Take A Look Around This Family Townhouse

The Property & The Brief

Harley House is a Regency period building in Marylebone, home to a growing family with children of all ages. The renovation started out as just the living and dining room, then grew to cover the whole house. We initially started with two main rooms which were disjointed. The living space was used in an awkward way and the window dressings blocked a lot of the natural light. There was originally a wall between the two spaces with a small door, and it was important to the client to improve the connectivity between the spaces. 

Once the client saw the possibilities for these two rooms, the project soon expanded to the entire home. The brief was to create a light, bright, liveable home in which the family can relax. I wanted to create a timeless space that felt lived in and reflected the family’s love of travel. The first must-do was to sand all of the timber flooring and stain it a very particular shade of orange. This made a huge difference to the way light fell in the property. 

The Living Space

There are large trees right outside the property which cast a green glow throughout the space. My client’s favourite colour is green, so I was mindful to incorporate this without it being over bearing. We chose timeless finishes that also reflected the period of the house, but I wanted to incorporate antiques from a range of periods to make the space feel eclectic and lived in.

The desk in front of the window is the client’s own, as is the large antique rug, and I put the original candle wall lights back as I thought they were so pretty. I really like the detail at the top and bottom of the curtain – I wanted to accentuate the height of the ceiling and the mustard silk band worked well. It was difficult to get my client to commit to a patterned or coloured fabric, so this was a good way to add a little colour. 

ARTWORK sourced by Apsara Studio 

WALL COLOUR Wimborne White by Farrow & Ball  

CUSHIONS Paolo Moschino 

LAMP Grisewood Lamp, OKA

WOODEN CHAIR Olavi Hanninen via Goldborne 44 

ARMCHAIR Agatha by Arlo & Jacob

STOOL Artemest Elicia Luggage Rack  

COFFEE TABLE Studio + Store

CURTAINS Romo Linara in Cream 

CURTAIN TRIM Orissa Silk Fabric by James Hare in Amaretto  

SOFA Smithy Sofa in Green  

The Dining Space

I designed the table in this room as there was nothing on the market that suited the client’s requirements. We went through nine samples of stain matching on the base of the table to match the original doors. LF Custom Carpentry and Paragon Stone assisted in making this. The artwork behind is by Beatrice Hasell McCosh and the 1920s floor lamps were bought by the client on a trip to Sunbury Antiques Market.  

DINING TABLE Anahita Rigby & made bespoke by L F Custom Carpentry & Paragon Stone   

CHAIRS Original Marcel Breuer upholstered in leather 

FLOOR LAMP 1920s film tripod, converted into a lamp

SIDE TABLE Pols Potten Zig Zag Stool in Cream 

RUG Nordic Knots Untitled 2 in Cream/Almond 

CHANDELIER Existing Murano chandelier

VASE Pols Potten Puyi Vase in Copper

The Kitchen

The kitchen, made by DeVol, had to be functional, as we were unable to enlarge the room. The breakfast table in the kitchen is used daily, so it was important it was extendable, and there is a dining bench (just out of shot). The ceiling had been lowered here with a lot of downlights and I wanted to see if there was anything hiding within it – we ended up discovering some original beams.

WOODEN CHAIR Olavi Hanninen via Goldborne 44 

WINDOW BLIND The Cloth Shop Block Print 18

The Downstairs Loo

We kept the original sink as the size was perfect, but I wanted this room to be more colourful and fun. What we achieved was a warm and interesting design.

WALLCOVERING Phillip Jeffries, Amalfi silk in Tuscan Sun  

TAP LeFroy Brooks 

VANITY UNIT PAINT Zoffany

MIRROR Antique

The Main Bedroom

My client is a doctor who works around the clock, so it was very important to her that the bedroom and en-suite was a calming space. I wanted to incorporate more colour into this room and we spent a long time finding the perfect shade of pink for the wardrobes – we added the ladder to make use of the high ceilings. The antique rug acted as the base of the colour palette, and I found the Pierre Frey fabric to pick out some of the bolder colours.

HEADBOARD Upholstered in Pierre Frey Branquenie Alizon Canard   

WALL LIGHT Vaughan Cromer Swing Arm Wall Light

WARDROBE Zoffany Venetian Red 

FLOOR LAMP base Anna Unwin; shade OKA  

PAINTING Tomo Campbell

The Bathroom

We incorporated my client’s favourite colour, green, in the bathroom. I also reconfigured the walls and doors to make the bedroom format work better. 

BATH C.P. Hart

PAINT Calke Green Farrow & Ball 

TAPS Bespoke Taps

WALL LIGHTS Jim Lawrence

VANITY UNIT Custom made by Paragon Stone & Hannaford 

SHOWER Bespoke Taps

FLOOR TILES Mandarin Stone Di Scacchi Tumbled Marble

WALL TILES Mandarin Stone Paintbox Gloss Tiles

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Photography by Ollie Tomlinson.