{"id":93915,"date":"2025-09-30T03:42:17","date_gmt":"2025-09-30T03:42:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/93915\/"},"modified":"2025-09-30T03:42:17","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T03:42:17","slug":"inside-an-illustrators-playful-rabbit-warren-house-in-york","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/93915\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside An Illustrator\u2019s Playful ‘Rabbit Warren’ House In York"},"content":{"rendered":"

On a sycamore-lined street in York<\/a>, illustrator Emily Sutton\u2019s<\/a> Victorian terrace has a winding layout that unfolds over three storeys. \u201cI feel like I live in a rabbit warren,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s not for everyone, but I\u2019ve always loved houses with lots of little rooms.\u201d<\/p>\n

The property was in good condition when she moved in but needed more character<\/a>. \u201cIt was lovely, but I did change the decoration quite quickly,\u201d Emily says. <\/p>\n

Taking advice from her interior designer sister, Lydia Lavelle<\/a>, she peeled back the beige carpets, restored the original wooden floorboards and brushed each wall in a new paint colour<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What to Read Next\"bright\"pinterest\"<\/a>Brent Darby<\/p>\n

Houseplants thrive in the light and airy kitchen.<\/p>\n

Emily is most often found in her attic studio<\/a>, where canvases stand beneath shelves stacked with trinkets. \u201cFrom here, I\u2019m at the exact height of the city walls, so I see the changing trees<\/a>, listen to birdsong and can look at passers-by when I\u2019m drawing characters,\u201d she explains. <\/p>\n

Take a peek in your fridge or cupboards and you might just spot some of these figures \u2013 Emily is the illustrator behind Charlie Bigham\u2019s packaging and has created designs for Bettys and Fortnum & Mason. The house is decorated in the same imaginative style as her work. \u201cI love being somewhere joyful and creative,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n

\"victorian\"pinterest\"<\/a>Brent Darby<\/p>\n

The sitting room\u2019s antique cabinet was picked up at York\u2019s Fully Furnished emporium. A Persian rug sits on the oil-stained floorboards, warmly contrasting with Farrow & Ball\u2019s Pink Ground on the walls.<\/p>\n

\"shelf\"pinterest\"<\/a>Brent Darby<\/p>\n

Inside the sitting room cabinet sit treasures collected from childhood to the present day.<\/p>\n

As soon as you step over the threshold, the hallway\u2019s<\/a> uplifting yellow sets the tone. \u201cMy work is inspired by vintage toys and old picture books, and that\u2019s where the palette of the house comes from.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"dining\"pinterest\"<\/a>Brent Darby<\/p>\n

The oak dining table was handmade by Bill Sutton, Emily\u2019s father. \u2018He\u2019s an amazing woodworker, and it\u2019s just the perfect shape and size for the space,\u2019 she says.<\/p>\n

\"miniature\"pinterest\"<\/a>Brent Darby<\/p>\n

Before making their way into a seasonal recipe, a collection of miniature pumpkins is used as a natural centrepiece.<\/p>\n

In the plaster-pink sitting room<\/a>, patterned textiles introduce further colour. Josef Frank\u2019s Gr\u00f6na F\u00e5glar linen has been used to create the curtains, armchair cover and several cushions. \u201cI\u2019ve always loved his designs and was pleased to find the fabric at a good price,\u201d Emily says.<\/p>\n

The dining room, on the other hand, gets its colour from Farrow & Ball\u2019s distinctive Stiffkey Blue. Further along the hallway, the kitchen<\/a> has grown into something of an indoor garden: \u201cI\u2019ve been tending to most of the same houseplants since I arrived, which I\u2019m proud of.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"bedroom\"pinterest\"<\/a>Brent Darby<\/p>\n

Emily\u2019s bedroom is painted in Breakfast Room Green by Farrow & Ball. The horse shade, designed by the textile artist Christopher Brown, gives this vintage lamp a jaunty flourish.<\/p>\n

