Disco fever: a dynamic duo reinvents a London townhouse
The Disco House in Notting Hill, London, is the fifth collaboration between architect William Smalley and Danny Pine, founder and creative director of interior design and property investment company Pinzauer. From the shell that they found five years ago, this dynamic duo has fashioned six floors of decorative delight, using a delirious mix of Italian and bespoke pieces.
‘The design of the house evolved during the time we worked on it,’ says Pine, ‘and is really the distillation of our shared experiences – travels, conversations, films, books. The final product is nothing like either of us would have thought of alone but is a consequence of creative tension: a dissonance that resulted in something harmonious.’
The not inconsiderable challenge for Smalley and Pine was to preserve (or more accurately, recreate) the character of a Victorian townhouse while incorporating 21st-century essentials such as the display kitchen, the twin walk-through wardrobes in the master bedroom, the home cinema and a Peter Zumthor / Vals-inspired spa room in the basalt-lined sub-basement.
The house is full of meticulously designed details, such as the reeded oak stair rail that takes the curve of the original newel post on the ground floor, the alabaster windows or the brass fillets in the ceiling of the first-floor den that link the centre of the back window to the centre of the opening to the drawing room.
Italian influences abound, with vintage pieces by Gio Ponti, Paolo Buffa and Melchiorre Bega that Pine sourced on visits to Milan, mixed with modern classics from B&B Italia and Flexform, but perhaps our favourite room is the Villa Necchi Campiglio-inspired winter garden: all glass and polished brass, with a heated green marble floor.
It may all look madly opulent, but Smalley says ‘I think there is a clarity underpinning the richness.’ All it needs now is Tilda Swinton to move in, dressed from head to toe in Prada.
INFORMATION
For more information visit the William Smalley website and the Danny Pine website
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
-
Why Bollinger’s La Grande Année 2015 champagne is worth celebrating
Champagne Bollinger unveils La Grande Année 2015 and La Grande Année Rosé 2015, two outstanding cuvées from an exceptional year in wine-making
By Melina Keays Published
-
Lexus installation explores time at Milan Design Week 2024
Lexus brought designer Hideki Yoshimoto’s ‘Beyond the Horizon’ to Milan’s Art Point, part of its ongoing series of collaborations with Fuorisalone
By Nargess Shahmanesh Banks Published
-
Cult 1960s boutique Granny Takes A Trip gets a sustainable reboot
Founded on King’s Road in 1966, ‘radically creative’ fashion store Granny Takes A Trip is being reimagined for a new generation. Dal Chodha takes a closer look
By Dal Chodha Published
-
Stephen Friedman Gallery by David Kohn is infused with subtly playful elegance
Stephen Friedman Gallery gets a new home by David Kohn in London, filled with elegant details and colourful accents
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Henry Wood House’s postmodernist bones are refreshed by Nice Projects in London
Nice Projects breathes new life into the Henry Wood House in London, offering ample flexible office spaces for modern workers
By Daven Wu Published
-
‘Bio-spaces’ exhibition at Roca London Gallery celebrates biophilic design
‘Bio-Spaces: regenerative, resilient futures’ opens at the Roca London Gallery as ‘a call to action to stop designing nature out’
By Clare Dowdy Published
-
Don’t Move, Improve 2024: London’s bold, bright and boutique home renovations
Don’t Move, Improve 2024 reveals its shortlist, with 16 home designs competing for the top spot, to be announced in May
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Timber-framed Wimbledon house is a minimalist, low-energy affair
A new timber-framed Wimbledon house is designed to blend into its traditional surroundings with a neat brick façade, careful massing and pared back interiors
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
London Science Museum’s Energy Revolution gallery champions sustainable exhibition design
The Energy Revolution gallery opens at London’s Science Museum, exploring decarbonisation through sustainable exhibition design by Unknown Works
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
This South Downs house stands as a testament to the value of quiet refinement
At one with the landscape, a South Downs house uses elements of quintessential country villas and midcentury gems with modern technologies
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Ash Tree House offers a contextual approach to a north London site
Ash Tree House by Edgley Design is a modern family home in a north London conservation area's backyard site
By Ellie Stathaki Published