Step Inside a Historic London Home That Feels More Like an Italian Palazzo
Returning the dignity to a historic Georgian house in London proved no mean feat for British architect William Smalley and interior designer Sophie Ashby. After its various former incarnations, from a rooming house filled with studios to a bland ’90s redevelopment (where “all the character had been taken out of it,” Smalley says), the six-story stucco-front terrace house was in much need of love and appreciation. Smalley’s aim was to meticulously restore the scale and proportion of the building’s original bones, now owned by a young couple—one investor-entrepreneur and a fashion executive who have recently welcomed a baby girl—so that it could evolve effortlessly as the family grew.
A major flood before the couple began building proved a blessing rather than a curse, surprisingly. The fact that so much, from furniture to floors, had been destroyed by water pouring down through the walls from a tank on the top floor, afforded Smalley and the owners the opportunity to start fresh. They removed outdated contemporary details such as the ruined walnut floors previously installed by the developer and instead focused on “revealing and reinforcing the scale of the rooms,” Smalley explains. “We wanted it to have the feeling of a palazzo.” Ceilings and walls were restored using traditional lathe and plaster and then limewashed—“lending an incredible weight and depth to the house that has stopped it feeling flimsy,” he says. Nearby, cornices were recast from what remained of the original. Doors warped by water were exactly matched, skirtings replaced, and fireplaces in the kitchen and dining room—as evidenced by old photography of the original house—reinstated.
Structurally, permission was granted to change the openings between the kitchen and the dining room and also between the first-floor drawing rooms “to stop them feeling so pinched and to flow better,” the architect explains. On the upper floors, where the building’s bones were still sound, only one internal bathroom and a central wardrobe dividing the primary bedroom were removed. “We tried to reveal big spaces which could take big works of art and furniture, and to create long views from front to back on every floor to lend clarity to each space,” Smalley says.
With the house’s architectural soul returned, Ashby then worked with the couple to curate a dynamic collection of art, antique, and contemporary furniture pieces, as well as bespoke rugs to resonate against Smalley’s sophisticated, streamlined backdrop. The art, including both the couple’s existing pieces and those bought specifically for the house, provided a key starting point in “dictating the mood and feel of each room,” Ashby says.
“If we’d put the Kyle Weeks photographs in the drawing room as opposed to the garden room, for example, it would have become a completely different style of space,” she adds. As a starting point for the color palette, Ashby drew on the couple’s works by Los Angeles–born, Paris-based young artist Mattea Perrotta to inform the swathe of gentle hues, from silvery blues to rosy pinks, she subtly swept throughout the house.
A sense of rhythm and movement was imbued in myriad ways. Smalley deployed a wildly veined marble throughout the house—from lining doorway architraves, hearths, and bathroom floors to the kitchen worktop—to “thread the spaces together,” Smalley says. Meanwhile, Ashby combined tactile textures, such as watery moirés, shimmering velvets, sumptuous silks, and nubby jacquards, with furniture pieces fashioned from materials such as recycled glass, travertine, and polished resin. “A home should really feel comfortable as well as beautiful,” Ashby muses.
Eclectic touches lend an element of surprise: a customized snake-and-pomegranate rug, designed by Studio Shamshiri for Christopher Farr, winds its way seductively around the edges of the dressing room floor. Elsewhere, a jolt of orange enlivens the jewel-like guest bathroom (cleverly tucked away behind a door incorporated into a shelving wall of the basement cinema room). Notably, the pink showscreen intimates the glass-box works of American contemporary artist Larry Bell.
Ashby also favored mixing different silhouettes of furniture, like the sharp geometry of an Utrecht chair by Cassina and the rusticity of midcentury rattan with the soft voluptuousness of an Arflex Marenco sofa, to “consciously create contrast,” she explains. “A dynamism between the shapes of things allows them to play off each other, and it makes each piece sing a bit more,” she enthuses.
“We’ve done the house proud,” Smalley concludes. “When I walk in, I can feel the house’s gratitude because we’ve not only given it back its true identity, but also moved it on for future generations.” Ashby agrees. “There’s something peaceful and calming about being in a historic property which has been made to feel so contemporary and fresh.”
