An impressive Georgian townhouse in London given a youthful energy by Stella Weatherall

Having gained experience in design at Firmdale Hotels and Flora Soames, Stella already had plenty of projects under her belt, but this was to be her biggest solo undertaking to date. ‘Thankfully, my client actively wanted to work with a designer who was not super established or well known, as she wanted it to be a partnership rather than just having schemes presented to her.’ Did this involvement make things easier or harder? ‘I would say it took the pressure off a bit,’ says Stella. ‘She was so heavily involved that it meant there was no room for nasty surprises.’

The designer and her client began by drawing up plans to expand the kitchen and add the large French windows that now lead out to the garden. The stairs needed to be shifted and the ceiling height evened out across the ground floor. ‘In the basement, it was a full gutting job,’ says Stella. With ideas flowing, she called upon Studio Jo Cowen to bring the vision to life. ‘I told the architectural lead Michael Jardine that I knew what I liked, but that I was not up to speed with every process. I couldn’t have done it without them,’ she is happy to admit.

Stella Weatherall beside Jessye Norman by Kate Boxer, on Soane’s ‘Wild Tulip – Original’ wallpaper.

Owen Gale

Beyond the structural challenges, the main issues in the house were with scale. ‘It was last done up in the 1980s. In the principal rooms, the cornicing was not original and was far too small for the house’s grand proportions,’ says Stella, who explains that the doorways were mean, the wooden flooring was not the best and the house felt hunched. ‘It was not celebrating its scale and we needed to change that, but it took a long time to find the right moulding for every room. Everything just looked off, particularly in the kitchen. Then I remembered how I had always loved the cornicing in my parents’ flat. So the builders went there, took a mould and replicated it here.’

After the structural changes, they could start decorating. The goal was to respect the house, but to integrate youthful touches to reflect the owner, her husband and their baby. ‘This is a young person’s home,’ observes Stella. ‘I wanted to strike the balance of leaning into the house’s heritage without it feeling too grand or pretentious.’ She chose a playful palette, pairing fresh pinks with rich yellows and some grown-up fabrics. ‘The owner told me she loved pink, but that she often went too far with it. So we were very careful not to veer into bubble-gum territory.’

The antique chair is covered in Soane’s ‘Qajar Stripe’ linen, with Flora Soames’ ‘The Little Waltine’ stool echoing the ‘Zig Zag’ drinks table by Jermaine Gallacher. Just visible is Ben Crase’s Ringing Rocks artwork in the library.

Christopher Horwood

The Turkish flatweave rug from Robert Stephenson sets off the high-gloss cabinets.

Christopher Horwood

Although Stella steered the owner on colour, the dynamic was reversed when it came to the paintings and sculpture. ‘I’d collected art and antiques for many years and was storing all the things I didn’t know what to do with in a messy storage unit,’ recalls the owner. Stella went through it with a fine tooth comb, documenting every item and incorporating them.

The owner’s contemporary art collection ended up providing a starting point for many of the schemes, such as in the drawing room, where works by Peggy Kuiper and Emma Gale informed the soft pink walls. ‘In this house, art was always a part of the conversation and the whole process was an education for me,’ says Stella. ‘If it wasn’t for this, I would never have discovered the incredible artists I went on to use elsewhere.’

The kitchen.

Christopher Horwood

Ultimately, the owner’s decision to choose an up-and-coming designer paid off in spades. ‘Stella has created my perfect home, while leaving room for me to layer life on top,’ she says. For Stella, this is the project that has launched her fledgling design studio: ‘This was a dream project to have at this stage in my career. Sometimes you just have to jump in feet first’.

Stella Weatherall: stellaweatherall.com | Studio Jo Cowen: studiojocowen.com