Reworked Townhouse

Twice
as niceFinding creative solutions to joining two Victorian
properties together has resulted in one inspirational
family home that sings with character and charm
Wor d s Ju li et B en n i ng P hotog r ap hs Dav ide Lovat t i

SITTING ROOM
Homeowner Miranda Davies’ choice of wallpaper
was the starting point for this elegant scheme. As
she says, ‘It is extraordinary; it makes the room
look di≠erent from every angle, depending on the
light and the time of day.’
Kamiko Sisal wallpaper in Lagoon, £461.20 a roll,
Schumacher at Turnell & Gigon, turnellandgigon.com.
Dulwich marble fireplace, £5,040, Jamb, jamb.co.uk.

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 SITTING ROOM
A glazed aperture was created in the original party
wall between the two houses (above) to link this
space with the hall and dining room on the other
side. ‘My husband has an enormous number of
books,’ says Miranda, ‘so designer Ali Robinson
of Robinson van Noort had the cabinetry made
(left).’ Ali, together with Carolyn van Noort,
designed the rug to anchor the scheme.
Bespoke rug in Tapis d’Avignon, Robinson van Noort
at Roger Oates, rogeroates.com. Blind in Gypsies
LI 755 03, £146.80m, Élitis at Abbott + Boyd,
abbottandboyd.co.uk. Bookshelves in Stiffkey
Blue estate eggshell, £60 for 2.5L, Farrow & Ball,
farrow-ball.com. Interior design, Robinson van
Noort Design Studio, robinsonvannoort.com.

DINING ROOM
‘I’m not keen on fitted furniture so Ali designed
these cabinets backed with distressed mirrors,’
says Miranda. The bespoke elliptical table (right),
which can seat up to 14 people when extra leaves
are added, complements the bay window.
Chilworth table, £9,180, Ali Robinson, alirobinson.com.
Beetle chairs, from £439 each, Gubi at The Conran
Shop, conranshop.co.uk. Blind in Butterfly, Irish linen,
made to order, Carolyn van Noort, carolynvannoort.
com. Curtains in Molecule in Charcoal, £98m, Chase
Erwin, chase-erwin.com.

