Light grey walls and a gallery wall above the bed - step inside the elegant bedroom of our location editor. Soft colours carefully combined with playful accessories add character to the space in Lavinia Bolton's Chelsea flat - an object lesson in unassuming good taste, as well as testament to her own creativity and enterprise.

The gallery wall above the bed adds a symetrical dimension to the traditional bedroom, making it instantly appealing. (See 100 ideas for hanging art for more tips.) A simple colour palette prompted by pale-grey walls is lifted by the gold and silver details and the headboard, which was made by Lavinia herself using 'Sukriti' fabric from Penny Morrison.

Owner Lavinia needs no introduction to regular readers of House & Garden, as she has been one of its legendary house finders since 1986. Between then and now, she has scoured the British Isles and beyond in pursuit of the best in interior decoration, and at last count has visited about 4,000 houses on behalf of the magazine. This is the first time that one of her own houses has featured here. 'After all these years,' she says with a laugh, 'I thought, well, why not?'