An airy family home with clever transatlantic touches
Around the time of visiting the house on these pages, I fell into an internet wormhole of funny comments made by Americans living in British houses. With a mix of confusion, outrage and even a little pity, they marvelled at our cramped living conditions, clattering radiators and washing machines in kitchens. It was highly entertaining, although perhaps a little embarrassing.
Were these the thoughts going through the mind of the American owner of this west London house when she bought it a few years ago? She and her family had previously lived in Florida, where, in the context of interior design, words such ‘space’ and ‘light’ have more full-bodied meanings than in London. Even the most generously proportioned 19th-century townhouse, such as this one, can require a certain amount of reinventing to adapt to 21st-century family life.
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‘I think it was probably a bit of shock for her,’ explains the interior designer Sarah Delaney. ‘She needed a safe pair of hands and someone who knew London houses.’ Also on board was London-based architectural firm Stiff + Trevillion, with plenty of experience helping period houses reach their potential. Between them, they have made interventions and alterations that are both inspired and practical.
Take the raised ground floor, for example. Here, the classic layout – two rooms off an entrance hall – has been gently but effectively rethought. By reducing the size of the original sitting and dining rooms, they were able to squeeze in an antechamber connecting the two. This space, reached from the hall, has a wall of built-in storage – a clever way of introducing a North American ‘hall closet’ into a Victorian terraced house, instead of the standard British cupboard under the stairs. What is more, it sits naturally within the architecture.
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Although the house was nearly reduced to a shell when the work began, there has been just enough period detailing – from cornicing to architraves – reinstated to give it some of the original character. The room at the back, now known as the library, is a flexible space with a dining table, a desk for homework, a wall of books and a window seat in the large bay, which has a view of a beautiful communal garden and looks a pretty perfect place to sit and read.
On the lower ground floor, they decided to open things up, ‘but not too much,’ Sarah says. While it is possible to stand in the back garden and see directly through to the street at the front of the house, the spatial design is far more sophisticated than just a brutal gutting. The wide openings between a second dining area at the back of the house, the kitchen in the centre and another sitting room at the front are given architectural definition with the use of slim Crittall side panels –transparent but effective demarcations.
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Some unexpected architectural drama can also be seen in the kitchen, a big and bold space with the plus-size appliances often favoured in America. Despite its location in the middle of the lower ground floor, it is wonderfully light, thanks largely to the vaulted ceiling that Stiff + Trevillion designed above the marble central island. This is clad in Balineum’s slimline glazed-brick tiles, which have subtly uneven surfaces that catch and reflect the light.
A new basement was created, making space for a playroom and a bedroom, while one of the upper floors became the main bedroom and en-suite bathroom. Another floor has a laundry and two children’s bedrooms separated by pocket doors, with two more bedrooms on the level above. At the top of the house is a surprisingly spacious, skylit gym.
Thirty years ago, Sarah was working as a producer on television commercials. Relaxed and understated, she was keen to operate ‘under the radar’ when she moved into interior design. ‘It’s really all been word of mouth,’ she says. There may be no Mad Men razzmatazz to the way she works, but there is no shortage of flair either. It seems that she can even conjure up space and light in the least likely of places.
Sarah Delaney Design: sarahdelaneydesign.co.uk
Michael Sinclair1/10A Charles Burnand cabinet and a screen from a Paris flea market flank Jamb’s ‘Compton Black’ marble chimneypiece. A photograph by Michael Eastman, Blue Moorish Arch, hangs above it. The brass ‘Bolle’ six-sphere light and ‘Haumea’ coffee table are from Gallotti & Radice and the ‘Staccato’ rug is by Kelly Wearstler for The Rug Company.
Michael Sinclair2/10Parquet by The Solid Wood Flooring Company links the space, via an antechamber, with the library.
Michael Sinclair3/10Hans J Wegner’s oak ‘Wishbone’ chairs surround a ‘Pathos’ table by Antonio Citterio for B&B Italia. The ‘Apollo’ pendant in satin brass is by Pietro Russo.
Michael Sinclair4/10
Michael Sinclair5/10A Tanya Ling artwork picks up on vintage chairs in a green Kvadrat velvet.
Michael Sinclair6/10Walls in Little Greene’s ‘Marine Blue’ make a statement.
Michael Sinclair7/10The Solid Wood Flooring Company’s wide-plank oak floorboards provide a warm contrast with white matt-lacquered units by Bulthaup and worktops in Silestone in blanco zeus. Two small ‘Plaster Cone Hanging Lights’ by Rose Uniacke are suspended from a vaulted ceiling clad in ‘Hanley’ glazed brick tiles by Balineum, which reflect light onto the polished surfaces of an island and shelves in Calacatta marble.
Michael Sinclair8/10Global Summer, a photograph by Yiorgos Kordakis, hangs above a bespoke headboard covered in Kvadrat’s ‘Harald 2’ cotton velvet. The bespoke cushion is in Fortuny’s ‘Farnese’ in majolica green and silvery gold. The ‘Diderot Wall Light’ is from Hector Finch and a bespoke glass gradient trivet by Stephanie Tudor protects the surface of a ‘Sable’ table in truffle saddle leather by Ochre.
Michael Sinclair9/10An ‘Arctic Pear Chandelier’ from Ochre and ‘Claro 2’ wall lights by Bowles and Linares frame the entrance to the marble-clad en-suite bathroom.
Michael Sinclair10/10A large Moroccan rug ensures soft landings, with baskets providing colourful storage for toys.
