PAST & PRESENT A unique collaboration has resulted in a villa that is both contemporary and classic

A collaboration between Palladian London and Studio Ashby celebrates a Georgian villa’s history while being firmly rooted in the now

When there is a true synergy between client, architect and interior designer, the results can be spectacular, and the sensitive renovation of this gracious Georgian villa in Kensington is a case in point.

Every detail, from ebonised bookcases lined in Ottoman silk to intricate new cornicing that chimes with the building’s Georgian heritage, has been tailored to the client’s tastes – and executed by some of the finest craftspeople in the business.

Hugo Lindsay-fynn, co-founder of architecture and design firm Palladian London, was instrumental in helping his globetrotting client choose this handsome stucco-fronted property. ‘He was relocating to London with his family and the brief was to create a very English home, so when the client and I viewed this building we agreed that it offered the perfect starting point,’ notes Hugo, whose team stripped the interiors back to their bare bricks in order to reinstate the character that had been chipped away by previous renovations.

Hugo’s suggestion to collaborate with interior designer Sophie Ashby of Studio Ashby on the project may have seemed left field – her portfolio is filled with eclectic, slightly edgy projects that err on the contemporary side – but having met her a number of times, Hugo was aware that she was keen to work on a more classical project. ‘It was a leap of faith but the client could see that she had the vision,’ he adds.

Sophie’s unique balance of masculine line and form combined with a feminine eye for colour has imbued the villa with a freshness while respecting its roots. Her team turned to the rich history of the area for inspiration: the Islamic tiles in nearby Leighton House, for example, were the starting point for the drawing room’s palette of peacock greens, inky blues and russet reds, while the guest bathroom’s wallpaper, featuring hand-painted koi carp, nods to the pond in Holland Park’s Japanese Kyoto Garden. ‘The villa →

backs onto the park and we have referenced it throughout the interiors,’ notes Sophie, pointing out the chandeliers adorned with hand-forged leaves in the reception spaces and the exquisite chinoiserie panels in the master bedroom.

Unusually for a designer who loves to source art – and invariably uses it as a starting point for a scheme – Sophie turned to a consultant for this project. ‘The client has a passion for impressionist and post-impressionist works and so we needed someone who specialised in this period,’ she explains. A fine selection of paintings now graces the walls, adding another layer of colour and life to the home.

Craftspeople were commissioned to create heirloom-quality pieces, including tables in curl mahogany and pippy yew and a pair of tall Empirestyle bookcases, which help emphasise the drawing room’s soaring ceiling. In the family room, where a noticeably more contemporary scheme suits the younger members of the family, a wall of cabinetry features shelves that cleverly glide apart to reveal the television – one of Studio Ashby’s signature tricks.

The client wanted his children’s bathrooms to be as wonderful as his own master suite, prompting designs that feature marbles laid in intricate patterns on the floors. ‘Working out how to lay a patchwork of marbles on the building’s traditional structure of wooden joists required considerable skill,’ recounts Hugo, whose team also rose to the challenge of incorporating a cooling system that could be concealed behind the beautiful plaster cornicing.

This perfect dovetailing of design ideas with technical know-how has resulted in a home that is at once sophisticated and comfortable. ‘This house shows what you can create when you get together a group of like-minded people,’ says Hugo. ‘It was wonderful to work with such fantastic artisans.’

Palladian London, palladianlondon.com. Studio Ashby, studioashby.com

INSIDER INSIGHT

Interior designer Sophie Ashby shares her loves

BIGGEST INDULGENCE There’s an indulgent intricacy of detail throughout this project.

WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE NEXT GAME CHANGER IN DESIGN

Responsible design with a story of conscious impact.

FAVOURITE BUILDING It’s so hard to choose but I’d have to say Ricardo Bofill’s incredible home, once a cement factory, in Catalonia. The spaces, materiality, history and light are all exquisite.

SECRET ADDRESS Casely-hayford on

Marylebone’s Chiltern Street – my husband’s shop where I get lots of my clothes made.

YOUR STYLE IN THREE WORDS

Eclectic, colourful, soulful.

LAST THING YOU BOUGHT FOR YOUR HOME A Heath Newman painting from The Dot Project gallery; it is reminiscent of Cy Twombly and full of joy.

DESIGN HERO Carlo Scarpa. He celebrates decoration in architecture using memorable forms and beautiful materials, giving loving attention to texture and detail.