Hill House

Crystal Palace, SE19

Interior Design: Dani Salomon
Technical Design: East JR
Photography: Beth Davis

Designed by interior designer Dani Salamon for her own family home in Crystal Palace, this major refurbishment brings bespoke joinery throughout the house. Dani designed the interiors and joinery, working closely with East JR over the course of a year to develop the designs into detailed technical packages for manufacture and installation.

The brief was to give each space its own character while maintaining a sense of connection across the house. Classic forms are reworked through a contemporary lens to create a cohesive collection of joinery within the space.

The kitchen establishes this language. A substantial island is framed by bold corner columns, a detail echoed in the joinery on the adjacent walls. Dark oak cabinetry is paired with 5mm stainless steel worktops, while the island is finished with Calacatta Vagli marble, bringing light and variation to the material palette. The solid steel plate gives the kitchen a crisp, minimal quality, balancing the warmth of the oak without becoming overly industrial.

Existing elements were also given a new life. The original kitchen doors, with intricate marquetry fronts, were carefully refurbished and reworked for a new utility room upstairs, then complimented with new pieces to create additional storage space. Reclaimed iroko, salvaged from an old school building, was used for the worktops. 

Elsewhere, familiar forms are pared back and reinterpreted. A Douglas fir vanity takes the proportions and presence of a traditional piece of furniture, reducing them to a quieter, more architectural form. The grain runs continuously across the drawer fronts, with hand-selected boards creating subtle variation between each row, a distinctive quality of Douglas fir. Simple linear detailing and square legs with softened outer edges give the vanity a distinct character without feeling overly decorative.  

“I loved working with the team at East JR. I trusted them completely to bring my designs to life and they really understood what I was trying to achieve, right down to the smallest details.

They were flexible and collaborative throughout, and I loved being able to bounce ideas around with them as the project developed. I always felt they were genuinely invested in the outcome and cared as much as I did about getting it right.

They are kind, professional and incredibly skilled, with a real pride in what they do. The quality of the finished pieces speaks for itself. They are truly talented at their craft.”

— Dani Salamon, Interior Designer

In the living room, a bespoke oak shelving unit with an integrated sideboard brings a mid-century character to the space. It provides a backdrop for the family’s personal collection. Across the house, existing pieces retain their history, while new elements are designed to feel embedded within the architecture rather than added to it. 

East JR developed the technical design, manufacture and installation throughout, working closely with Dani to bring her original design to life. The result is a home that feels personal from the outset, balancing familiar forms with unexpected details that become part of the fabric of the home. Over time, the intention is for these pieces to feel as though they’ve always belonged there.