BUILD
We opened up the space in the kitchen by getting rid of the old breakfast area and putting in an extra bar area where food can be prepared while family and guests sit and socialise.
UNCOVER TO CREATE
Stripping away the carpets throughout the house, we revealed 200-year-old floorboards that were still in great condition. They were easily restored to create the base of our perfectly imperfect interior.
Then we used a mix of bold and bright colours in the interior design to transform the overall ambience in the home. In the kitchen, for instance, we sanded down the highly-varnished, softwood cabinets and painted them a light pink, using the pink for the floor as well. The pink contrasts nicely with the highland green walls we chose; we used the green to create continuity in the dining and living rooms. For the main entrance, we used a bright sunny yellow to create a ‘wow’ factor. And keeping up the bold colours, we painted the playroom walls purple, deciding on a light pink for the floors to match the pink in the kitchen.
SOURCE
The immensely talented curtain maker Pat Giddens helped us complete our distinctive look with her luxurious, stand-out curtains. For the dining room windows, we put in deep varese magenta velvet from Designer’s Guild; in the library, Palissy Magenta and in the studies Pontoise platinum and Catharina cornflower. In the Living Room we chose Jane Clayton’s Mulberry Home Leith and for the baby’s room, Andrew Martin’s Safari Print Noah. As Pat said:
“It was a pleasure to work with Ana on this project, adding colour and a unique and contemporary twist to a Georgian townhouse.”
To further infuse our perfectly imperfect look, for the living room we sourced an elegant late-19th century French chandelier and furniture from Gallery25 and The Conran Shop. We finished off this room with a wonderful piece of art from Alicia Martin; it gives the illusion of books bursting from the wall, redolent (albeit on a smaller scale!) of her spectacular sculptural installation at Casa de America in Madrid. In the dining room, we found a Warren Platner high table from Knoll and a stunning chandelier made from reused green bottles. It makes a spectacular statement on behalf of the beauty of eco-friendly interior design.
Throughout the rest of the house, we put up eye-catching artwork from such artists as Lidia Masllorens and Miguel Macaya, and added a wood-chopping side table from the Engadin next to a lush Att Pynta sofa in the living room, aiming, as always, to blend the old with the new to create a look that is bold, fresh, classic and comfortable in equal measure.
To see more, do check out the Chelsea townhouse in our website’s Portfolio section.
How could you make your home more perfectly imperfect?
