"It’s Like Being on Holiday" — This London Retreat Is Designed for Guests, and Its Owner, to Relax Like They're on Vacation

Designed for both nesting and hosting, and inspired by boutique hotels, this versatile Victorian home has playful surprises at every turn

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Pink living room with dark green sofa, coral and rust orange armchairs, bamboo and glass coffee table and bamboo mirror over white fireplace
(Image credit: Beth Davis)

Before buying this house, Laura Sawyer’s pros and cons list looked perplexing. On the downside, it had no central heating or insulation; the floor joists were rotten; the chimneys were letting in water (so add damp issues to the list) and some parts were structurally unsound.

But the positives immediately won out. "It was my dream house," says Laura. "I love Victorian design – it’s pragmatic. I love the original features, the double-front, the light, the proportions – it’s a four-bed house, but it’s so cozy." And she also loved the opportunity to start over completely, to conjure up a modern home: "I could create my perfect environment."

Corner of a pink living room with mid-century sideboard and rust orange accent chair

"I’m still looking for a rug for this room – I want to take my time rather than buy something that will do for now, because I know it will be exhilarating to find the right piece," says homeowner and creative Laura Sawyer. (Image credit: Beth Davis)

In fact, that can-do spirit was Laura’s key criterion when it came to recruiting tradespeople: the ones who said "Oh, this is a huge job" did not get hired. With a strict budget, Laura, founder of The Detail, designed and project-managed the entire renovation herself, but also commissioned architectural drawings and enlisted her "incredible" wood-scientist father for his expertise on damp and timber – not to mention his problem-solving prowess.

Pale pink kitchen with black stripes painted across the ceiling

"This kitchen is just a temporary fix because I have planning permission for an extension, so in the meantime I thought I’d have fun with Wonka-esque stripes," says Laura. "And, because it’s temporary, almost everything is repurposed or second-hand." (Image credit: Beth Davis)

To minimize costs further, she stripped wallpaper, had "a lot of fun" knocking out a chimney, and, every day, swept and bagged up the building mess, so that her builders could crack on with the skilled work. From her experience in prop styling, she was also able to do the wall paneling and fiddlier details, such as the scalloped shelving.

Cobalt blue powder room with black and white striped painted sink and arched mirror

"I always wanted to have a downstairs loo that I’d be able to cover with wallpaper, but the house is still drying out and I fell in love with this paint color – it’s so flamboyant and over the top," says Laura. (Image credit: Beth Davis)

Laura’s vision was to create "somewhere luxurious and calm, which flowed in every sense", so she altered the floor plan, taking out a wall here, moving a bathroom there, in order to optimize that flow. The Victorian features — cornicing and ceiling roses, architraves, sash windows — were restored or sympathetically replaced.

Green bedroom with panelled walls, arched floral pattern headboard and fluted round side table

"Because I was color-drenching the room, I added the tall, thin paneling to draw the eye up to make sure the ceiling had a sense of height," says Laura. "It feels cozy but grand." (Image credit: Beth Davis)

And then, inspired by boutique hotels, she elevated her home. "A beautifully designed hotel makes you feel at home, even though it’s aspirational," she says. "When people stay here, they say it’s like being on holiday." It’s also about everything having its place, like in a well-designed hotel – particularly helpful, she adds, "because I’m forgetful. If things get messy, I find it difficult to concentrate."

White bathroom with arched shower screen and mirror

"This was originally a kitchenette, but I wanted a spa hotel bathroom overlooking the garden, so I put in a floor-to-ceiling window," says Laura. (Image credit: Beth Davis)

Upstairs, Laura had the possibility of having three guest bedrooms, but felt it was important she was able to use every room in the house, otherwise it would "feel wasteful". So she created a dressing room adjacent to her bedroom, with pocket doors hidden in a connecting archway; she also installed adaptable furniture and painted the rooms in "sister" colors that would work together. In fact, throughout the house, the palette is cohesive. "I wanted different colors, but so you wouldn’t notice — I wanted it to flow. It helps with the feeling of calm."

Pink bedroom with white and grey marble fireplace, green velvet armchair and black shelving

"The color on the walls here is the same one used for the dressing room ceiling," says Laura. "I added an arched opening with hidden pocket doors to link the spaces." (Image credit: Beth Davis)

The house has been designed for guests – not just Laura’s friends and family, but attendees of her forthcoming arts and culture gatherings. Throughout the house are "Easter eggs", says Laura, "design elements only discovered by people curious enough to find them".

Variously themed on disparate things such as Willy Wonka, birds, circles, and Poland (she’s half-Polish), they can be found hiding behind doors, high on wall,s or blending into the background. As she says, "Why not be playful? Why not be surprising?"

Fleur Britten
Contributor

Fleur Britten is a well-respected journalist who for years was the Senior Features Editor at Sunday Times Style. She is known as one of the smartest lifestyle journalists around, revered for being able to decode trends and report on new zeitgeists as they happen. She now writes for the Telegraph, Livingetc, Vogue, The Times, Harper's Bazaar and the Guardian.