Sophie Paterson Interiors

SOURCED | SOUTH KENSINGTON HOME
SOUTH KENSINGTON HOME | SOURCED
Luxurious materials in organic hues create
a perfect backdrop for the stunning design
pieces adorning this home
Report: Felicity Borthwick Photography: Lauren Mitton
Walk down any main street in South
Kensington and you’ll see some of the
world’s top designs on display, whether
they’re in fashion or interiors. The stylish
London district is also home to one of the most famous
art and design museums – thus this was a fitting locale
for up-and-coming interior designer Sophie Paterson
and her husband Kevin to set up their first marital
home together.
When the couple bought the house back in 2006,
it had a leaking roof, dry rot in the walls and an oldfashioned
kitchen that was, quite literally, falling apart
– so much so it nearly discouraged them from buying
it. However, the couple ploughed ahead, first dealing
with problems requiring urgent attention, then, several
years later, redesigning the interior to make it feel more
spacious and modern.
Thanks to Sophie’s expert eye, the charming mews
property is now a stunning showcase of contemporary
design with furnishings heralding from the likes
of Zoffany, Minotti and Andrew Martin. She has
also skilfully fused masculine and feminine styles
harmoniously together, as much of the furniture started
off in Kevin’s bachelor pad, and all the materials are
very practical and hard wearing to accommodate the
couple’s love of entertaining and their boisterous cocker
spaniel Bo.
“We were generally quite happy with the layout of
the house so we didn’t make too many structural
changes; we just heightened and widened some of the
doorways,” explains Sophie. “When you walk through
the front door, the kitchen leads off to the right of
Left: “I like to have a balance of styles in a house and Kevin is also
quite into design so we made the spare bedroom more masculine
with dark tones of grey and black furniture,” says Sophie
Top: The Barcelona chair from Knoll provides a comfortable place
to sit away from the bed in the spare bedroom and complements
the enormous, black-framed mirror behind it
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Above: A wall-to-wall headboard was
created in the master bedroom from an
opulent, faux-suede fabric to provide a
cosy, cocoon-like feel. From a practical
point of view, it also combines with
the thick curtains and carpet to keep
out noise from the street, making the
room a calm, peaceful space in which
to relax
Right: Layers of cushions covered
in sumptuous Andrew Martin fabrics
soften down the masculine aesthetic in
the spare bedroom whilst also adding
interest with their diverse textures
and patterns
Opposite page, left: Sophie clad
the bathroom walls in polished marble
and the floor in limestone to create
a completely waterproof space that
could accommodate a large, luxurious
walk-in shower. By using a minimalist
glass screen, however, the shower still
appears as part of the overall space
to prevent the room from feeling too
small or cramped
Top right: Porta Romana wall
lamps flank the mirror to create
an opulent vanity area whilst also
casting light directly onto the walls
to accentuate the lavish marble
tiles, which were sourced from
Mandarin Stone
the hallway and the dining and living areas lead
off to the left, so the kitchen felt quite removed
from the rest of the house. Thus, we removed the
doors on either side of the entrance and enlarged
the doorways so that the rooms now open onto one
another and there is a greater feeling of space.”
Despite having fairly limited space in the kitchen,
Sophie was keen to include a breakfast bar so that
Kevin could sit and have a glass of wine while she
cooked or she could perch here and catch up on
some reading with a cup of coffee. As such, she
spent a lot of time considering the best possible use
of space before taking her plans to Roundhouse to
manufacture it. A bank of floor-to-ceiling units now
occupies the left-hand wall and incorporates an
array of modern appliances including a wine fridge
and coffee machine – both ideal for entertaining.
On the right-hand side, meanwhile, is a worktop
and run of base units with the sink and dishwasher
sited beneath the window so the couple can look
across the mews whilst washing up, plus additional
storage is provided by low and high-level units on
the longer wall in the middle. The breakfast bar,
which has been fashioned from grey-stained oak to
match the flooring, extends from the appliance wall
beside the doorway.
The materials in the kitchen were chosen both for
their hard-wearing practicality and to bounce light
around the room to make it feel more spacious; the
cupboard doors feature a high-gloss finish, Corian
flows across the work surfaces and the splashback is
formed from glass. “Because the space is semi-openplan,
we wanted to use colours that would blend in
with the living areas so we have opted for a very
neutral palette in here, with warm-grey cabinetry
and taupe worktops,” says Sophie.
This soft, organic palette extends upstairs into
the master bedroom although the space has a
considerably cosier feel thanks to the bespoke wallto-wall
headboard, which is swathed in a creamy
cappuccino-coloured faux suede by Andrew Martin.
Add to this a scattering of sumptuous cushions, a
heavy velvet-wool carpet and elegant Zoffany
wallpaper, with taupe and silver tones running
through it, and the overall look is one of sheer
luxury. A pair of mirror-finish drawers completes the
effect and tones in nicely with the wallpaper, while
two bedside lamps cast a warm, moody glow across
the headboard.
Although this room was the smaller of the two,
Sophie and Kevin decided to use it as the master
bedroom as it had a small ensuite leading off it,
as well as a sauna, which they transformed into
a dressing room. The previous bathroom design
comprised two basins and a bath but as the pair
prefer to shower in the mornings they decided to
replace the bath with a large walk-in shower, with a
bespoke wooden vanity unit and large Duravit basin
directly opposite.