Upstairs, Emily\u2019s bedroom<\/a> is enveloped in green. \u201cThe light sometimes makes it look teal, which I find calming,\u201d she says. Her bed is dressed in a throw from India, while an antique<\/a> silk scarf, picked up at a market in nearby Hovingham, is framed above.<\/p>\n

The spare bedroom features cushions in fabric from Emily\u2019s collaboration with St Jude\u2019s<\/a> beside furniture she has collected over the years. \u201cI was worried about this room looking coherent, but it came together naturally,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\"spare\"pinterest\"<\/a>Brent Darby<\/p>\n

In the spare room, Mark Hearld\u2019s lithograph Owl Flight takes pride of place on the wall. The cushion cover was designed by Emily for St Jude\u2019s.<\/p>\n

In every room, cherished objects \u2013 from vintage tins and Staffordshire dogs to feathers picked up on dog walks \u2013 are artfully arranged on shelves and tables, mantelpieces and windowsills. \u201cI\u2019ve accumulated a lot from auctions and junk shops,\u201d says Emily, \u201cand the way I\u2019ve grouped them tells different stories. But I like to think there\u2019s a common thread of joy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"miniature\"pinterest\"<\/a>Brent Darby<\/p>\n

Emily\u2019s dog Mouse sits on an antique French blanket on the studio\u2019s daybed.<\/p>\n

Tour the rest of the home\"armchair\"pinterest\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Brent Darby<\/p>\n

\"yellow\"pinterest\"<\/a>Brent Darby<\/p>\n

The hallway, painted in Farrow & Ball\u2019s Sudbury Yellow, features the original floor tiles. \u2018I\u2019d never remove any historical features,\u2019 says Emily.<\/p>\n

\"kitchen\"pinterest\"<\/a>Brent Darby<\/p>\n

Two of the artist\u2019s own prints are displayed beside a stoneware jug handmade by the potter Hannah Arnup.<\/p>\n

\"the\"pinterest\"<\/a>Brent Darby<\/p>\n

The small downstairs shower room features Emily\u2019s own \u2018Dog Park\u2019 wallpaper, inspired by where she walks Mouse.<\/p>\n

\"pink\"pinterest\"<\/a>Brent Darby<\/p>\n

A Persian rug sits at the centre of the sitting room. \u2018As soon as I added it, the space felt so much cosier,\u2019 says Emily.<\/p>\n

\"an\"pinterest\"<\/a>Brent Darby<\/p>\n

An autumnal arrangement sits atop an antique table by the windows.<\/p>\n

\"attic\"pinterest\"<\/a>Brent Darby<\/p>\n

Emily\u2019s white studio walls are a perfect backdrop for her collections.<\/p>\n

Shop Emily’s home\"V<\/a>\"John<\/a>John Lewis ANYDAY Betty Bird Cushion\"'Dogs<\/a>\"Fleur<\/a>\"Set<\/a>Set of 4 Floral Side Plates\"Wimbourne<\/a>\"Lettermark\"<\/p>\n

James was the former Homes Editor at Good Housekeeping.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On a sycamore-lined street in York, illustrator Emily Sutton\u2019s Victorian terrace has a winding layout that unfolds over…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":93916,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[267],"tags":[365,362,363,364,2320,60760,366,343,18,117,346,19,17,342,60759],"class_list":{"0":"post-93915","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-artsdesign","12":"tag-content-type-default","13":"tag-contentid-259ab262-2f77-4e87-86bb-a10aa036de4a","14":"tag-design","15":"tag-displaytype-standard-article","16":"tag-eire","17":"tag-entertainment","18":"tag-hasproduct-true","19":"tag-ie","20":"tag-ireland","21":"tag-locale-gb","22":"tag-shorttitle-tour-an-illustrators-rabbit-warren-house-in-york"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93915","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93915"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93915\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/93916"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}