A fresh and characterful take on a Belgravia townhouse by Buchanan Studio
According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, aesthetics form the final step on the path to self-actualisation. If our lived environment – and its embellishment – is indeed a mirror of our internal selves and a route to realising our full potential, the owners of this stucco-fronted townhouse were not so much mismatched as decoratively misaligned with their new home. Drawn to the Regency proportions of the wisteria-veiled terrace in Belgravia, they found the property to be in perfect working order but lacking a certain élan. Keen to instil some dramatic flair, the philanthropist owner and her partner, who have a young family, called on Buchanan Studio. Since 2018, the west London-based creative studio founded by husband- and-wife team Angus and Charlotte Buchanan has become known for its irreverent, eclectic interiors, furniture designs and creative direction. It is currently working on projects in Venice, in Jaipur and on an island in Greece’s Saronic Gulf.
Used to dealing with what Angus describes as ‘wrecks, new builds and gut jobs’, they relished the change of pace demanded by a light-touch – but high-impact – rejuvenation. ‘It’s not a subtle house,’ says Angus. ‘The owners wanted to make brave choices and that’s what we love.’ The designer and his team were brought in while the purchase was in its final stages to deal with interiors that were devoid of pattern and colour and, by Buchanan Studio’s standards, very pared back.
As the house had recently been renovated, the objective was to inject vibrancy and decorative muscle, without making structural modifications. ‘Working in this purely decorative way throws up some interesting challenges,’ says Angus. ‘The house had wonderful bones and we couldn’t just start again.’ Working as sustainably as possible, they kept much of the existing interior architecture intact, including the white kitchen and the wooden parquet floors. Instead, the focus was on embellishing every surface with character – from tactile wall coverings to bespoke cabinetry and joinery – all offset by the studio’s own lively furniture creations.
Buchanan Studio worked closely with the owners and the building contractors, Portobello Projects, to bring the clients’ vision of a vibrant and practical family home to life. The brief was to balance their need to nest with their more extrovert love of hosting. The house became a playground for Angus’ creative way of thinking. He and his team approached it room by room, imaginatively supplanting its homogeneous serenity with texture, tonality and touches of fun.
On the ground floor, the double-height Crittall windows in the kitchen set the tone. The marble-topped island is lined with Beata Heuman’s ‘Dodo Egg’ lanterns and Merci Maison’s ‘Ce’cile’ stools, the latter borrowing their 1940s flourishes from Parisian designer Jean Royère. Beyond a velvet curtain is the dining room, where Cox London’s ‘Floral May’ pendant lights, wrought in hand-patinated iron and brass, inspired the soft shades of the walls and the ceiling. The custom-made chairs are covered in a bold tomato-red fabric by Colefax and Fowler. Altogether, it makes for an entertaining space that exudes grown-up glamour.
On the floor above is an elegant sitting room with three sets of doors leading out onto balconies – two facing the street and one overlooking the back garden – with a serene study on the half landing. Upstairs, on the second floor, there is a palatial dressing room with bespoke cabinets in a deep red. This deliciously indulgent space leads, through a hidden mirrored door, to the main bedroom – one of five – which has a particularly calm feel. ‘The owners wanted the interiors to be energetic and exciting,’ says Angus. ‘But we always try to make the bedrooms serene. This is their cloud-like cocoon.’ At the room’s epicentre is a bed sheathed by sheer curtains on a sweeping rail, enhancing the ethereal mood. This show-stopping take on a four-poster is testament to the fact that Angus started his professional life as a set designer.
‘It’s a house with lots of unexpected turns,’ says Angus. A case in point is the shell-encrusted first-floor cloakroom created by specialist artist Katherine Lloyd. Every inch of the bijou room is covered in deep-sea treasures, sea glass and semi-precious stones. Painstakingly applied by Katherine, the shellwork has a dynamic, undulating pattern that includes a favourite Buchanan Studio motif – the stripe.
The mews house across the garden is a further surprise that tells its own design story. The two-bedroom space, used for guests, includes a large sitting room with raw plaster walls, natural materials and salvaged Victorian doors, which lend warmth and patina. The pale pink of the sitting room gives way to an emerald bedroom with an enveloping burgundy bathroom. ‘It is quite a colour shock,’ says Angus of the jewelled palette, which takes guests on a Pantone journey.
This is no longer a case of maximalist owners inhabiting a minimalist home, as the Buchanan Studio team has skilfully conjured a distinctive and beautifully embellished backdrop for every aspect of their way of life. ‘It has pops of theatricality, but it’s also comfortable and liveable,’ says Angus of the house’s newly energised, idiosyncratic form.
1/6In the dressing room, wardrobes in Farrow & Ball’s ‘Eating Room Red’ with panels of Flora Soames’ claret ‘Chequerboard Stitch’, an ottoman in ‘Marci’ protea mohair by Yarn Collective and a Stark carpet lend a luxurious feel.
2/6In the study, Valleverde marble on the desktop tones with woodwork in Farrow & Ball’s ‘Treron’, Christopher Farr’s ‘Bulu Raffia’ moss wallcovering and curtains in Nina Campbell’s ‘Altai’. The floor is in Tim Page Carpets’ ‘Module’ design.
Christopher Horwood3/6In the main bathroom, Valleverde marble and walls in Farrow & Ball’s ‘Vert de Terre’ echo the leafy garden view.
4/6Walls decorated by shell artist Katherine Lloyd in close collaboration with Buchanan Studio are finished with Rose Uniacke lights in the cloakroom.
5/6Polished Venetian plaster and A Rum Fellow rug showcase the rattan bed and Buchanan Studio’s ‘Daydream’ table in the mews house bedroom.
6/6In the mews house bathroom, mosaic Factory tiles and dark red polished plaster set off a Drummonds basin and Mullan lights.
