With a soft-industrial core, this home is a lesson in redrawing the lines of Victorian architecture with a contemporary, artistic eye.
Get the look: The light is bespoke, by Lindsey Adelman. The staircase was part of Dyer Grimes Architects’ design, manufactuered by Eestairs in the Netherlands.
THE PROPERTY
Three storeys of a large Victorian villa in southLondon. The lower ground floor has an open-plan area with kitchen, dining area, play room and seating, plus a separate study, office, guest bedroom suite and two WCs. The ground floor of this contemporary London home has the living room, a child’s bedroom and bathroom and a WC. Upstairs is the master suite (bedroom, bathroom, living room and dressing area), and a second child’s bedroom and bathroom.
HALLWAY
From the outside, this stucco villa is pure posh Victoriana: all pillars, balconies and tall sash windows. But step inside and the core of this three-storey home has been opened up and spun right round with an ultra-contemporary staircase that reinvents its architectural character. The staircase connects everything and makes the spaces work. Without it, the three levels would feel shut off from each other.
KITCHEN
The owners approached Dyer Grimes Architects, who they worked with to achieve the right balance between strong industrial and light and airy. The colours of this home take a cue from the staircase, the linchpin of this project, and its heavy-yet-light, soft-industrial heart: palest greys, steely blues, clear glass and black stained floorboards. But the home’s key textures are still firmly rooted in nature, with fossil-studded volcanic stone in the kitchen, and the feathery, ethereal lighting pendants that bob around amid the high period mouldings of the Victorian ceilings.
Get the look: The kitchen is Minotti Cucina in volcanic stone with predominantly Gaggenau appliances. The polished concrete flooring is by Lazenby. The toaster is Dualit. Kitchen storage can be entirely concealed behind bifold doors for a very pure, clean look.
Volcanic stone is the star of the kitchen island. Although substantial and weighty, it doesn’t dominate and up close you can see tiny fossils, shapes and the veining in the rock.
LIVING ROOM
With masses of natural light and generous seating, this is a family room that’s designed to be used and enjoyed every day.
Get the look: The sofas and ottoman are Flexform. The Galliano wall lights are by Delightfull. The fireplace is from Renaissance.
The modular shelving has been put up, taken down and then put up again, in each of the family’s previous three homes. Every time it somehow fits the space perfectly.
Get the look: The modular shelving is by Nils Holger Moormann. The LC4 Chaise Longue is by Le Corbusier. The sofa and ottoman are Flexform.
PLAYROOM
There’s a dazzling array of kids’ wallpapers out there, but Westwood simple but ingenious design hits the spot here.
Get the look: The Wallpaper is Vivienne Westwood’s Squiggle. The chair is Designers Guild and the picture was bought in India.
MASTER EN SUITE
Tactile tadelakt and lava stone tiles wrap around this bathing space that’s both efficient and indulgent.
Get the look: These are Made a Mano lavastone tiles. The handshower and brassware are Gessi at CP Hart.
Solid marble and antiqued mirror glass create a grey-toned sanctuary. The ageing effect results in blackened edges that endow the mirror with a natural ‘frame’.
Get the look: The basins and unit are by Kreoo. The mirror is by Dominic Schuster, inset with lights by Bocci.
MASTER BEDROOM
Metal-framed glass doors divide the bedroom and living room sections of the master suite.
Get the look: The walls are painted in Oval Room Blue, Farrow & Ball. The bed is by Schramm and the chandelier is the Zeppelin by Marcel Wanders for Flos. The build was by Galower Builders.
MASTER SUITE LIVING ROOM
There’s an other-worldly quality to the Zeppelin chandeliers that hang in the master suite.
Get the look: The Zeppelin chandelier is by Marcel Wanders for Flos. The chairs are by Sergio Rodrigues. The oval, fringed picture light over the mantelpiece is by Servomuto. The tiles are from Fired Earth. The fireplace is from Renaissance.
Photography Paul Raeside
