In a leafy pocket of Stoke Newington, Sandrine Zhang Ferron’s Victorian home is a lesson in mixing eras. As the founder of Vinterior, the online marketplace that has transformed how we shop for vintage furniture and homeware, Ferron has spent the past decade immersed in design. Unsurprisingly, her own place is full of fabulous finds, though she explains its style has been a gradual evolution.
“We moved here in December 2013,” she tells me, perched on her sofa, light streaming in through Crittall-style doors that replaced what was once a solid wall. “At the time, it was not exactly our taste, but we could see the potential straight away.”
Ferron and her husband were previously living in a Shoreditch apartment, a location that suited their lifestyle at the time. “It was great for going out,” she laughs, “but less great when people are being sick on your doorstep. I was already working from home, and we just wanted somewhere calmer, with a bit of green space.”
The house they found, thanks to a friend who sent over the Rightmove listing, had already undergone significant structural changes by previous owners, opening up what would once have been a series of smaller, compartmentalised rooms. “It gave us this amazing sense of space,” she explains. “We knew we could make it our own.”
However, that process was far from rushed. “We lived here for quite a while before doing anything major,” she says. Instead, the home unfolded in phases, each tied to shifting needs and inspirations. The first project was a modest but transformative bathroom redesign, inspired by New York hotels, complete with metro tiles and a pared-back, functional layout. “It feels very Bowery Hotel,” she smiles.
The biggest changes came just before the pandemic, when the lower ground kitchen was reimagined as the heart of the home. Today, it is a warm, sociable space grounded by a large island and softened by Farrow & Ball Pink Ground walls; a gentle colour that shifts with the light. “We cook a lot,” Ferron says. “Well, I love eating, so as a result I cook.”
Originally fitted with wooden flooring — “a terrible idea for a kitchen” — the space was updated with microcement floors and reconfigured to improve both flow and light. The addition of Crittall doors opening onto the terrace and garden was particularly impactful.
There is a thoughtful pragmatism to many of Ferron’s decisions. Tiles, for instance, were chosen with budget in mind. “Beautiful handmade tiles can be really expensive. When you are looking at the whole project, you have to make choices.” So she opted for Gatzby pre-scored pattern tiles from Parkside in the hallway for a bold style that did not break the bank.
Elsewhere, colour is used with confidence but always with purpose. In the hallway, Farrow & Ball’s De Nimes lends a rich, grounding tone. The Garden by the Sea, by artist Camilla Perkins, a vivid and joyful painting found on Partnership Editions, hangs on the wall. The living room is softer. Walls in Farrow & Ball’s Dimity paired with Oxford Stone ceiling create a cocooning atmosphere. “Our interior designer suggested painting the ceiling a darker shade,” Ferron says. “It was such a good idea, it makes the room feel more considered.”
Colour is used with confidence but always with purpose
In her daughter’s bedroom, however, the mood shifts entirely. “It is all yellow,” she says. “I wanted something uplifting but not too gendered.” The joinery is painted in Lamplighter yellow by Craig & Rose, while walls, skirting and radiators are finished in Farrow & Ball’s cheerful Dayroom Yellow. A scalloped radiator cover in Lick’s Pink 08 adds a fun note.
“It is funny,” Ferron reflects, “yellow is not a colour I would necessarily choose for myself. But for Belen, it works perfectly.”
That sense of tailoring each room to its function runs throughout the house. The bedroom, painted in warm neutrals, is deliberately calm. “It is my favourite room,” she says. “In the morning, after my daughter has gone to school, I sit with a coffee, read, catch up on things. It is a moment to decompress.” It is also the space that houses one of her favourite vintage pieces; a brass palm tree lamp from the 1980s.
Working from home has shaped the layout of the house. Ferron’s team at Vinterior is now fully remote; a model she embraced early, even before Covid. “It works incredibly well,” she says. “We have a lot of parents on the team, and it gives people flexibility. You do not have that constant stress of having to get somewhere.” The home accommodates this way of living. One of the bedrooms has been converted into Ferron’s office, while shared areas remain open and adaptable.
Of course, what truly defines the interiors is Ferron’s relationship with vintage. A stand-out example is a 500kg travertine dining table that required four people to manoeuvre into place. It makes for the most striking dining table. The Mario Bellini sofa is a very stylish spot to recline and watch television. There is plenty of statement lighting as well, including Murano sconces that frame Ferron’s curved headboard. My eyes are drawn to the large porcelain cheetah which looks very at home in the living room.
“I started with a lot of mid-century, it is a safe place to begin. But over the years, I have become much bolder”
Many of the pieces here have come through Vinterior, though she still loves a flea market trawl. Kempton is a favourite, as is Consell in Mallorca, where Ferron has a much-loved holiday home. Her taste has evolved over time. “I started with a lot of mid-century, it is a safe place to begin your design journey,” she says. “But over the years, I have become much bolder.”
It was a Poul Volther chair that started it all; an unassuming yellow armchair sourced and reupholstered after months of searching. “I was looking for something to match the golden flecks in my cat’s eyes,” she laughs. “It took three months to find. That is when I realised how fragmented the vintage and antiques market was.”
At the time, Ferron was working in finance but feeling increasingly disconnected from it. “I just could not see myself doing it long-term,” she says. “I wanted something more creative.” The idea for Vinterior emerged from the hunt for that chair; a way to bring independent vintage dealers together in one place. Within a month, she had quit her job and enrolled in a coding bootcamp. Once the tech side of things started to take shape, she cold-called antiques dealers to onboard as many as she could onto her platform. “It was a bit mad,” she admits. “But I thought, if it does not work, I can always go back.”
Ten years on, the business has grown into a market leader, with thousands of dealers across the UK and Europe and a rapidly expanding customer base. Yet Ferron remains grounded in the same instinct that drove those early calls. “It is all about persistence,” she says. “Just keeping going.”
That same ethos applies to her home. It is not a space that has been designed in one sweep, but rather layered over the years; shaped by changing tastes, a growing family and the occasional compromise. “With hindsight, it might have been easier to do everything at once,” she admits. “But then you would not have the same connection to it.”
Instead, the house feels like a reflection of its owner: thoughtful, quietly ambitious and a champion of pre-loved pieces.
