A Victorian terrace in London with the layered, comfortable feel of a country house
After ten years living in a charming two-bedroom former workmen's cottage in Kensal Rise, the time had come for Charlotte Boundy to move on. It wasn’t that she had gone off the house or wanted to try a new area, but the interior designer in her was hankering for a project all of her own. ‘There is always compromise when you work on clients' houses and I relished having a completely free hand,’ explains Charlotte, who launched her eponymous design studio in 2016 after 15 years working in creative project management for the likes of Christie’s and Rose Uniacke. ‘I’d built up a few dream moodboards and was just desperate to put them to good use,’ she admits, laughing.
The hunt began and Charlotte found just the ticket: a three-bedroom Victorian terrace on a lovely, quiet road in Shepherd’s Bush, with a double living room, an already extended eat-in kitchen, original pine shutters framing the doorway that now leads down into the kitchen, and enough bedrooms upstairs for one to become her office. ‘I was outgrowing my previous house and I knew this would give me the space I needed to work from home,’ explains Charlotte, who bought the house two years ago. ‘Although it isn’t a huge house, I loved that it still felt generous.’ Best of all though was its white walls, which were just crying out for layers to be added. ‘It excited me because it was a brilliant blank canvas,’ says Charlotte.
Although the moodboards kept growing, Charlotte decided to live in the house for a good six months before starting work on it. ‘I wanted to figure out how I would use the house,’ Charlotte explains. First up was the conversion of the modest third bedroom – used, in fact, by the previous owners as a walk-in-wardrobe – into Charlotte’s office: a window was added on the back wall overlooking the garden, a half-glazed door was installed and a cupboard was fitted in the corner and painted, like the rest of the woodwork in the room, in ‘Reddish Brown’ by Farrow & Ball. ‘It’s such a great colour that I could have slathered it throughout the house,’ says Charlotte, whose approach to decorating is all about bringing warmth and colour into spaces. Next up was onto the dinky bathroom, which Charlotte meticulously rejigged to make the most of the small footprint. ‘It doesn’t bother me that it’s so tiny, because it has exactly what I need,’ she says of the pink and white space, which features a wall of zellige tiles, a pretty Pierre Frey shower curtain and a neat ‘La Chapelle’ sink from Lefroy Brooks.
The decoration of the house all started from the chocolate box of a guest bedroom, where Charlotte had the walls papered in a pretty floral paper – ‘Bengali’ by Braquenié – and finished with a neat red trim that runs around the top of the walls. ‘I’d already fallen in love with this wallpaper and knew I wanted to use it in the house,’ explains Charlotte, who tempered its prettiness with a George III chest of drawers and a delicious burgundy velvet headboard. For Charlotte’s own bedroom – a generously sized room that runs across the width of the front of the house – she indulged her four-poster bed fantasies with a more modest half tester and a headboard from Ensemblier, which are now adorned with more pretty florals from Nicholas Herbert, along with a ticking from The Cloth Shop. It is a wonderfully restful space, with walls in Farrow & Ball’s ‘Setting Plaster’ and a simple fireplace, the surround of which Charlotte had painted in the same colour. Underfoot, Charlotte opted for sisal, which she has also used for the guest bedroom, her office, the landing and the stairs.
With the upstairs transformed, Charlotte turned her attention next to downstairs. The layout worked well with a little enclosed porch, smartened up by Charlotte with tongue and groove panelling, leading onto the double living room and then down into the kitchen at the back that opens out onto the garden through bifold doors. Previously, there had been two entrances to the kitchen, but Charlotte removed the one under the stairs to carve out space instead for a matchbox of a downstairs loo. Now the kitchen is reached through the shutter-clad double doors, which lead off from the rear of the living room and were already there. ‘Sometimes this space in double living rooms can feel like a bit of a no-man’s land, but I love that it offers breathing space,’ explains Charlotte, who has decorated the space with a carpet from Robert Stephenson, an 18th-century Aubusson verdure tapestry and a corner cupboard from Ron Green. ‘It wasn’t about covering every inch of the floor with furniture,’ she explains.
Down in the kitchen, Charlotte swapped tired Ikea units for British Standard cabinets, painted in a combination of ‘Brunswick Green’ and ‘Lilac Pink’ by Edward Bulmer. ‘I really wanted the kitchen to be quite traditional and feel like something in the countryside,’ she says, pointing out the tongue and groove lined walls. Opposite the units, a Victorian pine dresser – one of the first pieces Charlotte bought when she moved in – plays host to her ever growing ceramics collection and adds to the layered, country feel, as do the salvaged pine floorboards, which run throughout the whole of the downstairs.
The double living room required very little intervention, other than for Charlotte to layer up the space. Fitted bookshelves – after a little tweaking and remodelling – remained, but Charlotte traded out an oversized pine fire surround for a beautiful Portland stone one from Jamb. She had the space painted in Farrow & Ball’s ‘Joa’s White’, which now provides a pleasingly calm backdrop to a pair of deep sofas (one of which is from Lorfords and was an incredibly lucky win in a charity auction for the NHS during the pandemic) , a seagrass rug and Charlotte’s collection of books and art. ‘Since the living room is open plan and flows into the stairs, I wanted a colour that could work throughout the house and also something that would immediately establish the tone of an old, period house,’ says Charlotte. ‘I know it won’t jar or date.’
