I don't become too attached to them.'