The heat wave we’ve been experiencing for the past few weeks finally lifted this morning! With windows wide open and fresh air wafting through the house, I thought today would be the perfect day to feature a designer who personifies the phrase, a breath of fresh air! London based designer Rose Uniacke is the talent and visionary behind this light, airy and artful masterpiece…built in 1861, in the Georgian Revival style by society portraitist James Rannie Swinton, the 14,000-square-foot Victorian manse is her most exciting and personal project to date…when Uniacke and her husband David Heyman (film producer of the Harry Potter series) bought the property in 2007, it was in bad disrepair and needed a complete restoration…her first grand gesture, pictured below, involved rebuilding and installing a 12-ton stone cantilevered staircase just as the house’s original architect had intended…pictured above is the original ballroom, now re-imagined as their study and furnished with a 17th century Mughal rug, an octagonol Regency partners desk and a Sigmar Polke painting…by keeping the palette simple, pale walls and unfinished wood floors, but with luxurious and thoughtful touches, Fortuny fabrics and a lava stone indoor pool, she strikes a perfect balance between the past and present…a historic home brilliantly conceived for 21st century living…now that’s a breath of fresh air!
Wishing you a lovely weekend!
“If the space is properly balanced, then the rooms can be simply furnished and allowed to breathe.” ~ Rose Uniacke, T Magazine
photos from Rose Uniacke and T Magazine
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