“I really like it when ensuites link visually with
the bedroom so we clad the walls in a warm-brown
Emperador polished marble and the floors in a flaxhoned
limestone,” explains Sophie. “I then added
Porta Romana wall lamps either side of the mirror
for a bit of glamour and had the mirror heated
so that I can do my make-up if Kevin is in the
shower.” Being a fairly modest-sized room, Sophie
employed several space-enhancing techniques,
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including wall-hung storage and a frameless glass
screen for the shower area. The enormous mirror
above the vanity unit also helps create the illusion of
volume, while sleek, wall-mounted brassware adds
to the contemporary hotel-like feel.
In contrast, the guest bedroom is considerably
more masculine with dark, sophisticated greys, sleek
black furniture and sculptural metallic artworks
that complement the industrial-style floor lamps.
However, the overall look is equally luxurious and
soft, sensual touches have been subtly introduced
through faux-silk Zoffany wallpaper and the same
ultra-thick carpet. The bedroom also has an ensuite
leading off it and, while the couple left it pretty
much as it was, continuity has been established by
painting the walls grey and the outside of the rolltop
bath in a dark, sumptuous charcoal.
In fact, thanks to Sophie’s eye for detail, the entire
house ties together beautifully and spaces that tend
to get overlooked, such as the landing or upstairs
hallway, now boast glamorous lights or elegant
mirrors. As such, the couple now have a stunning
home in which to enjoy married life and Sophie
couldn’t be happier with the finished result. “With
client projects you put your heart and soul into them
and then never see them again so it’s wonderful to
be able to enjoy this one and have a home that we
both love,” she smiles.
KBB
Above left: Although space was fairly
limited, Sophie and Kevin wanted to
incorporate a breakfast bar into the
kitchen and suspended the flat-screen
television nearby to create the perfect
place to perch
Above right: A warm, neutral palette
helps blend the kitchen with the dining
and living areas, which are now visible
from here. Sophie and Kevin regularly
enjoy entertaining so the integrated
wine fridge and coffee machine come
in very handy
DESIGN
Interior Design Sophie Paterson
of Sophie Paterson Interiors
(020 7370 2210 or www.
sophiepatersoninteriors.com)
KITCHEN
Cabinetry High-gloss lacquer
Metro Integra kitchen,
Roundhouse (020 7229 2123 or
www.roundhousedesign.com)
Worktops Corian in Sienna
Brown (0800 962116 or
www.corian.co.uk)
Breakfast bar and flooring
Grey-stained solid oak, Gravity
Flooring (01932 750660 or
www.gravityflooring.co.uk)
Appliances Dishwasher, oven,
plate and food warming drawer,
38-bottle wine fridge, ceramic
induction hob, fridge and freezer,
all Miele (0845 365 6600 or
www.miele.co.uk); Extractor hob,
Westin (01484 421585 or www.
westin.co.uk); Coffee machine,
Küppersbusch (01235 861916
or www.kuppersbuschuk.co.uk)
Taps (main) Blanco Linus tap
(020 8450 9100 or
www.blanco.co.uk); (boiling
tap) Quooker instant boiling
water tap (020 7923 3355
or www.quooker.co.uk)
MASTER BEDROOM
Bed Divan (01274 792121
or www.divancentre.co.uk)
Bed head Faux suede &
coordinating cushions, Andrew
Martin (020 7225 5100 or
www.andrewmartin.co.uk)
Bedside tables Vintage. For
similar try Dorothy mirror
bedside table, Graham and
Green (0845 130 6622 or
www.grahamandgreen.co.uk)
Bedside lights John Lewis
(0845 604 9049 or
www.johnlewis.com)
Carpet Heavy velvet wool
carpeting, ‘Jacaranda’ in Silver,
Mark Roger Natural Flooring
(020 7244 0440 or
www.markrogerflooring.co.uk)
Curtains Tumba in Cement
colour, Minstral fabric collection,
Andrew Martin, as before
MASTER ENSUITE
Tiles (wall) Emperador polished
marble tiles, Mandarin Stone
(01600 715444 or
www.mandarinstone.com);
(floor) Flax-honed limestone,
Mandarin Stone, as before
Basin and WC Duravit (0845
500 7787 or www.duravit.co.uk)
Units Wenge. Bespoke
design by Sophie Paterson
Interiors, as before
Brassware and WC Dornbracht
(024 7671 7129 or
www.dornbracht.com)
Shower enclosure Bespoke
glass screen. For similar try
Majestic (01279 443644 or
www.majesticshowers.com)
GUEST BEDROOM
Bed Matteo Grassi
(www.matteograssi.it), available
from Aram (020 7557 7557
or www.aram.co.uk)
Wallpaper Zoffany (0844 543
4600 or www.zoffany.com)
Curtain fabric De Le Cuona,
Manuel Canovas (020 7584
7677 or www.delecuona.co.uk)
Bedside lamps Andrew
Martin, as before
Framed artwork Trowbridge
Gallery (020 7371 8733 or
www.trowbridgegallery.com)
Mirror BoConcept (020 7388
2447 or www.boconcept.co.uk)
Table Minotti (020 7323 3233
or www.minottilondon.com)
Cushions Andrew Martin
fabrics, as before
Carpet Heavy velvet wool
carpet, ‘Jacaranda’ in
Silver, Mark Roger Natural
Flooring, as before
Chest of drawers and artwork/
sculpture Available from Sophie
Paterson Interiors, as before
Seat Barcelona Chair, Knoll
(020 7236 6655 or
www.knoll.com)
COST
A similar kitchen would cost
around £40,000. Similar
bedrooms would cost
around £18,000 each and
the ensuite around £8000
The doorways either side of the
main entrance hall have been
heightened and widened, and
the doors removed, to link the
kitchen with the rest of the house
and create a more open, fluid feel.
Grey-stained oak flooring flows
throughout the ground floor to tie
the spaces together, while black
furniture provides some continuity
with the guest bedroom upstairs
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