Charlotte admits that she can’t help ‘constantly tweaking’. Hopefully she’ll be sustained by her current interior design projects for clients, which include a 19th-century house in Oxford, a Grade II-Listed farmhouse in East Sussex and a Victorian terrace in Battersea, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s already craving another project for herself. ‘It’s been a real labour of love,’ she says.
Charlotte Boundry is a member of The List by House & Garden, our essential directory of design professionals. Visit The List by House & Garden here.
Mark Anthony Fox1/18Charlotte had the half-glazed door between the porch and living room made by a carpenter. Underfoot, reclaimed pine floorboards, sourced from Lassco, run throughout the entire downstairs of the house. A pair of wall lights are fitted with hand-painted shades by Gavin Houghton.
Mark Anthony Fox2/18Charlotte’s dog, Pig, on an Arlo & Jacob sofa in the sitting room, which is upholstered in Lewis & Wood’s ‘Nantes’ fabric.
Mark Anthony Fox3/18At the back of the double living room, steps lead down into the kitchen. Charlotte wanted this space to function as a hallway, so it is sparingly decorated with a George III corner cupboard from Ron Green, a George III octagonal tripod table from Robert Kime and an 18th century Aubusson verdure tapestry from Joshua Lumley. A rug from Robert Stephenson brings pattern to the space.
Mark Anthony Fox4/18The British Standard kitchen is painted in two tones – Edward Bulmer’s ‘Brunswick Green’ and ‘Lilac Pink’, which is one of Charlotte’s favourite pinks.
Mark Anthony Fox5/18Pig, Charlotte’s whippet, standing in front of the Victorian dresser, which plays host to her collection of ceramics, including pieces by James Burnett-Stuart and folk pottery. ‘I’m a pottery hoarder,’ Charlotte admits. Hanging above a cane-seated ladder back chair is a painting by Charlotte’s mother.
Mark Anthony Fox6/18Charlotte’s pretty garden, which is accessed from the kitchen.
Mark Anthony Fox7/18Downstairs in the rear part of the double living area, with an 18th century Aubusson Verdure tapestry. The walls are painted in ‘Joa’s White’ and the woodwork is in ‘London Stone’, both by Farrow & Ball.
Mark Anthony Fox8/18Charlotte had a dinky third bedroom made into her office, adding a window and painting the woodwork in Farrow & Ball’s ‘Reddish Brown’ in gloss. The blind is made up from Christopher Moore’s ‘Persian Trail’ hand-printed linen, while the little curtain underneath the desk is from The Cloth Shop.
Mark Anthony Fox9/18In Charlotte’s study, pretty wall lights from Dowsing Reynolds are topped with pin sewn, garnet pink shades from Rosi de Ruig.
Mark Anthony Fox10/18Charlotte meticulously planned the bathroom to make the most of the space. The shower curtain is made from Pierre Frey’s ‘Manosque’ in poudre with a waterproof backing. An antique wall cabinet provides storage, while the shower is from Water Monopoly.
Mark Anthony Fox11/18The ‘La Chapelle’ sink from Lefroy Brooks works well in the modestly proportioned bathroom. The wall lights are Howe’s ‘Swan’ sconce, with shades made from antique fabric and trim from Georgina Grose.
Mark Anthony Fox12/18Charlotte’s bedroom is a confection of pretty fabrics, set against walls in Farrow & Ball’s ‘Setting Plaster’. The ‘Waldorf’ headboard – made by Ensemblier London in collaboration with Joanna Plant Interiors – is upholstered in ‘Kaveri’ by Nicholas Herbert, as is the half-tester bed canopy. A hand-dyed antique linen bedspread from No.1 Lewis adorns the bed, along with an English hexagon patchwork quilt from The Antique Quilt Company.
Mark Anthony Fox13/18Charlotte added the wooden fire surround, painting it in the same colour that is on the walls – Farrow & Ball’s ‘Setting Plaster’. An antique chest of drawers, sourced from Doe and Hope, fills one of the alcoves. Above the fireplace hang a couple of embroidery pictures, which Charlotte made from kits from The Fabled Thread.
Mark Anthony Fox14/18The Italian alabaster ceiling light, just glimpsed in the mirror, is from the 1920s and was sourced from Carlton Davidson.
Mark Anthony Fox15/18A row of wardrobes line one of the walls in Charlotte’s bedroom and are painted in ‘Birds Nest’ by Atelier Ellis. The curtains are made up from ‘Bhavani’ by Nicholas Herbert, with a cranberry trim from The Cloth Shop.
Mark Anthony Fox16/18The woodwork in the spare bedroom is painted in ‘Lute’ by Edward Bulmer, which picks up the ground colour of the wallpaper nicely. ‘Manston’ wall sconces from Dowsing & Reynolds frame the bed, with ‘Papyrus’ shades from Robert Kime.
Mark Anthony Fox17/18A little desk sits in the corner of the spare bedroom, alongside curtains made up from Helen Blanche’s ‘Moire Stripe’ in plum.
Mark Anthony Fox18/18The view onto the landing from the spare bedroom, with a table that Charlotte found on eBay years ago and a Matisse print hanging above. The bobbin lamp is by Alfred Newall, with a hand-painted shade by his wife, Tess Newall.
