TEXTILE DESIGNER NEISHA CROSLAND ... - The Chic Shopper

crosland hand-embroidered the bedhead in the master bedroom with
help from leonie brown. at the base of the bed, the long george smith
stool is coVered in crosland’s ‘tudor rose flock’ fabric. the bedside
tables are from guineVere antiques. bElOw rIGhT: the walls of one
of seVeral stairwells in the home feature framed egyptian raffia
embroidery. the bamboo trellis pattern, originally a crosland scarf
design hand-embroidered in gold thread (deemed too expensiVe to put
into production), was painted onto the walls by designer rosie mennem.
the ceiling light is from hector finch and the carpet from sinclair till.
the location of British textile designer Neisha Crosland’s home is,
quite frankly, unexpected. Tucked down an anonymous side road, off an
unspectacular high street in the London area of Battersea, the last thing
one dreams of discovering is this most intoxicating, beguiling of oases,
with its lush secret garden and enticing labyrinth of connecting rooms.
“I’ve always loved the magic of stepping through those dark passages
behind the big wooden doors, with their huge bolts, in cities like Seville or
Marrakech, and suddenly emerging into the most glorious oasis. Creating
that excitement here was key,” Crosland says of the home she transformed
for herself, her French husband Stephane and sons Oscar and Samuel.
Crosland discovered the site two decades ago. A couple of cottages
had once stood there but were bombed during the war, and now
it consisted of only a redundant builder’s yard, dilapidated 1940s twostorey
office building and garage block. It has taken many years, with
the help of architect Alex Greenway of Greenway and Lee, to make the
transformation, which involved the purchase of a neighbouring cottage
and, more recently, the creation of an expansive L-shaped two-storey
family home, complete with underground cellar and home cinema.
All rooms of the house open out through classic metal-framed doors
onto the garden, where the family spends much time in the summer.
Despite its urban location, the home is quiet and, inside, there is an inviting
flow from one room to the next, as if designed to take both the family and
visitors on a never-ending journey. “There was a real domino effect when
it came to decorating this house – I would never simply isolate a room
with a colour without considering its effect on the other rooms around it.”
Vogue LiVing Jan/Feb 11 155