A London apartment by Henri Fitzwilliam-Lay that marries easy elegance with practicality
More often than not, memories of student accommodation – frequently damp, and all too often with dreary decoration and a distinctly unloved air – are best forgotten. But for the owners of this Thirties redbrick maisonette in a tranquil north west London enclave, what were once dated digs have now been cleverly transformed into a pristine pied-à-terre. ‘The owner used to live here before she had a family, then rented the place out to students,’ explains the interior designer Henri Fitzwilliam-Lay, who was already working on the couple’s handsome Sussex house. ‘Once they left London, they realised they’d need a bolthole.’
The requirements for the hard-working space were twofold: to serve as an efficient, but elegant, weekday crash pad; and to be a family base for half-term and holiday trips that could comfortably accommodate their three children. ‘With a home away from home, as well as being inviting and comfortable, everything has to be super organised so it is easy to use,’ says Henri. Herself a mother of four, who divides her time between London and Shropshire, she has firsthand experience of their needs. ‘I know the routine of having kids around. The family will come up to London just before Christmas,’ she says, tempering the seasonal scene with a dose of truth. ‘You’ll have three kids with runny noses fighting over the Xbox.’
Today, the smartly compact interior caters to both the fantasy and the reality. When Henri first visited the site five years ago, with granite in the kitchen and linoleum flooring, it felt old-fashioned and fusty. ‘I knew I could do better,’ says the designer, who is currently working on homes from Norway to the South of France to Costa Rica. Leaving the hall intact, she reconfigured the ground floor, dispensing with the dividing walls and the downstairs loo to create a generously proportioned kitchen with a dining area, and a sitting room to the rear. ‘My instinctive sense was simply to make it feel as big as possible,’ she says. During the renovation, all the electrics and plumbing were refreshed, new oak parquet floors were laid and radiators supplanted by underfloor heating.
Perhaps most transformative of all was the decision to shift the original enclosed stairwell forwards, installing a set of suspended stainless-steel steps in its place. ‘We wanted to make a feature of the stairs, so they were functional but also beautiful to look at,’ she says. Conceived in conjunction with Jonathan Logsdon Architects, they have an aerodynamic design so, although they splice through the main space, the effect is coolly dramatic, rather than oppressive.
With its modest proportions, the property proved to be a perfect canvas for Henri’s smart mid-century style. Though it is far more contemporary than the couple’s country home, it was nonetheless important that the finish would be crisp, without being cold. ‘It’s ultra-modern, but not minimalist,’ she explains. ‘They didn’t want anything to feel too new: it had to have a cosiness to it.’ Her happy solution was to bring in warmth through the materials. There is patinated brass and marble in the kitchen, and layers of rugs – a vibrantly patterned antique weave is laid over a larger sisal floor covering – and bright, textured fabrics, including the owner’s Indian quilts. Scattered throughout the slate-grey sitting room, these introduce a bohemian richness.
Another clever trick here is to align rather than demarcate the separate zones. So there is a synchronicity between the geometric lines of the chalky ceramic Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec tiles that cover the chimneybreast in the sitting room and the ribbed effect of the khaki bespoke kitchen cabinetry, which beautifully camouflages its functionality. Tucked away in the corner, a banquette and vintage table are combined with curvaceous web-seated chairs designed by John Vogel. ‘It was all about blending the spaces and trying to introduce texture, ’explains Henri.
This bijou abode has become something of a depository for the pair’s more modern possessions – particularly artworks that did not find a place in their main home. A bright and brilliantly atmospheric canvas by the British artist Tom Hammick sits opposite a classic Bridget Riley stripe, striking an upbeat note in the sitting room, while chalk drawings by the Ivory Coast’s Ernest Dükü, which explore African spiritual symbolism, lend playfulness and whimsy to the kitchen area.
It is upstairs, though, that Henri achieves the perfect ratio of creativity and practicality. One of the trio of bedrooms has a pull-down Murphy bed that can be squirrelled away neatly into a cupboard, along with a washing machine and dryer, enabling the space to be versatile – functioning as a spare room or an office, as well as a mini utility room. ‘We were trying to cover all eventualities,’ says Henri, who managed to squeeze in a second bathroom at the top of the stairs, in addition to the main bedroom’s en suite. She has turned up the vibrancy in the children’s bedroom, which is alive with colour and pattern – even the wardrobe is in Hermès’ ‘Nigel’s Tartan’ wallcovering. The effect is jolly – joyful even.
Completed just before a lockdown, this interior has an ease and a quiet confidence. ‘They’re an immaculately presented golden couple,’ says Henri. ‘So it needed to be the best it could be’.
Henri Fitzwilliam-Lay Interiors: henrifitzwilliamlay.com
Paul Massey1/5Cabinetry by Nick Hudson Fine Furniture, painted in a deep Dulux green, sets off a vintage dining table from Pamono, paired with John Vogel chairs for West Elm. The adjustable pendant light is from Hector Finch.
Paul Massey2/5An eye-catching abstract artwork creates a focal point on the wall above the new staircase.
Paul Massey3/5Curtains in Kit Kemp’s ‘Lost and Found’ cotton mix fabric, for Christopher Farr Cloth, are showcased by walls in ‘Spruce’ by Paint & Paper Library. Porta Romana’s ‘Duke’ polished brass lamp picks up on the frame of a Sixties mirror sourced by Henri.
Paul Massey4/5Patterned bedcovers are balanced by a headboard and blind in ‘Rabanna’ cotton and valances in linen in the perfect fool colourway, both from Fermoie. The prints are by Paul Peter Piech.
Paul Massey5/5‘Architectonics’ tiles in nile and bold brass taps, both from Waterworks, are teamed with vintage globe lights and fluted panelling in stained American walnut.
