Evolved Thinking

Major life changes – from family expansion to divorce, downsizing and inheritance – often accompany equally major alterations to people’s homes. For the couple who own this townhouse in Wandsworth, south-west London, the trigger was leaving behind the family-focused two decades they had already spent here. Design practice Blank Slate Studio has turned this already-well-loved home into something calmer and more crafted, while tackling some longstanding issues with functionality – a thoughtful intervention that has written a new, more grown-up chapter.

“They got rid of everything, and we started over again,” says Blank Slate’s founder, Bari Jerauld. A single piece of artwork (depicting a foot) was the survivor, “and that set the tone for the palette throughout the house.” Largely neutral yet rich in texture, that palette is gentle and restrained: everything feels knocked-back. There’s barely any shine to these interiors, with darker metals favoured over brasher ones; light shades made from opaque glass; fabrics such as cotton velvets and textured linens; and furniture in rich chocolate browns.

All put together, it’s a lesson in the power of a matte finish to create a quiet atmosphere, the complete opposite of how the house looked before, according to Jerauld: “They had gone quite contemporary with the design when they had originally renovated: everything was glass and chrome. Where there were period features, we restored those, but where they had been stripped out over time, such as the plasterwork, we added them back in.”

She adds that her aim was for “everything to feel collected and found, versus new and shiny. For the limestone entrance hall tiles, we did a tumbled finish and pillowed the edges,” while the timber floorboards (by Trunk Floor) have a bespoke finish “to feel like they had been reclaimed, with cracks and knots, and a brushed finish to add a little bit of texture. I think they’re my favourite floor that we’ve ever put into a project; they turned out so beautifully.”

One of Jerauld’s other signature materials is marble, and here it is virtually the only pattern in the house, as well as being used to selectively highlight the house’s interior architecture. In the kitchen, the marble splashback is interrupted by a window frame in the same material; while a multipurpose basement room features a bar area with a large demilune of purple-brown stone cladding the recess, a colour that matches the precision joinery.

In the master bathroom, arched openings are picked out in the same stone used for the basin vanity tops. “Here we chose a marble in a soft green that felt connected to the view outside,” says Jerauld. “This space just feels so calm and comfortable – you don’t want to leave it.”

This project is far more than a material makeover, however. At the back of the house, the spine wall has been removed to create an open plan kitchen, dining and living area, perfect for entertaining, while on the top floor, the three children’s rooms have been opened up to the eaves, changing their character into somewhere far more light and airy: as Jerauld puts in, “you just feel like you can breathe better in those spaces.”

The lower-ground level has also seen comprehensive change, especially in terms of liveability: “They had a full basement already but never used it – it was cold and not cosy at all. So we really focused on making a space that they would actually want to spend time in,” says Jerauld. Accessed via a new staircase and with Crittall doors leading to the garden, it’s now a games room and casual hangout (complete with the aforementioned bar) for all generations to gather in, drenched from floor to ceiling in warm, earthy tones.

The games room’s L-shaped sofa, upholstered in a buff-coloured mohair from Beata Heuman, is one of many pieces designed especially for the house by Blank Slate Studio. The include hand-loomed rugs made by Silk Avenue, the walnut, brass and opal glass lighting in the kitchen and dining area; and the stained oak bar stools and dining chairs, upholstered in leather. Complementing this treasury of bespoke objects are some standout vintage and antique pieces: the hallway features a baroque-looking Spanish walnut console table from the 1930s, with three octagonal gas lanterns repurposed as pendant lights.

This is a house that has grown up with its owners yet refuses to become set in its ways. Blank Slate Studio’s intervention has turned those family-filled decades into something softer, slower and more self-assured – a home that reflects who its inhabitants are now, rather than who they used to be.