Take a tour of Sophie Ashby's glorious house in Spitalfields
The last time I wrote about one of Sophie Ashby’s projects, I described it as ‘a house with positive vibes’, and it was. But it’s only having spent a day with her in her own home off Brick Lane in London that I’ve come to think that this might well be one of her defining skills as an interior designer. She creates spaces that make you feel good. At least, that’s how they make me feel.
Just as the pandemic hit, Sophie and her husband, the fashion designer Charlie Casely-Hayford, moved into this early 19th-century house in Spitalfields. It was a rental–an opportunity to enjoy more space than they had in their small flat in West London, and a stop-gap before buying a house of their own. It must have been frustrating, being an interior designer–indeed, House & Garden’s current Interior Designer of the Year–and restricted by the limitations of what you can do to rental property.
‘Actually, I found it really liberating’, she says. ‘I didn’t have to worry about the architectural framework of the building. It had already been made beautiful so I was able to come in and fill it up with beautiful things.’ She is downplaying the impact she has made on the house, but she’s also right: the house was already pretty wonderful, and it has a rich and fascinating history as well.
When I visit, Sophie is delighted to have recently acquired a copy of Two Houses in Spitalfields, a small but lovely book written and published by the architect Richard McCormack in 2014. Richard, who died the year the book was published, lived in the house next door–one of the houses referred to in the title. Sophie lives in the other house, which is where Jocasta Innes, Richard’s partner of over 30 years, once lived. The book is much more than a record of the work that Jocasta did in restoring the property (among other things, she is famed for reviving the popularity of paint effects and stencilling in the 1980s). It is also a love letter to what Richard saw as Jocasta’s brilliance and generosity of spirit. She had died a year earlier.
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The current owners of the house–Sophie and Charlie’s landlords–were unusually sensitive in their approach to refurbishing the building, being careful not to erase the fingerprints of the celebrated previous owner. While the wall of hand painted faux granite and trompe l’oeil stone blocks may no longer exist in the entrance hall, nor the lace-like stencilled walls and ceiling in the main bathroom, the pretty Delft tiles around the fireplaces and clever built in joinery haven’t been touched. Nor has the tongue in cheek ‘Blue Plaque’ on the outside of the house, above the main door. ‘Here Lives Jocasta Innes, May 1985’ it reads.
While Studio Ashby is not widely associated with the decorative flourishes and specialist paint effects for which the former chatelain of this house was so revered, Sophie does share Jocasta’s deep love and understanding of colour. She’s certainly not afraid to use it. Standing proud against the while walls in the sitting room is a bright yellow velvet corner sofa that Sophie designed for the awkwardly angled space. ‘I probably am a bit more bold when it comes to my own home than with clients, but sometimes it’s good to be able to show them something that might sound a bit frightening. To say, ‘look, I’ve done it, it works’. Designs like these often find their way into the collection of Sister, the new-and-vintage furniture, art and accessories label she launched in 2020.
The yellow sofa took its lead from a detail in the striking photograph by the Nigerian artist Lakin Ogunbanwo which hangs above the fireplace. Sophie is a collector of contemporary African art, primarily South African, and art plays a huge role in her projects as well as her own home. Above her and Charlie’s bed is another of Lakin’s photographic artworks, part of a series called e wá wo mi (2019). Its dominant pink tones seem in happy conversation with the pinks in some of the other artworks in the room, and in the bedspread, the armchair and a little pink vase from Dinosaur Designs.
It was the kitchen that convinced Sophie they should move in. ‘I just couldn't believe my eyes when we walked in,’ she recalls. ‘We had seen so many slightly dodgy rentals with crazy kitchens and this one was beautiful.’ It is only slightly altered since Jocasta–who wrote a wildly successful book called The Country House Kitchen (2003)–restored the house. It retains the same country house feel, with reclaimed cabinets (some with pretty pleated skirts) and a big copper sink. Sophie has added her own flourishes, of course; the hand-painted Japanese screen by de Gournay, the green marble-topped dining table, and the Le Manach fabric-covered vintage chairs. It is cosy and cool and looks like a brilliant place to have supper with friends.
