Charlotte and Stéphane Salas’ London townhouse has been reimagined as a family home

When Charlotte and Stéphane Salas moved from Paris to London, it took them a while to find the perfect family home, but this townhouse turned out to be ideal

Leaving Southern California, the land of perpetual sunshine, to take a masters course in museum studies in London – where the sun pays fewer visits – didn’t faze Charlotte. She had always wanted to live in the British capital. She loved the culture, the music, and the idea of experiencing different seasons. It wasn’t long, however, before she fell in love, married and relocated with her French husband to Paris, where she found work at the Louvre. Eventually, the couple moved back to London and lived in a flat with their two young children before they outgrew the space.

Charlotte and Stéphane had been keeping their eye on the property market for several years and when they found this house, Charlotte already knew what it would look like inside. ‘The previous owner’s son went to school with our son and we’d been to a party here years before,’ says Charlotte. The Edwardian terrace had high ceilings and period cornicing and fireplaces – everything Charlotte didn’t have when she was growing up. There was a manageable garden, and it was close to the Tube station, schools and local shops. ‘We also wanted a home where the family can stay when they come to visit from America and France,’ says Charlotte. ‘So the space needed to do everything for us.’

The family lived in the house for a year and a half before they altered anything. ‘This was essential because I changed my mind about how the space was going to be used so many times,’ says Charlotte. ‘We chose to have the children’s study where originally there was a breakfast room. It was very bright and I knew it would be a lovely space to be in, but it was too narrow to have a dining table.’

No stranger to house renovations, Charlotte was keen to manage the interior design herself; however, the job of reconfiguring the layout was given to Trevor Brown Architects. ‘It was a generous property, but all the rooms on the ground floor were in the wrong place,’ says Charlotte. ‘There was a small conservatory where the dining room is now, and where there is the new kitchen was a rear reception room, cut off from everything.’ By replacing the conservatory with a small onemetre extension and opening up elements of the ground floor, the architects have been able to create a better flow. They closed off a doorway, which connected various ground-floor rooms, and moved the stairs to fit in a downstairs cloakroom. The biggest challenge was ensuring the central part of the ground floor was used efficiently. ‘We put the kitchen in the middle so you see out to all the spaces and it really is the heart of the home,’ says Charlotte. Seating has been added at the rear and sides so the family can enjoy the garden views.

The family stayed in the house during the works, so Charlotte was able to see the daily progress. ‘From the day they knocked down the first wall it took seven months to complete the build. It was very well managed,’ says Charlotte. Work started on the ground floor, then on the garden, followed by the loft and the first floor. ‘When they took down the ceiling in the breakfast room, they found two unsupported chimney breasts, so we needed more steels,’ says Charlotte. ‘It was quite impressive to see the spaces being held up by thin poles, which we avoided at all costs until the steels were in place.’ The lantern roof was delayed but they still had to lay the flooring in order to fit the kitchen. ‘We boarded up the opening and waited for the glazing and in the meantime had a few leaks,’ says Charlotte. ‘In the end we had to change our supplier and chose Westbury Garden Rooms.’

One of Charlotte’s favourite spaces is the back garden, which has been completely transformed. Originally, you’d walk out onto a small 3-metrewide patio with a high retaining wall, which blocked light and views. ‘You needed to walk up steps to get to the main garden,’ says Charlotte. ‘We’d be staring straight out at a wall.’ Removing the wall helped to create a series of four terraces at different levels. Charlotte now has a studio in the garden from where she writes, a formal garden and a terrace space. ‘Now when you sit in the snug, because the bay window sill is at ground height, it feels like you are sitting in the garden, with the flowers right beside you,’ says Charlotte.

Although this room is north-facing, Charlotte wasn’t afraid to paint it in Farrow & Ball’s dark Hague Blue. ‘We use the room in the evenings as an adult space and so it’s more formal.’ The armchairs and sofas were bought from Flamant in Belgium and the blue bookshelves were built by local builders. The wooden shelves are from Flamant, and a Kartell Bloom pendant light adds further interest to the space. The artwork above the fireplace was created by Charlotte’s friend, Ele Nash

Below: There’s even space in the new garden for a studio office, where Charlotte does her writing with a view back to the house over the terraced flower beds. This tranquil oasis of a garden is Charlotte’s favourite part of the whole renovation project

Above: ‘We found a different way to deal with the level change, so rather than having a big patio at the back of the house, we now have four different spaces to enjoy,’ says Charlotte. The bespoke windows have been created to mirror the bay style at the front of the house (pictured right) and are painted in Farrow & Ball’s Elephant’s Breath

Left: Natural light fills the dining room thanks to the Westbury roof lantern. In the evenings the Garrick chandelier from Neptune and Jim Lawrence wall lamps light the space. The chairs, china cabinet and black games table in the corner are all from Belgian store Flamant

Above: ‘We chose our kitchen from Higham Furniture, as we had used them in our previous flat and we like the quality,’ says Charlotte. This room in the middle of the house doesn’t get as much light as the other areas, so the cabinets and walls have been painted in Little Greene’s China Clay Dark, a soft pink shade that makes the space feel warm. The island is painted in Little Greene’s Basalt

Below: The sofa in the snug window is from Neptune. ‘We fight for that space so we can enjoy views out into the garden,’ says Charlotte

Above: Bought from And so to Bed 13 years ago while the couple were living in France, this regal bed reminds Charlotte of Venice, and the twisted timber posts give a sense of grandeur to the master bedroom with its original fireplace

Below right: The shower doors are custom built and Charlotte opted for Perrin & Rowe fixtures. The tiles are all from Mandarin Stone and the wall lights are from Jim Lawrence

Below: Wallpaper in William Morris’ Wandle design makes a stunning feature wall behind the bed. The other walls are painted in Farrow & Ball’s striking Inchyra Blue shade

Right: ‘I have a lot of china and I didn’t want to hang art in the kitchen, and I remembered my grandparents doing a similar thing,’ says Charlotte. The stripy red plates are antique French china and the blue ones are from Holland