Studio Peake brings a playful levity to a London pied-à-terre
‘The place had been turned into a hospital back in the 1960s and remained that way for around 20 years. At some point, the ceilings had been lowered, the fireplace walled over and much of the character had been lost,' laments Sarah, founder of Studio Peake. Such was the state of this Grade II listed London pied-à-terre when her eponymous studio was brought on to oversee its renovation and redecoration. ‘It had been modernised, but in such an insensitive and soulless way.' The brief? To rediscover the property's latent charm.
The initial focus was the interior architecture. Despite being a lateral apartment, stretched behind two grand frontages, its ground floor situation meant it got very little natural light. Entering the flat, it 'didn't feel like you were arriving anywhere particularly special,' Sarah acknowledges, before commenting on the ‘higgledy piggledy’ layout of the rest of the apartment. Bathrooms were a long way from bedrooms, or entered through the entrance hall, which itself was a pokey space. The other issue was that you were forced to look directly into the primary bedroom upon arrival, offering little privacy. Clearly, something had to change.
‘With a leasehold property like this one, you are not allowed to do anything structural with steel beams, and the grade listing (rightfully) meant we had to get permission for everything we did in terms of internal layouts and joinery.’ To a degree, it was a ‘complete restoration’, but as the changes were ‘non structural ones’, Sarah boldly decided not to work with an architect. Instead, she called upon Martin Shortt, a structural engineer, and together with her team, they painstakingly drew every square inch by hand: the beading around the archways, the placement and height of the skirting boards. ‘It was wonderful and very rewarding.'
Undeterred by the strict constraints of the listed building and leasehold, they ploughed on: appending the height of the oddly lowered ceilings and doorways, adding underfloor heating, removing the unseemly radiators, and building a jib door into the primary bedroom from the newly relocated entrance hall. Despite all this, the most difficult part of the renovation was uncovering the fireplace. ‘The client had some old photos, so we knew it had been there, but we just needed to get to it.’ Once located, it transpired that it had been placed a third of the way through the sitting room, awkwardly drawing the eye and cutting up the space. In the end, they built out the wall so they could centre it within the room. Then, and only then, was it time to begin on the interiors.
Whilst the beginnings of this project might have been stressful, there's a real air of nonchalance to Sarah–and her approach reflects that. ‘I did research alongside a planning consultant to advise what would have been there, but I don’t get myself in a tizz about what is correct to the nth degree.' At this studio, it's more about making a comfortable, beautiful space than a historically accurate one. ‘A lot of what I like to do is work with traditional character and architecture, but use bright and modern colour mixed with unusual fabrics to make it more contemporary.'
It was for that precise reason the client chose Studio Peake for this project: a deep appreciation of textiles. ‘This was such a special project for me,' rhapsodizes Sarah, 'as the client wanted something really layered and beautiful. She loves textiles and craft, and that was a huge part of the project: to incorporate textiles as much as possible.’ That brief became the jumping off point in many of the rooms, with the client bringing art and fabrics down from her house in the North of England to incorporate in the London flat.
It was a real stroke of fortune that Sarah and her client's tastes were so well aligned, and the pair formed a close working relationship as a result. ‘It takes a special kind of client to use a headboard like this,’ Sarah says, referencing the bespoke embroidered piece in the primary bedroom. ‘Chances were, if I liked something, the client would too,’ she jokes. Perhaps the greatest testament to how well suited the client and studio were is the ‘Shark Tooth’ Soane mirror in the sitting room. ‘I always try to use in client projects and no one ever goes for it! I finally got to use it!'
It wasn't just taste the duo shared, but trust too, and the client allowed Studio Peake the freedom they needed to play with colour and fabric. The sitting room was conceivably where they had the most fun, adding Fermoie linen to the walls and a bespoke Vanderhurd rug on the floor, alongside a Peter Dunham sofa and a bold Jamb mantlepiece. The effect is gentler than one might imagine thank to the studio's ‘major editing process’ when it comes to layering. ‘You don’t want too much of one thing, so everything needs to be used in moderation.’ Of course, Sarah also had to bear in mind that it was the only sitting room in the flat, so it had a variety of uses. ‘It needed to be somewhere to entertain, to relax and watch TV in, as well as eat.’
