A New Build Transformed Into a Home With Aged Parisian Style

Black living room with cream sofas and armchairs, black coffee table, beige and brown marble fireplace, wall-mounted TV, three-pronged wall lights and cream pouffe — (Image credit: Chris Snook. Styling: Anna Sheridan)

"You know when you’ve had a house for a few years and it’s a bit lived-in, almost dirty, and there is wisteria growing up and a faded sort of charm and glamour?" asks interior designer Amy Stoddart. "Well, that was exactly the vibe we wanted here: a take on aged Parisian style that is both careworn and luxe."

Quite a tricky brief for a house that was totally brand new and that Amy had designed from scratch into a modern home after the owners knocked down the home that had formerly been on the site. "We hadn’t planned to, but after getting advice from the builders it felt cheaper to do that and not have to pay VAT — which new builds are exempt from — than renovate the existing property,’ says Amy.

Cream kitchen with black and cream marble countertop, dark wood oval dining table, dark wood and cane chairs and pale grey tiles — "The wood furniture was very much needed here as a way to soften the hard marble and the tile floor — which was a more practical choice than wood flooring as the owners have children and dogs," says Amy.

So how do you go about giving a large monolithic mansion that vintage patina you’re craving? "We were constantly saying, 'Make it dirtier!'" says Amy Stoddart of the pitted tadelakt walls in the powder room that she wanted more pits added to, and of the foxed brass mirrors added to the joinery in the entryway to tone down that new-build gleam.

"We also stepped away from any design choices that were too 'brand-new extension'," she says, "instead choosing ornate cornicing, very high skirting boards and metal finishes that were always more worn than shiny."

Shot to wardrobe room with amber glass wardrobe doors and a green velvet bench — "The foxed brass mirrors on the coat cupboard play into the Parisian feel we were going for, and make everything feel a little less shiny and new," says Amy.

Soho Home

Lyla Footstool, Velvet, Grey Blue

A neat velvet stool is always a welcome, warming addition to a pared-back space — and Soho Home is the best place to source one from.

Cream living room with burgundy U-shaped sofa, beige marble coffee table, beige textured rug, curved wood floor lamp and bronze abstract artwork — "Because of the wonderful pinkness of the Viola marble in the kitchen (which is linked to this space), we wanted a velvet for the sofa in the snug to connect to that tone," says Amy.

The color palette was key. It veers from the sumptuous burgundy seen on the Camaleonda sofa in the snug and the wallpapered walls and ceilings in the cinema room, to the black of the formal living room — each one enhancing that sense of age and a richness gathered over time that she was after.

"But even the darker tones have a softness to them," says Amy. "The black used in the formal sitting room is very far from jet back — it has subtle blue tones. It makes being in there feel very sophisticated. It’s only used at night anyway, so by then it’s bathed in the warm glow of the wall lights."

Gray-brown study in the eaves with wooden angular desk, wood and cane chairs and spotlights — "Up in the eaves, the office gets a lot of light so the honey-colored walls almost sing in the sunshine," says Amy.

Natural Country Ceramic Lydford Medium Textured Flower Vase - Size One

A stoneware vase like this one from Next adds welcome texture to a desk set-up — and it's a steal at just over £30.

Cinema room with deep plum wallpaper, plum velvet corner sofa and ottoman, and brass wall light — "Using textured wallpaper to color drench this space, instead of just paint, makes it seem extra layered and super cozy," says Amy.

Having a living room only used in the evenings may seem indulgent, but Amy’s clients liked how each area had a very specific use. "They said that if we’d not made one space an evening lounge and another a cinema room, they’d inevitably spend all their time in the snug," she says. "Giving each room a specific purpose means it actually gets used as such."

Powder room with taupe tadelakt walls, cream and grey ribbed marble sink, brass taps, brass and opal glass wall lights and curved mirror — "We wanted to use the fluting as another way to bring texture to the space, but it was technically very difficult," says Amy. The walls are in a tadelakt, which Amy felt was more durable than a limewash for a bathroom.

John Lewis

Mid-Century Curved Metal Frame Wall Mirror, 70 X 50cm, Antique Brass

With just the right amount of curve, this mirror softens the rigidity of the stone basin in this house — and now it could be yours.

Cream bedroom with soft green upholstered bed, burl wood bedside table, cream ceramic bedside lamp and off-white bed linen — A lavish curved headboard upholstered in green fabric creates a luxurious feel, while also adding a hit of brightness to the neutral scheme.

The overall effect of Amy’s design choices is one that elevates this all-new property into a home with stately character. "Because everything is so tactile, you get the impression you’re being instantly welcomed by the house itself," says Amy. "That you could put your feet up on the sofa, curl up with a book or cocktail, and feel instantly at home."

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The editor of Livingetc, Pip Rich (formerly Pip McCormac) is a lifestyle journalist of almost 20 years experience working for some of the UK's biggest titles. As well as holding staff positions at Sunday Times Style, Red and Grazia he has written for the Guardian, The Telegraph, The Times and ES Magazine. The host of Livingetc's podcast Home Truths, Pip has also published three books - his most recent, A New Leaf, was released in December 2021 and is about the homes of architects who have filled their spaces with houseplants. He has recently moved out of London - and a home that ELLE Decoration called one of the ten best small spaces in the world - to start a new renovation project in Somerset.