Traditional architecture meets modern design in a Chelsea townhouse by Studio Peake
The complete overhaul of this townhouse in Chelsea was a project that interior designer Sarah Peake says she ‘lived and breathed’ for a year and a half. It was a creatively exciting challenge for her design team at Studio Peake, as the clients – a young professional couple who entertain a lot – wanted to do something fun with the traditional Victorian townhouse. Their love of nature and of Japanese art were also elements of the brief.
A total reconfiguration was needed. ‘The lower ground floor had been split into higgledy piggledy rooms,’ says Sarah. ‘We opened it up to create one large space, which connected the garden with what happens inside through the choice of flooring.’ The refurbishment took place across 15 months during the lockdowns and, over this period, the roof was taken off, ceilings were raised and the split landing on the ground floor was levelled out.
Sarah worked closely with Neal Newland and Oliver Jones at Peek Architecture & Design up to the first fix (everything that comes before internal plastering), with Studio Peake taking the lead on interior architecture.
The layout was determined by the couple’s lifestyle. Both of them wanted their own study and dressing room, and a spacious main bedroom and fabulous entertaining spaces were equally important. The top floor now comprises the husband’s dressing room and bathroom, as well as a spare room and an additional bathroom – especially useful when his parents visit from Australia. This is all crowned by a roof terrace, which provides another relaxing area in the warmer months.
Sarah’s creative flair for colour is evident the moment you step into the house, with the yellow-painted walls of the entrance hall and stairs setting a cheerful tone. The narrow hall has been cleverly enhanced with the help of parliament hinges on the sitting room doors, which are constantly left open, helping to make the hallway feel larger and brighter. She thought a lot about what could be glimpsed in adjoining spaces: visible through an open door at the end of the hall is a pretty cloakroom lined with a palm wallpaper that gives a nod to nature.
Throughout the house, there are details that pique interest from afar. A large painting of a rose by Tim Maguire, hanging above the new marble chimneypiece, was the starting point for the design of the sitting room. New cornicing was added, as well as mirrored panels in the alcoves on either side of the chimney breast, and the colour scheme was inspired by David Hockney’s swimming pool paintings. The coffee table in textured brass was designed by Studio Peake and the ceramic lamp bases by Rupert Merton and their lampshades by LovingString were all made bespoke to match the blue, green and pink colour scheme. A pair of Hiroshige woodblock prints and a vintage palm-leaf floor lamp in the bay window reflect the design themes. ‘It’s contemporary furniture with traditional architecture and elements inspired by Japan and nature all rolled into one,’ says Sarah. ‘It was fun because they let us be creative, bold and imaginative.’ Sliding doors lead from there to the wife’s inviting study, with walls painted in ‘Rose’ by Edward Bulmer Natural Paint. Here, the desk and the joinery are designed so everything can be stored away.
One of the interesting features of the new layout is that the original room on the half-landing (at the top of the stairs reached from the entrance hall) has been turned into a secret dressing room. This can be accessed only from the main bedroom’s en-suite bathroom on the floor above, via a small separate staircase. ‘The wife joked that she didn’t want her friends going up there to steal her clothes,’ says Sarah. ‘But really it was about the element of surprise. It’s a jewel box of a room. We had a little sofa made and a shell mirror above it. It’s wonderful.’
There is a grandeur to the main bedroom, embodied by period details – some original, some added. ‘I was keen to maintain and, in some cases, enhance the traditional architecture of the house,’ she says. ‘We put back cornices and architraves, increased the height of the doors, put in higher skirting boards and also restored the original panelling and french windows out to the balcony.’ The juxtaposition of traditional architecture and modern furniture and fabrics gives the house a lively feel.
The Japanese influence makes another appearance on the lower ground floor, with a staircase enclosed by a slatted wooden screen. Pine beams run along the length of the ceilings, giving structure to the space, and a mosaic of geometric green, yellow and white floor tiles from the Mosaic Factory runs all the way through. ‘It gives it flow from front to back,’ says Sarah. The combination of natural materials with brass kitchen fittings and high-gloss lacquer cabinets brings a modern feel to the room. ‘The owners and I had a clear vision of how we wanted the house to look from the start,’ recalls Sarah. ‘It was really satisfying to see all the rooms coming together almost exactly as I had pictured them.’
ALEXANDER JAMES1/6Vaughan’s ‘Montferrat Leaf’ chandelier hangs above a ‘Peninsula’ ash table, designed by Galvin Brothers in collaboration with Studio Ashby, and ‘Mathilda’ chairs in ash by Patricia Urquiola for Moroso.
ALEXANDER JAMES2/6A curved armchair upholstered in Rapture & Wright’s ‘Baya’ linen in ochre and a sofa in Larsen’s ‘Vail’ in pearl from Colefax and Fowler – with cushions in Kit Kemp’s ‘Live it Up’ indigo stripe for Christopher Farr Cloth – fit neatly round a ‘Fluted’ coffee table by Galvin Brothers. The curtains are in Rebecca Atwood’s ‘Dotted Leaves’ linen in garden green.
3/6A Peter Page rug echoes the wardrobe from The Workshop by Studio Peake.
ALEXANDER JAMES4/6Svenskt Tenn cushions and a Robert Stephenson rug add bold pattern.
ALEXANDER JAMES5/6
ALEXANDER JAMES6/6A Tom Raffield pendant, seen from the dressing-room stairs in Maison C’s ‘Coven’ wallpaper in goldwyn pink, is set off by Parkside’s ‘Waterford’ tiles, a BC Designs bath, Crosswater taps and a screen in Farrow & Ball’s ‘Babouche’.
