A colourful and sophisticated townhouse in the bustling borough of Hackney
Late night scrolling is rarely productive, but in the case of design studio Golden and their clients, it prompted a lucky discovery. ‘The client had been sitting up in the middle of the night with their baby and, keen to start renovating their new house, were scrolling through The List in search of someone whose work they connected with. They got to the letter G, saw our profile and thought, “That's them!” It was a total gut reaction and we were appointed within the week,’ explains Alice, one half of the duo behind Golden.
The house in question was a four-storey Victorian terrace in Hackney, which the couple had purchased to accommodate their growing family. Because they were moving from a much smaller flat, they had almost no furniture, which meant Golden had a blank slate to work from. ‘They came to the table with lots of different ideas, so we had to dig into what their ideal house would look and feel like.’ As they do for all their projects, Golden worked on a handful of sentences that detailed the exact style they were aiming for. ‘We do this so we have something to refer back to and to ensure we never stray too far from those original wishes,’ explains Alice.
Part of what had attracted the clients to Golden was their use of colour, so it's unsurprising that the heart of the brief was to banish the grey that the previous owners had allowed to run amok in the house. As Alice comments, ‘the entire interior was rendered in shades of grey. We had the full spectrum from a pale foggy hue to dark charcoal!’ Once the brief was nailed down and the paragraph perfected, the Golden duo got to work. ‘Although the house was decoratively tired, it had no structural issues and the layout was functional,’ Alice explains. ‘There were certain things we could see would be fantastic left as is, and even though things were covered in layers and layers of paint, we weren't going to tear everything out and start again for the sake of it.’ Throughout the house, the omnipresent grey was sanded and painted over, pine floors stripped to bring back their lustre, and the original cornicing and skirting boards given some much needed TLC.
Due to the home's urban surroundings and the couple's new baby, the interiors needed to provide a counterpoint to chaos and act as a sanctuary of sorts. In the formal sitting room, a decidedly sophisticated colour palette of soft pink and pistachio green was selected to ensure a calm atmosphere. ‘We wanted this space to be the most impressive, glamorous and grown-up space in the house,’ says Alice. Joinery was elevated with rattan wallpaper, and swathes of flamestitch fabric, velvet and bouclé were layered in, resulting in a laidback, yet elevated room. Upstairs, the clients wanted the primary bedroom and bathroom to be showstoppers. A rich pink was selected for the bedroom, chosen for its cooconing softness and contrasting with a green mohair headboard trimmed in a silk fringe. The jumping off point for the bathroom was a ‘New York inspired, Art Deco aesthetic’ which evolved over the course of the project into something ‘much more unique.’ In the finished space, Moroccan zellige tiles cover both the walls and floor, bringing a reflective and tactile shine to the space, whilst the marble vanity mirror surround nods to the room's Art Deco influence.
Much of the project's time and energy was directed at the basement, a dark and heavy space that the clients didn't enjoy spending time in. ‘The basement houses the kitchen, which you always end up gravitating towards as a family so we knew we needed to give it a lot of attention.’ In its current state, the cabinets were painted in – you guessed it – charcoal, and the floor was a large format dark slate, which only added to the oppressive feel of the space. However, the kitchen cabinetry was of good quality. ‘It wasn't old, it wasn't falling apart, so we decided to just lift what was already there, making it feel fresher and more welcoming. We changed to worktops from a grey composite to a combination or iroko and quartzite, and added the tiled splash back. We then closed the open shelves in the island to make it more practical for a busy household.’
The slate floors were a slightly trickier problem to tackle and the team toyed with the idea of replacing them. However, in an effort to conserve budget, they decided to simply spruce them up with a lick of commercial grade paint. ‘We chose a vibrant cherry red for something warm but contrasting,' explains Alice. 'We had embraced yellow tones here, so knew the boldness of the red would offset the palette without being overly dominant and it was definitely the right choice not to play it safe.’ Once painted, they layered rugs over the top to break up any large swatches of red.
In total, the project took around a year and a half to complete. ‘We were lucky that the clients were super involved. Every item was signed off by them and the process was really efficient because of our smooth running relationship.’ When Golden look back at the paragraph they created at the beginning, does the finished house fit the brief? ‘We wrote down that the client wanted something sophisticated yet down to earth, colourful but calm,’ notes Alice. We think it hits all of those marks.
Kensington Leverne1/13The vintage armchair was sourced from Retrospective Interiors and upholstered in Turnell & Gigon ‘Oakley’ blue velvet. The cushion is from Nushka.
Kensington Leverne2/13The Pinch day bed is upholstered in Guy Goodfellow’s ‘Tiepolo’ weave in Venetian red. ‘We wanted this piece to be super pretty and feminine,’ says Alice. The rug is bespoke from Peter Page.
Kensington Leverne3/13The designers upgraded the original kitchen, changing the worktops and repainting over the original charcoal grey cabinetry. They also painted the dark slate floor a bright cherry red. ‘It felt quite scary painting the existing tile floor red, but it paid off,’ says Alice. ‘It's fun and spirited and actually not overpowering at all.’ Benjamin Moore’s commercial grade floor paint in ‘Sweet Rosy Brown’ was used to achieve the effect.
Kensington Leverne4/13In the basement family room, a bespoke storage ottoman is upholstered in a Colours of Arley striped fabric. The armchair is the ‘Idler’ from Nix.
Kensington Leverne5/13A David Seyfried sofa is upholstered in a moss green velvet by Yarn Collective, with cushions in Pierre Frey’s ‘Abadan’ print.
Kensington Leverne6/13A mid-century Italian chandelier hangs in the entry hallway and acts as a playful counterpoint to the calm neutral walls, painted in ‘Sella’ from Mylands' collection with Sella Concept.
Kensington Leverne7/13The headboard is upholstered in a Yarn Collective mohair with a Samuel and Sons ‘Silk Brush’ fringe.
Kensington Leverne8/13The bolster cushions were made by Studio Stanway in a Pierre Frey flame stitch fabric. Pops of yellow were used throughout the house as the ultimate antidote to the grey which proliferated prior to renovation.
Kensington Leverne10/13A rug sourced from Peter Page echoes the cheerful ceiling. Papier-mâché ‘H’ sourced from Edit 58.
Kensington Leverne11/13The blind fabric is ‘Asteria’s Folly’ from Beata Heuman, and was the starting point for this playful scheme. The vintage Halibala chair was sourced from Pure White Lines.
Kensington Leverne12/13Zellige tiles from Mosaic Factory provide a glossy foundation for this bathroom, where Golden Design leant into a sophisticated aesthetic, with the feminine pink palette tempered by earthy secondary tones.
