Bringing a new natural grandeur to a light-filled London townhouse

Still waters run deep, and that certainly applies to this particular home. The work of BOMA Projects, it took a monumental amount of technical skill, creativity and nimble logistical planning to achieve its elegant perfection. It sits in a charming pocket between Holland Park, Notting Hill and Ladbroke Grove, drawing a little from the character of all three areas. Until it was bought by its present owner – a tech entrepreneur from Copenhagen – the building had barely been touched since the 1980s, when it was divided into smaller flats. Chris Horwood The owner wanted his new base to feel earthy, warm and tactile, while still respectful of the history of the building and brought in BOMA Projects to achieve that. The work was led by Georgia Burne, co-founder and director of the London-based practice. She found traces of the original grandeur, discernible in the four-metre-high ceilings and full-height French doors, but other ceilings had been lowered, the layout was disjointed and a metal spiral staircase had been inserted into the main living space. Chris Horwood 'Our intention was to uncover what was already inherently beautiful about the property,' Georgia says. That meant reinstating the ceiling heights, restoring the proportions of the main rooms and celebrating the 'extraordinary' natural light. She also introduced a new central staircase, which became a sculptural element in its own right while giving the space back the sense of permanence it had lost. Chris Horwood The brief, for her, was about balancing functionality and feeling. Every design decision began with the architecture and the light. She also focused on restoring a sense of scale; the property had been broken into smaller spaces, so she wanted the rooms to feel generous again and to create a much more substantial main bedroom. Chris Horwood Achieving all that was no mean feat; 'it is fair to say construction techniques have come a long way since the 1980s,' says Georgia. 'We invest far more in the strength of a structure today.' Once they had stripped the space back to brick and floor joists, it was clear a lot more work was needed to accommodate underfloor heating and ensure the timber floor would align perfectly throughout the rooms. Installing a new staircase in the centre of the space also meant additional strengthening to the floor below was needed. Chris Horwood Each structural decision had to balance practicality and aesthetics and had a knock-on effect on the layout. 'That took a lot of conversation and idea generation between the engineers and the design team to land on solutions that worked for everyone,' says Georgia. What's everyone reading? Chris Horwood 'We spent a great deal of time choosing the right products in advance, with millimetres to spare, to create levels that satisfied both the flow of the space and the existing parts of the property.' Chris Horwood The earthy, tonal palette relies more on texture and materiality than colour; the Versailles flooring was custom made for the space and tumbled to give it the character and irregularity of a reclaimed floor before being finished in a dark smoked oak. Chris Horwood 'We wanted something that felt appropriate to the age of the building without simply reproducing a traditional period interior,' explains Georgia, who paired the dark timber with warm clay walls and ornate coving, skirting and architectural detailing. That contrast is a recurring theme throughout the project, with traditional proportions and ornate details sitting alongside a much quieter, more contemporary material language. Furniture, lighting and art were kept relatively restrained and sculptural. 'Rather than filling the rooms, we wanted individual pieces to have space around them and almost be read as objects in their own right' she explains. 'A huge amount was bespoke, so we were able to consider every element as part of the architecture rather than introducing things independently.' Chris Horwood She is particularly satisfied by the main bathroom, saying 'we used tadelakt on the walls and colour-matched it to the clay finish used throughout the rest of the property.' Blue Fusion marble brings movement and colour into the restrained palette. 'I love that combination because it sums up the approach to the whole project,' she says. 'The backdrop is incredibly quiet and earthy, then you have these moments of much richer materiality that bring the spaces to life without overwhelming them.' Chris Horwood 'I think it has exactly the balance we were trying to achieve,' Georgia says of the interiors, which have a 'masculine quality', softened by natural materials, traditional detailing and abundance of light. 'It has regained the grandeur and elegance appropriate to the building, but it doesn't feel like a traditional period interior. It feels calm, tactile and contemporary, and very much like the client's home.' bomaprojects.com