Looking through the Studio Peake projects featured in House & Garden, you could be forgiven for thinking Sarah's niche is bringing character and warmth to contemporary spaces, but for this project, she was tasked with quite the opposite: bringing light and modernity to a gloomy, Grade II listed, ground floor flat. In this project she's proven she's equally as agile and deft at the latter as she is at the former.
For an interior designer, only four years after launching their eponymous studio, to have such an impressive portfolio is no mean feat. For an interior designer to have hit their stride, found their place on House & Garden's Top 100, have a very young baby, and several projects under their belt, is even more unlikely–but, then, Sarah Peake is no ordinary designer.
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Alexander James1/14‘There was no natural light in the hallway, so choosing a colour was a challenge,' explains Sarah. ‘We wanted yellow, but didn’t want it to be flat and oppressive.' The result, painted in ‘Terre Jaune’ by Argile, is far from it. The cornicing throughout the apartment is from Stevensons of Norwich and the paneling, which was chosen to give ‘some texture and shadow to the windowless space,’ was designed by Tilly Lasseter at Studio Peake.
Providing contrast against the yellow walls, a blue rug from MMF Stockholm. The console table is from Benchmark with an arabescato marble top from Stone Age. On top of the table, the porcelain bottles are from Linda Bird, the lamp is from Susie Atkinson and the mirror is by Jake Phipps.
Alexander James2/14The aforementioned mirror is from Soane and sits opposite a coffee table from The Workshop by Studio Peake. Above the Jamb fireplace, a striking artwork by Terry Frost provides a contemporary touch.
Alexander James3/14Providing extra seating in case of an entertaining emergency are two smart pouffes from Benuta. The vase is by Iva Polachova, from Wilson Stephens and Jones.
Alexander James4/14Entering the primary bedroom through the jib door in the hallway, you are greeted by riotous pops of colour. The abaca wallcovering is by Tatiana Tafur, and the trim to the walls is French Grosgrain Ribbon from Samuel & Sons. As with the sitting room, the rug in here is also by Vanderhurd. The sofa is bespoke by Studio Peake covered in Jaali by Peter Dunham from Tissus D’Helene.
5/14On the other side of the room hang curtains in Milas Embroidered Linen by Vaughan, next to an Alfred Newall bedside table. The lamps were the client's existing ones, but are now painted in Blues Blue by Paint and Paper Library with lampshades in Zeimoto Colour: Ming by Namay Samay. The bedspread is bespoke by Hollie Ward.
Alexander James6/14Following the client's brief for something ‘really quite graphic and black and white,' Studio Peake created this thoroughly modern bathroom. Designed to contrast the ‘country’ bathrooms in the client's house, the stone is from Stone Age, the Basin Taps are from Porter Bathrooms and the wall lights are from Waterworks.
Alexander James7/14In the second bedroom, the linen wall covering is by Stereo and features a border braid in French Grosgrain Ribbon by Samuel and Sons. The newly configured exterior doors are painted in Celadon by Edward Bulmer, and framed by curtains in Patka Paisley Col: Saffron by Martyn Lawrence Bullard from Tissus D’Helene. The rug is Elitis Rocky Banane Rug by Abbot Boyd, whilst the artwork is by Chloe Lamb from Cricket Fine Art.
Alexander James8/14The bespoke headboard is in Wicklewood on Rustic Col: Dark Pink from Blithfield, which sits prettily against Gayle Warwick bed linen. The wall lights above are the Carter wall lights by Pooky.
Alexander James9/14The artwork in the corridor is by Stanley Spencer.
Alexander James10/14In the more playful bathroom, the brief was to offer a French country feel, to contrast with the marble ‘jewel-like bathroom.' The bathroom is entered through the joinery in the corridor, so it ‘almost feels like a secret bathroom!' laughs Sarah. The Floor Tiles are Series S Ibiza Variato by Balineum and the wall tiles are Zellige by Mosaic Factory.
Alexander James11/14In the third bedroom, the wall covering is Mecox Straw by Colefax and Fowler, which is paired with joinery in Camo 7 by Papers and Paints. The curtains are by Studio Four NYC.
Alexander James12/14Above the bed, textile art by the client's daughter was framed by Studio Peake with Haviland Designs. The antique cushion on the bed is by Penny Worrall. The headboard is bespoke by Studio Peake.
Alexander James13/14The lamp is Wahaj 30 by Lrnce, and the artwork is by Felice Hodges from Cricket Fine Art.
14/14Sarah Peake
