Fashion journalist and contributor at styling consultancy Bees & Taylor, Antonia O'Brien has done everything from presenting on Daybreak and during London Fashion Weekend to styling famous faces. She had us round one wintery evening to her Stoke Newington home to talk us through her decor and show us her enviable wardrobe.
How long have you lived here?
Two months. Before here, I was in Paddington, living with two friends right near the Edgware Road. It's been so nice to get to know a new neighbourhood, and I just love it around here.
What is it you like? Do you have any tips? I'm just down the road...
I love the pizza places: Voodoo Rays on Dalston Kingsland, Sodo in Clapton, and then all of the Turkish restaurants. There are also lots of independent cinemas like The Rio and Hackney Picturehouse and loads of amazing pubs down by Canonbury and Highbury, with big wooden tables and giant windows where you can get the best Sunday roasts and a great Bloody Mary. I love the endless coffee shops and walks you can do around the area, the cemetery is beautiful... I just love it!
How do you describe your interior style? Does it relate to how you dress?
I'd say it's very personal. Everything on the walls is by a friend or family member: my brother's drawings, my boyfriend's aunt's paintings. Books are very important to me - my mum always said that a house with no books is weird. I suppose I'm figuring it out; I love colour both in what I wear and what I have in my home, but I guess it's a work in process.
What would your dream house be?
A guy I know has the most beautiful Georgian house in Canonbury, with those tall beautiful ceilings and rooms flooded with light, so something like that. Somewhere near a garden square, a stone's throw from a cinema and a great restaurant, with a local feel. Filled with art and books, and stuff... but not too much, I hate hoarding!
What can't you live without at home?
My dressing gown! Before me and my boyfriend lived together, he bought me one so that I had something to chill out in when I stayed over and I'm still obsessed with it.
When you have to wake up super-early, do you do anything particular to relax?
I try and have a fairly normal evening but to be in bed by 10pm. Any earlier and I just can't sleep... for This Morning, you only need to wake up at 7am but for Daybreak we used to have to leave at 5! I love when I get home and take off my shoes and putting on warm socks... and I always do my facial routine straight away, with my Elemis cleansing balm, because I like to fall asleep on the sofa without having to worry about getting ready for bed.
What do you miss most when you're away?
My routine! I'm like a baby, I love routine - with what I do, every day is so different, so I try to keep some bits normal. I make a juice and then I do my 15-minute meditation, with this amazing app called Headspace, which I can take everywhere because it's on my iPhone. It's so calming and it really helps ground me.
Do you like having people round?
Yes! I'm always trying to improve my cooking, and you can have people round even if you're a bit broke and just make a massive con carne and have a glass of wine. It's so nice to have people in your own space.
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