Grid Thirteen founder Natalie Fry shows us round her beautifully renovated home in Halifax

“It’s been a very busy few years,” says Natalie, whose Edwardian home is in the Lightcliffe area of Halifax. While the location of the period property was perfect, the house was in need of updating. “We took it back to the brick and lived in it while we did the work. I don’t know how we did that but we did,” says Natalie, who used her spatial planning and design skills to make the property better suited to a modern family with plenty of space for socialising

The large living kitchen was a priority and it has been specifically designed to be both stylish, robust and child and pet friendly. Natalie has five children aged 12 to 28 and while only two now remain at home, the grown-ups visit often. The old kitchen, breakfast room, dining room and hall were knocked into one to create the space required. At the heart of it is the SieMatic S2 kitchen in lotus white gloss. A design classic, it was launched in 1960 and still looks contemporary.

An island is centre stage and its side panels are in Volakas marble from Greece. “I wasn’t looking at what is trendy, I was looking at materials that won’t date, which is why I chose marble,” says Natalie, who installed white gloss sintered stone tops for the cabinets and the island. “It’s a porcelain-based material and it doesn’t mark in the way marble would. We found out how good it was when I found my daughter Kitty and her friends had drawn on the island top with Sharpie pens. Panic set in but the drawings wiped off, which was a relief and backed up what I wanted, which was a home that could cope with children and pets.”

With that in mind, she also added a secret, walk-in pantry with plenty of space for the children’s baking “paraphernalia” and created a hideaway breakfast cabinet for the coffee machine, toaster and juice. The kitchen appliances are by Miele and Gaggenau and the extractor is from Huddersfield-based Westin. The extractor is cleverly hidden in the ceiling and rendered unobtrusive by lacquering it in the same colour as the paintwork, which is in Farrow & Ball’s Downpipe. “Extractors can block views when they hang at eye level and they can dominate the space,” says Natalie, who adds that an absolute must-have was the Quooker boiling water tap. Once tried, you never go back to the kettle.

While the open-plan living space is contemporary, original features have been retained including the internal doors, cornicing and panelling, along with an antique fire surround, which is great for displaying treasures, including the Fornasetti plate. The chimney breast alcove has been used to create a study space with built-in desk.

Pride of place went to an enormous art print of David Bowie, who stands, cool as you like, filling the wall opposite the island. While the look is quite minimal, it isn’t stark thanks to the use of materials, decorative accessories, houseplants and keepsakes picked up on the family’s travels.

Even though her own house project is now complete, there is no let up in Natalie’s workload. As the team now does more full house projects, she is now preparing to unveil her refurbished and extended Grid Thirteen showroom on Street Lane, Leeds. It offers a complete home design service, including indoor and outdoor kitchens, dressing rooms, bedrooms, studies, nurseries, boot rooms, libraries, movie rooms and state-of-the-art home spas.

She and her team have also designed their own handmade kitchen range named Darling Maeve. It features handless wood cabinetry in a choice of colours from Grid Thirteen’s own range of paints, which all have Yorkshire inspired names including “Nithered”, “Ackroyd” and “Hepworth”.

“Although the last two years have certainly been a challenge due to the pandemic, it has given us an opportunity to develop our own range, which offers a conscious option to invest in sustainability because the cabinets will stand the test of time and you can update them by painting them a different colour.

“We have also carried out extensive studio renovation works throughout an incredibly busy period and the business has gone from strength to strength,” says Natalie, adding: “When I set up my own business in 2013, I was worried I’d bitten off more than I could chew but I have no regrets. It’s been difficult at times juggling a family and work but I love what I do and I think it’s good to show what working mums can achieve when they put their mind to it.”

*Grid Thirteen, Roundhay, Leeds, www.gridthirteen.co.uk