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One of the great thrills of moving from a small flat to a large house was the chance for Sophie to have a dressing room. ‘A proper Carrie Bradshaw moment,’ she calls it. ‘It’s no fun when you can’t see what you’re looking for and are fighting over floor space with a 6ft 6in husband’. The repurposed bedroom teams yellow with pink, in part inspired by a kimono Sophie bought while she and Charlie were on honeymoon in Japan. The wall of wardrobes are actually Ikea, tarted up with a spray-lacquered exterior and some very nice (read: pricey) handles made from sustainable buffalo horn and brass. Male readers, rest assured, Charlie has not gone without. A large alcove on the first floor landing (presumably once a separate room) retains the beautiful painted wardrobes and shelves that Jocasta had built in the 1980s. This is Charlie’s dressing room, and if anything he has more space for clothes than Sophie does. But he is a man of fashion.
It’s not all Carrie Bradshaw moments, however. This is a family home which they share with Sophie’s stepdaughter Rainbow, who spends part of the week here, and Gaia, Sophie and Charlie’s one-year-old daughter. Rainbow’s room is a little girl’s dream: a red and white striped canopy bed, pop pom decorations at the window and a large and very busy pinboard to display things she loves.
In a sense that’s exactly what Sophie has been doing with this house. She’s filled it with things she loves, knowing that they’ll be coming with her when she and Charlie move on to their next home. And it seems to have been done without a hint of preciousness. ‘I really love a home to feel relaxed and comfortable, and not take itself too seriously,’ she explains. ‘I think design should be playful and fun and have a sense of humour. And not try too hard. Ultimately, this is a family home: things get messed up, things get stained, and I don't really care’. It’s an attitude that goes some way to explaining that feel-good factor I’ve begun to associate with Sophie’s work. This is where it comes from.
Studio Ashby: studioashby.com
Simon Upton1/15Sophie Ashby and husband Charlie Casely-Hayford with baby Gaia and Casely-Hayford’s daughter Rainbow at the front door.
Simon Upton2/15The entrance hall’s 1960s brass-and-etched-glass pendant was purchased on Etsy. The antique clock above the door was a gift from Sophie's father, and the tiger sculptures are from Liberty London.
Simon Upton3/15A Lakin Ogunbanwo photograph hangs above the sitting room fireplace. A bespoke sofa in a yellow Pierre Frey velvet wraps around a cocktail table by Dirk Van der Kooij. The sheep sculpture was found on Etsy while the large floor lamp in the back corner is from Bofred and the patchwork rug of vintage kilims from Sister by Studio Ashby.
Simon Upton4/15The sitting room fireplace features Delft tiles.
Simon Upton5/15A pair of Studio Ashby Chess chairs stands next to the fireplace in Sophie's study. The stool is covered with a vintage kente cloth. A desk chair upholstered in a Pierre Frey leopard print is pulled up to a custom desk on which stands a lamp by Gino Sarfatti. The pendant light is by Gong and the rug is Kelly Wearstler for the Rug Company.
Simon Upton6/15Sophie's bespoke desk looks out onto the garden.
Simon Upton7/15Vintage chairs in a Le Manach fabric surround the kitchen’s bespoke green marble table, with pendant lights by Menu above. The open shelving displays Japanese ceramics, bought by the couple during their honeymoon, and Murano glassware.
Simon Upton8/15A Lakin Ogunbanwo photograph hangs above a Studio Ashby bed in the primary bedroom. The headboard is upholstered in Dedar’s Tiger Mountain fabric.
Simon Upton9/15An array of artworks is hung gallery-style in the family bathroom, with a rug by Sister by Studio Ashby.
Simon Upton10/15Built-in cabinetry defines Charlie’s dressing room on the first floor.
Simon Upton11/15In Rainbow’s room, the original Bed Co. bed is draped with a canopy of a bold Ian Mankin stripe. The bespoke rug is a Studio Ashby design made by Christopher Farr.
Simon Upton12/15A vintage Moroccan rug purchased on holiday in Essaouira lines the second floor landing outside Gaia's bedroom.
Simon Upton13/15A pair of artworks by Anna Van Der Ploeg hangs above a Milano Bedding sofa bed in Gaia’s nursery. The sofa bed and stool are covered in Kelly Wearstler for Lee Jofa fabrics, and the cushions are made from an assortment of vintage textiles and scrap fabrics.
Simon Upton14/15A slipper chair and stool reupholstered in Dedar silk stands in Sophie's dressing room. The Ikea wardrobe was spray-lacquered and dressed up with handles by Bosco London.
Simon Upton15/15Dedar’s Nouvelles Vagues fabric covers the guest room’s bespoke headboard. The bedside table is from Pamono, with a vintage Kantha quilt on the bed.
