MODERN MEWS - Sophie Paterson Interiors

eal home
MODERN MEWS
Interior design expert
Sophie Paterson reveals how
she transformed her run-down
SW7 mews house into a super
stylish family home
www.swmag.co.uk January 2012 89

Interior Designer Sophie Paterson
moved into her SW7 mews house,
which dates back to the 1800s, in
November 2006. The home she shares
with her husband Kevin and cocker
spaniel Bo is so stylish it has featured in
glossy interiors magazines in the past –
and now in your SW. But this was not
always the case.
Layering textures
creates the luxurious
finish Sophie and Kevin
wanted in their home
“The house was a mish mash of
serious problems [when they moved
in],” Paterson reveals. “Dry rot in one
wall, leaking roof, dodgy plumbing.
Severe leaks and floods occurred on
such a regular basis we both learnt to
walk and scan the ceiling for drips
whenever it rained or the other one
took a shower.”
There were a few other “less serious
aesthetic issues” that the coupled lived
with for a couple of years: the kitchen,
cheap Laminate oak floor boards, and
a “severe lack of storage – one perfectly
good sized potential dressing room off
the master suite was being used as
a sauna!”
Fortunately Paterson’s skills as an
interior designer came into play –
Sophie and her team of tradesmen did
all the work: “having a design studio
definitely makes the whole process
easier,” she admits.
Sophie and Kevin wanted to get the
best out of the space for the way they
wanted to use it. They addressed any
urgent issues – such as mending leaking
roofs and plumbing problems – but
then opted to do the refurbishment in
two stages. “After dealing with the
urgent issues we settled into the house
dressing it as best we could with new
soft furnishings,” says Paterson. “In
2008 we’d lived in the house for long
enough to know exactly how we wanted
to use the space.” Cue a new kitchen
90 January 2012 www.swmag.co.uk

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Sophie prefers
a neutral colour
palette, which
can be seen in
her favourite
room: the lounge
KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL
Sophie Paterson and husband Kevin
replaced the kitchen she described
as “seriously naff with drawers that
would regularly fall off and drop on
your toe” in 2008. “We wanted to live
in an open-plan ground floor so we
removed the internal doors and
heightened and widened the door
frames which really created a sense
of space,” Paterson explains. “The
kitchen scheme and colours were
very important as it is open plan. We
wanted a functional kitchen but one
that didn’t look too kitcheny. When
we have dinner parties it’s the first
place people walk into to get a drink
and we wanted to be able to have
low-level lighting and make it almost
feel like a bar. Having handless doors,
shiny reflective surfaces as well as
continuing the same flooring throughout
the ground floor helped it feel more
spacious and blend in with the rest of
the scheme on the ground floor.”
The lounge is Sophie’s favourite room. “It’s lovely
and airy in the summer with the doors thrown open
onto the garden and cosy in the winter with the
fire on. It’s a really sociable space with plenty
of seating for when we have parties – we’ve
had some great dinners and parties here over
the years so its full of happy memories.”
Sophie Paterson in her new and improved kitchen; monochrome class in her SW7 bathroom
www.swmag.co.uk January 2012 91

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Tricks of the trade:
Sophie Paterson used
her insider knowledge
to style her SW7 home
I’d like Petra
Eccleston’s home
please – a Georgian
manor house in the
centre of south
Kensington? Yes
that would do nicely!
and bathroom, some clever storage
solutions including built-in cupboards
(even a built-in dressing room) and
redecoration inside and out.
“We redecorated throughout with
luxurious wall coverings, new soft
furnishings, grey oak flooring on the
ground floor and deep wool carpet on
the first floor for a more luxurious
finish,” says the interior designer.
“In terms of decoration I favour
a restrained pallet of neutrals with
colour coming in from art and
accessories,” she continues. “I layered
different textures to create interest
and a luxurious finish – suede or leather
headboards, faux silk and grass weave
wallpapers, velvet, linen and silk fabrics
broken up with the clean lines of
mirrored, metal or dark wood furniture.”
Paterson finds inspiration in a variety
of places when she’s out and about.
“My design brain never switches off, so
whilst many people might be enjoying
the film at the cinema I’m looking at
the lighting or out shopping I’ll be
more interested in the visual
merchandising and carpentry than the
actual clothes.”
Most recently, she has found the
“attention to detail that Burberry and
Tom Ford have to their stores and the
carpentry” particularly inspiring, and
she admires John Minshaw’s timeless
designs and David Collin’s use of
colour. Furniture design is something
Paterson takes great joy in: “I really love
designing bespoke joinery,” she states.
When asked if Paterson bought any
of her furnishings local she beems
“Absolutely – living in the heart of one
of London’s high-end design districts
I’m always in Chelsea Harbour design
centre sourcing fabrics and finishes,
Andrew Martin and De le Cuona on
Walton Street and the great high street
stores on King’s road such as Zara
Home, Peter Jones and OKA on
Fulham road. I’m not a design snob and
I love the fact I have the very best of
high-end and high-street interiors right
on my doorstep.”
www.sophiepatersoninteriors.com
Butler Madden www.butlermaddenphotography.com
92 January 2012 www.swmag.co.uk