FIND OUT HOW ONE INTERIOR DESIGNER TURNED THEIR CHELSEA RENTAL INTO A FOREVER HOME

Every tenant knows the frustration of imagining what their home would be like, if only they were allowed to decorate it to their own taste. That feeling is all the more acute for an interior designer. So, when Lehlo Interiors’ Cleme de Grivel Sader got the opportunity to buy the Chelsea townhouse she and her husband had been renting, she jumped at the chance.

As she has three children – aged nine, seven and four – it was the six-storey Victorian building’s consistent bedroom sizes that, for Cleme, put it streets ahead of the other properties they viewed while house hunting. ‘I would always come back to our house,’ she recalls.

But how do you redesign a family home you’ve already been living in? For Cleme, the first task was to reimagine the ground and lower-ground floors to let in as much natural light as possible. ‘I knew how we used the house, the flow and mood I wanted to create,’ she explains.

As she had previously worked with Nash Baker Architects’ design director Ahmed Shawky, he was a natural choice to help with this very personal project. Familiar with the traditional London townhouse layout that isn’t ideal for contemporary family life – narrow, small rooms, low ceilings and split levels that can feel dark and uninviting – he envisaged an ambitious modernisation.

‘The whole house was stripped down to the brickwork and studs,’ he says. ‘Structural interventions included lowering the lower-ground floor to create more headroom, constructing a new basement area and meticulously rebuilding the rear part of the house to enhance its connection with the outdoors. This project, in essence, was a rebirth.’

It’s the last in Ahmed’s list of amends, however, that was perhaps the most dramatic. The new curved bronze-clad extension hugs the back of the house and, says Cleme, ‘adds uniqueness’. She loves the surprise it presents behind the house’s conventional façade. ‘If I can lighten someone’s mood with the unexpected when they walk into my house, then I couldn’t ask for more,’ she adds.

Also offering mood-boosting qualities is the blend of bright colours, textures and prints that characterises this home’s decor. Cleme studied textiles at Central Saint Martins and this, combined with her international background (she has a Mauritian father and French-Spanish mother, and grew up between the US and London), informed the uplifting mix. ‘I care about my origins and I want my children to embrace these cultures, too,’ she adds.

It is perhaps the blend of Ahmed’s inclination towards minimalism and Cleme’s penchant for colour and pattern that is the recipe for this home’s success. It is a project where architecture and interiors, says Ahmed, ‘don’t just coexist but enhance each other, offering uncluttered spaces animated by vibrant furnishings’.

The family moved back in just over a year ago and say the house still feels brand new – yet very familiar. Cleme recalls how, on exchanging contracts, the former owner called to congratulate her. ‘She said,“I know you’ll make changes, but I hold many fond memories of my children growing up here. I hope you do too.” Her words really touched me – I knew I had to make this place my own and create the same for my children.’

After more than 10 years of designing dream homes for her clients, Cleme was finally able to truly express who she is and what she loves.‘It’s bold,’ she admits, ‘maybe not to everyone’s taste, but it echoes who I am.’ lehlointeriors.com, nashbaker.co.uk

2024-05-15T13:19:09Z dg43tfdfdgfd