This house in the heart of Chelsea is home to a globe-trotting couple and their young daughter. True extroverts, engaged in marketing careers, this family lives an active lifestyle.
When they are home, however, they want to feel very at home. They refer to their Chelsea townhouse as a cottage – it is their place to escape, to recharge and to enjoy the quieter, cosier side of their family life.
We worked together on the garden level of their home, creating a series of unified rooms leading into the garden. The kitchen, complete with an Aga, the dining room and the living area now feel homely and cottage like. Yet, we also took care to add in hints of their broader life – a splash of the contemporary, a flourish of the here and now.
Embroidered, woven, and wool fabrics were selected in a palate of reds and greens from their strongest hues through to their softer, lighter shades. We looked at materials from the strong architectural base of the dining table through to the lightest touch of pink in the soft glass chandelier. Finally, we selected accessories and art, which offered a sense of the traditional and yet felt modern and fresh.
Then at the very top of the house, we created a cosy, cottagey bedroom for guests and an up to the minute guest bathroom.
Finally, their daughter wanted a room that reflected her happy place – a spot near the ocean – full of places for her beloved books. The result was a hide-a-way nook for her bed, a very comfortable chair, shelves in all shapes and sizes, with colours and fabrics putting her right by the sea.
The resulting home is a personal oasis, a little townhouse cottage in Chelsea, – with a twist.