FINE ELEGANCE
With bold use of colour and pattern, and some clever bespoke finishes, this London townhouse is now filled with personality
A Kensington townhouse has been thoughtfully refurbished with bespoke finishes to create a space suited to both family life and entertaining
With busy lives involving extensive international travel, businessman
Sani Erbilgin and his wife Stephanie, a former fashion executive, decided to enlist the skills of interior designer Saskia Blyth to refurbish their newly purchased Kensington townhouse. ‘The couple, recently married and with a young baby, commissioned me to create a special place for them that would have the feel of a long-established family home,’ says Saskia.
Bought in September 2017, the Grade Ii-listed, white stucco-fronted house is located on a quiet tree-lined street. ‘The property had been extensively renovated and was purchased direct from the developer, with layout, kitchen and bathrooms already installed,’ says Saskia. ‘The interior was very much grey on grey, and the family were keen to inject their own personality with colour, decorative details, fabrics, furniture and furnishings. Above all, we wanted to create a sophisticated, bespoke and luxurious finish, all within a six-month time frame.’
Saskia’s team got straight to work making key changes, including replacing the kitchen unit fronts, adding storage to the bathrooms, moving baths to optimise positioning, upgrading wardrobe doors, and changing the carpets and curtains to reflect the couple’s taste. Furniture, furnishings, artwork, china, silverware and tableware were all chosen by Saskia on behalf of Sani and Stephanie and mixed with favourite family pieces to complete the interior.
‘After an initial planning meeting to discuss design, colours and desired looks, we communicated remotely to sign off all the details,’ says Saskia.
The pièce de résistance is the dining room, which is now decorated with pistachio green silk wallpaper and handpainted chinoiserie panels by Rima & Mcrae. ‘We wanted to create impact as you enter and the dining room and adjoining petit salon in a wonderful mix of vibrant greens, pale pinks and soft golds have certainly achieved this,’ says Saskia.
The couple’s own tastes and preferences were paramount throughout the redesign. For Stephanie, a distinctly feminine look with florals, frills and tassels prevails in her dressing room; while in her office, elegant blue silk curtains and a pretty Persian rug add a refined elegance. Sani’s office is altogether more masculine, with tartan wallpaper and a modern mix of glass and leather. ‘I always encourage clients to be brave with colour,’ says Saskia. ‘The elegant blue drawing room on the ground floor is a great example of this, with modern art and leopard print on the bespoke fender adding a touch of fun.’
Saskia established her boutique interior design business, Blyth-collinson Interiors, in 2011, undertaking high-end, often very private projects, including work for royalty. ‘It is important to me to understand every detail of a client’s needs and ideas; I don’t want to simply impose a look. I select all the final finishing touches: from choosing bedlinen, glassware, cutlery and towels, to ordering logs, stocking the fridge and setting up multimedia platforms. The mutual trust and joint collaboration this creates makes projects like this very special.’