Made In Chelsea stars Louise Thompson and Ryan Libbey have revealed the recent transformations they have made to their townhouse.
Thompson, 29, also announced recently they will postpone their wedding from Christmas until next year.
She explains: “We postponed the wedding for nine months to focus on work.
“We’re so excited about our wedding day … I adore flowers, fashion and food so the process is going to be a lot of fun – but you can forget the idea of the ‘perfect’ wedding. We’re going wildly off-piste.”
With help from stylists at Wayfair UK, they have transformed their lounge and office space into a personally tailored sanctuary where they can work as well as relax.
She says: “I’d describe our interior style as traditional blended with a contemporary touch.”
The TV star and businesswoman has owned the property in London for six years and it has, until now, mainly been furnished with old furniture gifted by her parents.
She says she wanted to express her love of “symmetry” and take a “minimalist” approach, as well as “decluttering” and making storage a priority.
The fitness fanatic says her vision was a “liveable and comfortable” look for their living/chill-out space, which has been achieved with a soft neutral colour palette and a Chesterfield sofa upholstered in cream linen.
She says: “I wanted our living room to be a cosy space that allows us to relax in the evenings after work, but at the same time we occasionally use it as a space for meetings.
“The room’s adjacent to the study so it was important when planning furniture that there was a good flow between the two rooms.
“I wanted the colours to be fairly neutral, using different tones of wood.”
She and Libbey, also 29, have lived together for three years and their beloved pet dog, Koji, joined them last year.
Thompson’s younger brother Sam, 27, who was also on Made In Chelsea and lives next door, is a frequent visitor.
“He’s around every single day,” Thompson says.
“It’s a blessing and a curse having him living next door. But he’s seen the makeover and is a big fan and a little jealous.”
So do Thompson and Libbey always agree on decor choices?
“I do have my own taste but Louise calls the shots,” admits Libbey, smiling fondly at his fiancee.
The couple first met when Thompson employed Libbey as her personal trainer in 2016, and they got engaged in summer 2018.
“My interior style is traditional countryside home – think SoHo Farmhouse style – but here we’ve got an old-meets-new look,” Libbey adds.
The house revolves around the office space on the ground floor, which Libbey describes as his “special room for me – my sanctuary”.
Thompson says: “Ryan was very keen on the idea of a traditional study area with a large Cambridge desk but I knew the space wouldn’t fit such clunky antiquated pieces.
“Let’s just say we compromised. For me, it’s all about balance.”
Thompson – who joined hit reality show Made In Chelsea more than eight years ago now and has a million-plus social media following – has just launched her own business, Live Like Louise, with an app due out soon, along with two new collections for her sportswear brand, Pocket Sport.
She is also starting her own YouTube channel.
In June, she admitted she got “really stressed” about planning her and Libbey’s big day so they decided to put it on hold for a while until they could create an event “that’s really us” in style.
Libbey says: “The main focus this year is to grow the business. It’s a do-or-die situation, so almost all of our energy is focused on this.”
Thompson adds: “It’s the first year where we haven’t worked for someone else, and it’s alarming how much you can do when you break free and use a little creativity.
“Finally, (we) have the time to focus a bit on our wedding plans. We’re trying to plan our wedding abroad without help, and hopefully investing in a place in the countryside to Airbnb. So 2019 is a big year for us.”