a fresh start
Sarah and Ed Dickens struck the right balance between old and new in their relaxed family home while beginning a new chapter in their lives
Striking the right balance between old and new was the trick to breathing new life into this London home
Sarah and Ed Dickens were both immediately struck by the handsome architecture of this London townhouse – and how different it was from their usual style. ‘Until we moved here, we lived in a modern, minimalist apartment, but then we started a family and our priorities changed,’ says Sarah, now mother to Charlotte, eight, Rosie, six, and Philip, three. ‘ We wanted more space but didn’t want to move outside London. Through friends of friends we heard about this house, which needed some updating, and instantly loved its unique character.’
The Georgian property is in a street where many neighbouring buildings have long since been turned into offices. ‘Unusually, this house had already been converted back to residential use, but its awkward layout, featuring lots of separate rooms, was not ideal for family life,’ explains Sarah. ‘ We could see lots of ways to make this place work better for us by creating much more of a flow between the rooms. Ironically, we modelled the ground-floor open-plan spaces on the modern Bermondsey flat where we used to live.’
Having settled on the new layout, the couple, who are both lawyers, decided to live in during renovations, which also coincided with the birth of their third child. ‘Luckily, our builders were amazing, which made things go smoothly,’ says Sarah. The most disruptive work was knocking through two ground-floor rooms to create a double kitchen-diner. ‘These rooms had previously been used as an office and a laundry room, with the kitchen at the rear of the house,’ says Sarah. ‘I now love having the cooking area at the front with a view of the bustling street outside and lots of light.’
The family turned the room at the rear of this floor into a playroom, which leads into the garden and means that most of their daily family life now happens on this level. ‘ We also created a terrace above here where, in theory, Ed and I can have a quiet coffee
and read the newspapers, while the children play on the grassy area below,’ says Sarah, ‘ but that quiet moment rarely happens.’
On the first floor, the sitting room is grandly proportioned with tall shuttered windows. ‘ We wanted this to be an adult area that retained the character of the architecture, but also felt relaxed, with some contemporary touches,’ says Sarah. The couple love the style of the Soho House brand and worked up their own version with a Harland Miller artwork, luxe velvet cushions and shelves filled with books and mementos. ‘This was our first project, so for inspiration we looked to places we had enjoyed spending time,’ says Sarah.
Contemporary art is displayed throughout Sarah and Ed’s home to add personality, while new tiles on the ground floor strike a balance between a traditional pattern and plain white. ‘Visitors often think the patterned sections are original to the house,’ says Sarah. When it came to furniture, Sarah soon discovered that any new purchases needed to be scaled up for the building’s size. ‘The pieces we brought here from our old flat looked lost in the space, so we had to seek out items, such as the coffee table and light pendants, that were large enough to suit the proportions,’ she says.
Smaller, more personal details come in the form of their books, which line the shelves of the snug, a space adjoining the larger sitting room and the office. Two antique grandfather clocks, inherited from Sarah’s grandparents, stand in the hallway and on the landing. ‘They would have looked so out of place in our previous apartment, but they totally suit this house,’ she says. ‘I remember them from my childhood and love that they are now part of my children’s lives.’
Striking a balance between old and new has helped breathe fresh character into this handsome townhouse. ‘It’s now the spacious but relaxed family home we always wanted,’ says Sarah, ‘and we feel incredibly lucky to live here.’