This Victorian house just off busy King’s Road has been given a makeover by interior design Shalini Misra. The London home is a four-storey period residence featuring a mock Tudor frontage and set within a conservation area. And while it may feel like the ‘typical’ London brick period home from the outside, inside it is full of surprises, mixing craft, art and bespoke design details.
Misra reworked the house’s layout entirely to bring it up to 21st-century standards and to fit the busy family of four’s daily life. Her strategy, she explains, was ‘a fluid layout with a feeling of space that is versatile to adapt into pockets of private space for concentration and calm’. Balancing tasteful colours with a sense of warm cocooning is the creator’s forte; Misra is known for designs that bridge styles and periods, masterfully coming together in a coherent whole.
Enlarging rooms and cleverly hiding services was key to making this a comfortable yet neat home that focuses on showcasing objects and art, as well as accommodating the residents’ needs. ‘Our clients’ vision for their home included an open-plan ground floor for the reception and dining area with floor and wall space for art and sculptures, and space to entertain,’ says Misra.
The designer obliged and now a new basement is dedicated to a family area (with sliding doors separating it from the kitchen and utility). An outdoor area on the same level brings in plenty of natural light.
The existing staircase was removed and replaced with one that not only serves its functional purpose but is a sculptural feature in itself, inspired by Gio Ponti and crafted by expert artisans – Misra has an extensive network of craftspeople that regularly collaborate with her on customising interiors. ‘The stair’s wall links the four floors with bespoke, hand-finished plasterwork in a pattern of linear and circular shapes inspired by Ben Nicholson’s relief works from the 1930s,’ says the designer.
The clients’ impressive art collection was woven into the home’s interiors at every turn. It is complemented by bespoke fittings that add texture throughout, and quality furnishings, including sofas by Vladimir Kagan, a chandelier by Carpenters Workshop Gallery and a Martino Gamper-designed table. Meanwhile, the basement ceiling is clad in a stamped tin-style wallpaper, creating an intruiging, unusual centrepiece that offsets the colourful pieces below. §
