The Victorian house was extended at the rear to create a spacious kitchen with arched French windows providing plenty of natural light
Lucas Allen
Like so many things in life, the purchase of this house in Chelsea came down to a twist of fate. ‘It had belonged to the aunt of a friend, who had mentioned she might want to sell,’ says the owner. ‘When we were gazumped on a house nearby, I asked if this was still the case.’ (There was an element of schadenfreude, too, as the gazumpers have yet to move into their house four years later.)
The couple exchanged on the property the day before England entered its first lockdown and tasked designers d’Erlanger and Sloan with taking it back to the brick. ‘It was beautiful, with huge windows and high ceilings typical of Victorian houses in this area,’ Emilia d’Erlanger says. But the 1980s decoration was tired. Over two years, she and design partner Anna Sloan transformed it into a warm, vibrant and playful home for the couple and their young family.
In the open plan kitchen, tadelakt walls matched to ‘Portland’ by Edward Bulmer Natural Paint set off the owners’ colourful artworks and an expanse of mirror, with a Collier Webb picture rail above. A bespoke sofa, upholstered in Tissus d’Hélène’s ‘Dolly’ wool in cumin, and a pair of vintage Danish safari armchairs are arranged around the Paolo Moschino ‘Mina’ coffee table. An antique lamp from Timothy Langston sits on the wooden Moorish-style occasional table.
Lucas Allen
The interior design studio has offices in London and Nashville in Tennessee (where Anna has lived since 2017) and works on residential projects in Britain, Europe and – increasingly – in the US, where its contemporary take on classic British interiors is finding an eager new audience. Having employed the duo to reshape two previous homes, the owners knew it was a good partnership and that d’Erlanger and Sloan would deliver what they wanted: warmth, texture and familiarity. ‘And also enough character to challenge us,’ says the husband. ‘They encouraged us to take a few risks and the result is a house that’s not boring, but is not trying too hard either.’ It feels traditional but with an edge – the grandeur characteristic of this part of Chelsea is still palpable, but softened.
Structurally, the biggest part of the renovation was reconfiguring and extending the lower-ground floor. A jumble of dark rooms and passages was turned into a boot room, cloakroom, utility room and playroom, with internal windows and glass doors added to give sight- lines between the kitchen and playroom, and bring in lots of natural light. The original kitchen has been extended, the ceiling raised and three arched double doorways created, leading to the garden. Much of the family’s time is spent in this airy, bright space, where subtle texture is provided by slightly undulating tadelakt plaster walls that chime with the Bedouin feel of the snug behind the sitting area.