Interior design ideas: bright and beautiful - in pictures

On Kingsland Road in Dalston, north-east London, the neon signs of the Turkish restaurants flash pink, turquoise and red. When you find yourself outside the intricately tiled pale blue mosque at the far end of this colourful street, you’re almost at Graham Hollick’s equally bright and beautiful home. The living room is furnished with vintage pieces and unusual design touches. Instead of the traditional fitted bookcases, the units on either side of the fireplace are bentwood pieces by German brand Thonet, from Spitalfields market. Hollick found the artwork in Morocco. For similar chairs, try The Modern Warehouse. The Al Flimsy black paper light is by Dutch brand Ay Illuminate. Photograph: Beth Evans

Hollick, who works as an art director, textile designer, trend consultant and set designer for theatre company Chickenshed, has an apartment that encompasses the basement and ground floor of a three-storey Victorian terrace. And the interior – eclectic, imaginative and unexpected – suits the vibe of this neighbourhood. This glass display cabinet is from Sunbury Antiques market at Kempton Park. Photograph: Beth Evans

The space embraces colour, but is not vivid or overly bright: even the deep blue poured resin floor that covers the basement feels serene. “Colour is a big thing for me, but my taste is more towards subtle shades of grey and green, never really strong colours,” Hollick says. These vintage cane armchairs are from Ardingly Antiques Fair (try Ikea for Storsele, a contemporary version). Hollick found the rug in Delhi, and the cushions are prototype designs from his textile company, Stitch by Stitch, which he runs in partnership with craftswomen in Gujurat. Photograph: Beth Evans

His background in theatre means he uses his home like a stage set. There are intriguing objects everywhere: vintage mannequin heads grouped on a wall; a herd of plastic dinosaurs; a group of tiny, torso-less legs balanced on a shelf. Photograph: Beth Evans

Hollick travels extensively, too, working regularly in the Netherlands and India, and picks up pieces when he's away. In Paris, he bought a set of vintage screw boxes from a former Citroën factory; today, they form part of a bespoke storage unit in the front room. In India, he came across a shop that sold only labels for food packaging – designs for orange squash, rose water and more – and bought several boxes; they now act as wallpaper in the en-suite bathroom. Photograph: Beth Evans

There are few new or high-street items in the house; Hollick prefers antiques, such as the Victorian shipwright’s bench that serves as the kitchen island – oil, salt and other condiments sit in the furrow that 100 years ago would have held shipbuilding tools. Hollick found the brass lights in Katmandu – try Skinflint Design for similar. Fired Earth stocks similar tiles. Photograph: Beth Evans

This homely room is Hollick’s favourite: large doors open to the garden and there’s the scent of biscuits in the air – he loves to cook. The dining table is another vintage find that Hollick picked up at a French flea market. “It previously lived in a French convent,” he says. “I think it’s seen a lot more dinner parties and booze in the past 10 years than it did in its former life.” Photograph: Beth Evans