A magnificent former artist's house in west London harmonised with colour and texture by Anna Haines
There is always a certain pressure when it comes to getting involved with a house of historical significance. The conundrum of how to respect the past while creating a home for the present can be tough. For interior designer Anna Haines, embarking on the decoration of this distinguished house in west London, it presented a particular puzzle.
The special challenge for Anna was that the house had important elements to respect from every period of its history, which at first glance were tricky to marry in one coherent decorative scheme. It was originally designed and built around 1820, in the early stages of the area’s development into an affluent residential district. A light-filled artist’s studio was added in around 1864. Another 162 years on and it is owned by art collectors who, by the time Anna came on board, had worked with DOS Architects on a modernising overhaul of many of the spaces, and had filled them with an exceptional collection of contemporary art that they have amassed over decades.
The brief given to Lorenzo Grifantini, co-founder of architects DOS, was to create a spatial framework that would enhance the art. ‘When the owners got in touch in 2018, the focus was on adding a layer of interest and a sense of history,’ he explains. ‘She comes from Brazil and she loves collecting mid-century Brazilian furniture, which gave us a clear route to give the house an identity.’ First, he carved up the large entrance hall, creating a dining room and a sitting room that are separated by a hallway. ‘We referenced tropical modernism a lot, which felt like a nice link,’ says Lorenzo, explaining the choice of iroko wood panelling to clad the walls of these rooms. In the kitchen, joinery was added around existing technology like the television and speakers to provide extra storage, while bespoke wardrobes in the open-plan main bedroom on the top floor delineate the large space into different zones.
When Anna started on the project in 2023, it was with a brief of integrating the architecture with the owners’ art and their existing pieces of furniture. ‘They wanted it to feel like an inviting, lived-in family home rather than a paean to the artwork,’ she says. ‘It seemed a herculean task to bring it all together. Because of the period of the house, it was important to incorporate beautiful antique pieces that would add patina,’ she observes. ‘The challenge for us was to ensure that one era did not dominate the other.’
In the spacious ground-floor sitting room (which is dubbed the Mapplethorpe Room because of its collection of black-and-white photographs by Robert Mapplethorpe), an antique rug that was sourced from Robert Stephenson provided a link between old and new. ‘The rug encapsulated what we were trying to do. The colours are beautiful and the clients loved the effect – it was quite magical in a way,’ adds Anna.
A bespoke sofa covered in a mossy green linen from de Le Cuona followed, plus a red ottoman. In the two bedrooms on the first floor, curtains and headboards in colourful fabrics, antique furniture and vintage textiles perform a similar role, lending the modern architecture a historic sensibility.
‘The owners had old photos of what was originally the artist’s studio and is now their bedroom,’ says Anna. ‘It was incredible and so layered – that approach fundamentally drove the textures, colours and textiles in each space.’ With its double-height ceilings, floor-to-ceiling windows and a spectacular curation of works of art – which includes a Damien Hirst diptych and a Jean-Michel Basquiat painting – the top-floor evoked both awe and an acute sense of trepidation for Anna. ‘I could not believe the light, the height and the extraordinary window that overlooks the park,’ she recalls. ‘I had never walked into a space like that before.’
A palette of bold, solid colours in this room – most visible in the geometric bespoke rug from A Rum Fellow – introduces a sense of ‘mid-century meets contemporary’ style, she notes, pointing out that the curved silhouettes of the owners’ vintage Jean Royère armchairs and a new custom-made sofa help to soften the otherwise linear space.
‘Lorenzo and the owner had decided to paint most of the walls in an off-white, which makes a great backdrop for the art,’ Anna notes. She managed to convince the husband that just one room – the upstairs drawing room, in which the panelling is listed – could benefit from colour on the walls. So she commissioned the paint specialist Henry van der Vijver, who created a tactile, many-layered lacquer finish. ‘The owners have since said how much they enjoy just sitting quietly there. The paint effect brings a certain depth and texture to the walls and, even though the room is large, it feels as though it envelops you in a nice way,’ she adds.
Much like in the rest of the house, the art in this room sits in perfect harmony with its decoration: some new, some old. It watches over as life happily unfolds around it. And isn’t that exactly what good design is all about?
Anna Haines: annahaines.co.uk | DOS Architects: dosarchitects.com
Michael Sinclair1/7The sleek Tenreiro pendant and chairs contrast with the rug from Robert Stephenson.
Michael Sinclair2/7Off-white walls provide a backdrop for Mustafa Maluka’s painting Your inner soul is what I own, while Alex Findlater’s oak units complement the Le Corbusier table and vintage Danish chairs.
Michael Sinclair3/7Bespoke oak wardrobes by Alex Findlater break up the space; they contrast with the headboard in Beata Heuman’s midnight ‘Mohair’ and tone with an antique textile bed cover from Susan Deliss. The ottoman was custom-made by Anna Haines Design.
Michael Sinclair4/7The spare bedroom features a photograph by Erwin Olaf.
© Erwin Olaf Foundation, Courtesy of Hamiltons Gallery.
Michael Sinclair5/7In the large, light-filled space, added as an artist’s studio in the 19th century, artworks include Six Fifty, 1982, by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Baise-en-ville, 2005, by Cecily Brown, and the diptych For Boys and Girls, 1989-1992, by Damien Hirst and Science Limited.
Michael Sinclair6/7
Michael Sinclair7/7