Art: Mattea Perotta. Cecil Collins © Tate.1/10The large Mattea Perrotta painting is one of two works by the artist, sourced by the couple through Lamb Arts, which provided the color palette for the double drawing room. The soft rounded curves of the Sesann sofa by Tacchini, upholstered in Tibor’s Brecon wool mix, sit in contrast to the sleek geometric lines of Gio Ponti’s D.153.1 chairs by Molteni&C. The bespoke recycled-glass coffee table was commissioned by Studio Ashby. Serge Mouilles ceiling and wall lights create a striking architectural note next to the canvas shade and rattan covered stem of Paavo Tynell’s 9602 floor lamp by Gubi.
Art: Mattea Perotta2/10The renovations revealed a shallow arched niche that has been painted by Perrotta, echoing the couple’s existing pieces by the artist. The dining table was custom-designed by Studio Ashby, and made by the Galvin Brothers. It’s paired with vintage dining chairs by Kai Kristiansen for SV Andersen. The Bolle pendant light is by Giopato & Coombes.
3/10The guest bathroom walls were painted to recall Hermès’s iconic orange packaging. On the wall is a framed self-portrait Polaroid of Andy Warhol.
Art: Mattea Perotta4/10With its tall ceilings, fireplace, and decorative cornicing, the kitchen is a celebration of understated grandeur, juxtaposed by the modernity of the low-lying Candela di Vals pendant lights by Peter Zumthor for Viabizzuno. The bespoke island was designed in patinated bronze by Smalley. The artwork above the fireplace is by Perotta. The fireplace, reinstated from old photos, has been made in Breccia violetta marble. The same is true of the kitchen island and the lining of the doorway.
Art: Mamma Andersson © 2023 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Kyle Weeks.5/10Sophie Ashby’s earthy scheme for the space was inspired by the verdant lushness of the South African winery Babylonstoren, famed for its incredible gardens, where the couple were married. Custom shelving painted in a deep shade of jungle green complements the indoor planting by Tyler and, to the right, The Boy With Blossoms by Kyle Weeks. The mix of contemporary and vintage furniture pieces marries texture with a contrast of silhouettes. Ashby paired the sleek lines of Utrecht armchairs by Cassina with a Gubi coffee table in red travertine, a voluptuous Arflex Marenco sofa, rustic vintage rattan chairs, and a stone chess table.
6/10On the underground floor, William Smalley reimagined the previous conservatory space as a very simple glass box extension, with its roof planted to not only cleverly disguise its presence below but to also create an uninterrupted view from the kitchen and out across the garden, which was designed by Elizabeth Tyler. Sofas and coffee table from Triconfort.
7/10In the primary bedroom, the beautifully detailed joinery (which is leather-lined) envelopes the room. Smalley purposely designed the joinery to cover only two thirds of the wall, so that the cornicing and edges of the room can be fully seen. Ashby sourced the vintage Murano wall lights and vintage bedside tables, via 1stDibs, to sit harmoniously within the fabric-wrapped bedroom, which is covered in Nuance du Sable jacquard by Dominique Kieffer. (“A bedroom should always cocoon,” Smalley says of this cosseting effect.) At the end of the bed, a bench designed by Studio Ashby was upholstered in Dedar’s Schwarzwald in Verdure. The curly mohair and karakul wool blend rug is by Coral & Hive.
8/10A sense of fun and sanctuary come together in the wife’s dressing room. The joinery designed by Smalley (with the vanity unit topped with marble) has been upholstered with Dedar’s Amoir Fou moiré. Snake-and-pomegranate rug designed by AD100 firm Studio Shamshiri for Christopher Farr.
9/10The Breccia verde marble sourced from a marble yard in Wiltshire was used throughout the house, including the floor and countertop in the primary bathroom, complementing the polished plaster walls and the vintage Gio Ponti wall sconces. The pink glass shower screen was designed by Smalley in homage to the American contemporary artist Larry Bell.
10/10The amber-hued shower screen was designed by Smalley. The marble floor was laid in a parquet pattern to echo the floor pattern in the hallway, which has been interjected with a single brass ingot to mirror the brass ingots inlaid in the entrance hall floor. The etched glass sliding door separates the shower room from a powder room.