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KITCHEN
This spacious kitchen (above) is part of a larger
living area that was made by extending and
combining the ground floor rooms at the back of
both houses. A huge new pivot door and windows
(above right) o≠er views of the garden, while light
streams in through the skylight above. Instead
of a chandelier or three pendant lights over the
table, Miranda chose a more unique design. ‘It
took a long time to arrange this piece as the lights
are not in a line and hang at varying heights.’
Cabinets in Mole’s Breath estate emulsion, £60
for 2.5L, Farrow & Ball, farrow-ball.com; and RAL
Graphite Grey high gloss, ralcolorchart.com.
Banquette in Mustang White, £27.48m, Yarwood
Leather, yarwoodleather.com. Eames DSW chairs,
£345 each, The Conran Shop, conranshop.co.uk.
Bocci 28 Random pendants, £420 each, Chaplins,
chaplins.co.uk.
ENTRANCE HALL
This lacquered cupboard (left) backs onto a
matching row of units (right) that houses the
oven at the far end of the kitchen. A push-touch
door at the end of the hall leads to a cloakroom.
Similar vintage Italian brass-edged mirror,
De Parma, deparma.com.
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T
he transformation that Miranda Davies and
her husband imagined for their Barnes, south-
west London home (which was, at that point,
two separate Victorian houses) was spectacu-
larly ambitious. The overhaul – to combine the
properties – would be dramatic and, not surprisingly, they
needed an interior designer in which they could put their
wholehearted trust. In time, they found Ali Robinson and
Carolyn van Noort, of Robinson van Noort Design Studio
and, 18 months later, the family settled into their unique
home. We spoke to Miranda and Ali to find out more.
How long had you been planning this project?
MD We bought the original house twelve years ago and then,
two years later, the neighbouring house was put up for sale.
It was a perfect development opportunity. We rented out the
second house for ten years, while getting the funds together
to combine it with ours to accommodate our growing family
of four children and a menagerie of pets.
What was the brief for the project?
AR Miranda and her husband wanted to create a family
home that would honour the fact it was once two buildings,
but also felt like a complete entity. The houses had been built
by the same architect so, from the outside, are easily seen as
one building. We originally applied for planning consent to
remove the internal wall between them, but this was refused
so we had to come up with another way to connect the
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 buildings. This new plan included a double rear extension
for a large open-plan kitchen, nook and study, removing one
staircase to create a triple-height void with a skylight and
adding an aperture in the sitting room wall – as this party
wall could not be taken down – to ensure a sense of flow.
Conversely, because of restrictions on the project, we were
able to create these peculiar, charming spaces.
MD The rooms had to be liveable and welcoming. I did not
want a show home where people would be afraid to sit down.
I wanted a neutral base that was also warm, and I was clear
that there should be no chrome. I also asked for a mix of
fitted and freestanding furniture.
AR Miranda wanted to retain original features, but she also
wanted strong contemporary elements and to have furniture
from a wide range of periods.
How did you each contribute to the design?
MD I had a lot of my own ideas and I gave Ali and Carolyn
hundreds of pictures that I had cut out of magazines. They
were utterly amazing at finding pieces at auction houses and
antiques shops. We needed a lot of persuasion before buying
some of the items, but Ali and Carolyn were always right.
AR Miranda and her husband were wonderful clients and
there was a great deal of mutual respect involved. We learned
from the experience and, looking back, we have realised that
the constraints of the project forced us to come up with
something far more interesting than we might have done
had we had carte blanche.
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NOOK
‘I wanted somewhere I could relax and have co≠ee
with friends or read and this space (above left),
with its low seating, is ideal,’ says Miranda.
Hay Mags modular sofa, from £805, Utility,
utilitydesign.co.uk. Bespoke polished-plaster
walls, Armourcoat, armourcoat.com.
STUDY
A window and glazed cabinet (above) were added
to what was once the party wall between the two
houses, so that the family could use the spaces
separately but not feel cut o≠ from each other.
Miranda says, ‘I was inspired to use the soft greys
and citrus hues of my inherited rocking chair
(right) as the starting point for the colour scheme.’
Peter Løvig Nielsen mid-century desk,
Twentytwentyone, twentytwentyone.com. Tolomeo
Mega Parete Satin wall lamp, £454.88, Ambiente
Direct, ambientedirect.com. Glazed display cabinet
in Hague Blue estate eggshell, £60 for 2.5L, Farrow
& Ball, farrow-ball.com.
GARDEN
Inspired by a pergola designed by Hay Joung
Hwang for the 2016 RHS Chelsea Flower Show,
Miranda asked her builder to work with garden
designer Virginie Vallée to create a similar
feature. The result is a garden (left) that
complements both the pergola and the house.
Garden design, Virginie Vallée, Square Garden Design,
squaregardendesign.com.
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 MAIN BEDROOM
‘We had to retain the chimney breast,’ Ali says of
this space (right), but we removed the walls on
either side, opening up the room so storage could
be added behind the chimney breast (above).
Curtains in Mohair in Ivoire, £216m, Métaphores
at Abbot + Boyd, abbottandboyd.co.uk. Walls in
Quiet White absolute matt emulsion, £43.20 for 2.5L,
Papers and Paints, papersandpaints.co.uk.

MAIN BATHROOM
The polished plaster shower wall (above left) is
waxed for a fully waterproof finish, while the
cabinetry’s chamfer rim (left) adds an architectural
quality to this understated space.
Coniston freestanding bath, £3,900; Vola 112
wall-mounted mixer, £870, both CP Hart,
cphart.co.uk. Papillon small pendant, £284,
Forestier at Made In Design, madeindesign.co.uk.

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 child’S BEDROOM
‘My daughter was eight when we completed the
work on the house, so I made her room (above left
and left) neutral enough so that she won’t grow
out of it too quickly,’ says Miranda.
Bubble Ball pendant, £420, Modernica at Heal’s,
heals.com. Bird stickers, from £22.50, Wall-Art,
Wall-Art.com. Ludde sheepskin rug, £30, Ikea, ikea.com.

CHILDREN’S BATHROOM
‘This wet room (above) is resilient enough for all
the showers my teenage girls take,’ says Miranda.
The grout was chosen to match the flooring.
Mayfair White tiles, £55sq m, Stone & Ceramic
Warehouse, stoneandceramicwarehouse.co.uk.
Catalano Premium 50 basin, £474,
CP Hart, cphart.co.uk.

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