A Private View: cooking up a feast for the eyes in east London

If communication is the lifeline to any relationship, Alex Hely-Hutchinson and Dom Hacking need not worry. When it came to buying their first home together, the young couple did what perhaps everyone should when making a big life decision. “We both drew up lists of the things we wanted from our new place in order of preference,” Alex explains. “Then we compiled a joint one, made up of the points at which our own lists intersected.” Methodical, simple and evidently effective. It’s perhaps no wonder the pair have both found such success, he as a software engineer, she as a chef and restaurateur (Alex is the brains behind 26 Grains).

It meant, Alex continues, that when they were looking – which ended up taking about eight months – “we weren’t torn, thinking this place has this, but that one has that. We just had to ask ourselves if it matched our top three priorities.” The house they fell for did exactly that: a project with scope for enlargement and a south-facing garden, near the bakeries, fabric emporiums and flower shops of Clapton’s Chatsworth Road, and within walking distance to a station – in this case, Homerton.

Two major renovations later – first a side return, then a loft extension – and Dominic and Alex’s home has somewhat grown. Their family has too; the couple welcomed daughter Ida in 2021. Alex, keen-eyed and reflective, is quick to remark on the ways in which having a baby has changed how they occupy and move about the house, in more than just the obvious ways. “I sit in different places now. The time you have is spent in new ways, which inevitably is reflected in where you spend it.”

Now, in search of more space, the couple have put their home on the market – and are presumably preparing to make another list or two. Looking back on the changes and challenges they’ve faced since they first clapped eyes on their future home in 2017, the couple talk to Inigo about the joys of life on Glenarm Road – and why you can never have too big a pantry.

Alex: “When we started thinking about buying together for the first time, it quickly became clear that we were both in the market for a project – which is exactly what we did. Looking back at pictures of this place is quite something. It needed a total revamp. Having been lived in by the same family for 45 years, it was in need of love.”

Dom: “… And a better kitchen.”

Alex: “Yes. Both of us love cooking, so having the chance to create a really good kitchen was vital. We did that part of the house soon after we exchanged; it took about eight months in total. It should have been quicker, but Dom’s parents nabbed our builders!”

Dom: “We were so lucky to find a really brilliant team. While they were in, we were staying with my parents, who were astonished by how great they were. Next thing we knew they’d swapped jobs.”

Alex: “I loved our builders. Nobody ever seems to say that! But they really looked after us throughout the project and held our hands – especially with the kitchen. I loved creating that part of the house. When I’ve done it for my restaurants, designing them has always been my favourite part. I love working out the potential of an empty space, which corners get the best light, the different ways they will change throughout the day and the shifting atmospheres that creates.

“Doing it here was so exciting. I knew we had seven metres to play with, so I stood in the space, having done a bit of a recce on nice kitchen websites to work out what size units they had, and then drew it up with the builders. We had a fantastic joiner too, who made all our fitted cupboards upstairs. When he saw what we were planning, he said he could make the kitchen cabinets as well.

“When you start a project you forget about the nitty-gritty details. One takes for granted all the small decisions that go into designing a lovely room. One thing I’m glad we spent a lot of time on was working out exactly where everything was going to go: all the pots, all the pans – everything had a place.

“Our lovely large larder was, in fact, a bit of a mistake in some senses – though admittedly a very fortuitous one. Because the extension we were doing was quite long, we had to put in a supporting beam. We also had to build in a water pipe, for the extra bathroom we were installing. It made sense to hide everything behind big doors, creating just the most amazing pantry – a dream for someone like me.”

Dom: “Though you have always wanted one… It would have made its way into the plans somehow, I’m sure.”

Alex: “It’s been so useful. In fact, the whole kitchen has. For recipe testing and for filming too – I do a lot of our social-media stuff in there. It’s such a joy as the light is lovely. It’s a great room to just be in, which is why we designed the casual seating area at the end. I was adamant I didn’t want bifold doors, so we installed french doors with a window above the seating area.

“It’s such a good spot to have a drink in, somewhere to write, to read or just to chat to the person cooking. Saying that, now we’ve had a baby, I’m not sure we use it in quite the same way anymore. Less sitting goes on… The kitchen pre-baby was quite different to the kitchen post-baby, though that’s true of the house really – not least since the spare room has become a playroom.

Dom: “There’s space for a double bed in there, though. What’s great is how flexible the house is, I think.”

Alex: “It’s funny to think we moved here with just two carloads of stuff. We had little furniture and hardly any pictures, which was why we panelled lots of the rooms, so that the walls weren’t completely blank. It adds a little bit of texture, which works nicely.”

Dom: “Since then, we’ve built the decoration up slowly. We scoured Pinterest for inspiration, taking kernels of ideas from things we saw online and in magazines, and spent countless hours at markets. We’ve got a real mixture of stuff – a bit of Kempton, a bit of Ikea, the odd cast-off from my parents’ too – payback for the builders! In the end, it has all come together.”

Alex: “It helps having good light though – that’s the main lesson I’ve learned. Every armchair needs a lamp. And every room should have five-amp sockets, so you don’t have to turn all those lamps on individually. Dom’s sister, who works in construction, gave me that tip. Another pointer is not to install downlights directly above your headboards – it means there’s no glare when you’re reading in bed.

“As you can tell, light is really important to me. I hate dark rooms – and it’s worked out here that we only really use the north-facing rooms at night: the sitting room and our bedroom. Otherwise, we get masses of sun from the south.”

Dom: “The south-facing garden here is just so nice. It’s raised, something that came about because it would have cost so much to remove the earth we excavated for the extension. But we love it; it means that when you’re up on the lawn you get the evening light for longer. It’s great – and very quiet too.”

Alex: “The birdsong here is pretty special. This road isn’t a major thoroughfare, so nobody comes down it, yet you’re just a few seconds from Chatsworth Road. It’s nice without being the most trendy place in the world, which suits us. It’s got lovely delis, the coffee shops are good, you’re near Victoria Park. We don’t know where we’ll go next, but we do know we’ve been very happy here.”