Living with the Landscape
Designed for an Australian living in London, De Rosee Sa’s Garden House connects with nature, and comforts with its thoughtful, empathetic design
Overlooking Dulwich Park in south London, this Edwardian home’s leafy garden appears almost infinite thanks to its views over the wider landscape, free from any other houses. In its previous incarnation, however, the house felt disconnected from its outside space, a drop of ten steps down from the interior: architecture and interior design studio De Rosee Sa’s extension and renovation not only beautifully connects the two but also create a wider sense of comfort and seclusion in its layered palette of materials.
The homeowner, an Australian legal professional, lives here with her children, so this is a family home as much as a place of sanctuary away from working life. “The bones were really nice,” says the practice’s co-founder Max de Rosée about the house as he first saw it, “but it had lost a lot of its Edwardian features and we wanted to try and restore that.”
Having taken the house back to brick and upgraded services and insulation, an extension was built almost the full width of the house (stopping short to fulfil local planning guidelines that it should not meet the neighbouring party wall). Bronze-toned, slim-framed sliding doors make an impressive picture window over the garden, which has been designed by landscape architect Ula Maria.
Now, instead of the previous raised deck outside and sudden drop, the rear half of the ground floor has been lowered (creating a more generous ceiling height in the process), which then meets a series of platforms outside – a much gentler transition that flows beautifully and invites a sense of discovery.
“With our client being Australian, a lot of it was about working with nature,” says de Rosée. “It was really important that the landscape and garden were brought into the house, and that wherever she was in the house she would be able to look on to nature.”
He adds that “it took a little while to find an aesthetic that she liked,” but her painting by Indigenous Australian artists Raylene Walatinna and Daisy Barne – with its patchwork of rusty reds and oranges, black and beige inspired by the desert landscape – ended up providing a useful starting point. It now hangs in the dining area above a bespoke oak sideboard by joiner Stuart Indge, its cabinet fronts featuring a striking grain pattern that creates an illusory effect of three-dimensionality. Pinch’s Meda dining table and a Christopher Farr Usak rug in brown create a thread of natural, nutty tones that link with the trees beyond.
It was really important that the landscape and garden were brought into the house
The dining space sits open-plan to a sitting area and kitchen, the latter clad in Calacatta Oro marble paired with soft green cabinetry. There’s also a separate formal reception room at the front of the house, which picks up on the same earthy and neutral tones and tactile materials, from the bespoke sofa in gingerbread-coloured velvet from Rose Uniacke to the Lostine Loa chandelier with its ceramic shades. “Our approach is always to layer – things the client brings, antiques, mid-century pieces and some contemporary pieces. We’re trying to get a blend of different styles that contribute to the atmosphere,” says de Rosée.
Upstairs, what was previously two bedrooms across the rear of the house is now a master suite, with the second bedroom now an interconnected dressing room and bathroom. It feels highly indulgent, but never showy: in the bedroom there are heavy interlined curtains and a soft rug underfoot, while the bathroom incorporates a rich brown-veined Viola marble, generously used across the bath surround, shower and double basin vanity.
Complementing the homeowner’s own art, De Rosee Sa has sourced other artworks that tie together the aesthetic. A work from Richard Zinon, whose abstract paintings feature huge, bold brushstrokes, hangs on the handsome period staircase (whose heavy timber balustrade has now been toned down by painting it to match the walls); while Joe Tilson’s 1980 Earth Earth Earth print hangs above the marble fireplace in the formal reception room.
Returning to the Indigenous painting in the dining area, its title, Ngura (Country) comes from the Pitjantjatjara word for the physical geography of the land, a word with a secondary meaning that expresses belonging and family connection. In that context, it couldn’t be more apt that it has pride of place in a home that celebrates the wider landscape and aims to bring its family of occupants together.
