Project: Elegant Family Abode
Interior Design: Yoko Kloeden Design
Location: London, United Kingdom
Completion date: 2020
Building levels 4
Photo Credits: Brent Darby
Centring the design scheme around the client’s contemporary art collection, Yoko Kloeden Design transformed a dated Victorian townhouse into an elegant family abode, set in the heart of Wandsworth, London.
Comprising a ground floor refurbishment, the team viewed significant artworks as design muses and developed each room around each piece – taking inspiration from the colours and textural elements while ensuring the overall space accentuated the art’s beauty.
The result is a distinguished family home that reflects the clients’ lifestyle and colourful taste, while still maintaining a calm and comfortable setting where nothing is too precious to touch.
What was the brief?
With ‘child-proofing’ no longer on the agenda, Yoko Kloeden Design created an elegant and unique home design scheme to reflect the Wandsworth clients’ refined taste, while accommodating to their now grown-up family.
Embarking on a complete ground floor refurbishment, the brief was to improve the kitchen extension including all new furniture and furnishings, while establishing a better connection with the garden.
For the front half of the house, the ambition was to give a purpose to the under-utilised middle room, create built-in furniture and furnish all the rooms to reflect the client’s vibrant lifestyle and aesthetics.
What was the design inspiration behind the project?
The client’s art pieces were at the forefront of each design; each seen as design muses used to develop each room’s colour scheme – ensuring to complement and highlight their beauty.
As an example, the colour palette for the living room was deciphered by selecting tones from a pair of Scottish seascape paintings. The striking artwork consisted of various shades of blue from the sea, and vibrant green taken from the moss on the rocks.
The colour palette of navy blue and burnt orange was identified early on by the clients as their favourite tones – demonstrated in the hallway design as well as the dining, family area where the statement art piece by Wimbledon-based artist Henrietta Stuart is accentuated and brought to life.
What was the concept behind the Library?
Ahead of the refurbishment, the middle room of the house was an unused, lifeless space in desperate need of reviving. After exploring various options, Yoko suggested turning the area into a library for this book loving client – a TV-free space to relax after a busy day at work.
To accommodate for their large book collection, Yoko’s team designed bespoke bookcases of different depths to fit a wide range of book sizes. Connected to the front living room, the colour palette in the library is evocative of its parallel space; with similar tones and textures sustained throughout.
What was the concept behind the Kitchen?
The original kitchen was dated and disconnected from the rest of this family space, while the island was a little too large. The solution was for Yoko’s team to design a rejuvenated kitchen area, again incorporating the client’s favourite colours of navy and burnt orange.
Clean lines were used to balance the contemporary art and furniture pieces, while naturally sourced materials – such as tactile hand-glazed terracotta tiles and Belgium limestone worktops – add the warmth and imperfection found in nature.
What was the concept behind the Dining & Family room?
The dining and family areas were intentionally carved out to ensure the client’s children have their own space and the adults have theirs. The dining area was kept minimal, accentuated by statement pieces such as the beautiful live edge table and cane back dining chairs, chosen to keep the space light and airy while keeping a connection with the garden. Within the family area portion of the room, a bespoke media unit was carefully designed to conceal audio visual equipment and household knick-knacks, while beautifully displaying the client’s collection of ceramics.
How was the connection between the inside & outside improved?
Despite the tranquil garden space, the original timber patio doors were bulky and fussy so that the outside area was concealed. The solution was to keep the bi-folding opening but remove all architraves and sills to install frameless glass doors.
A seamless transition to outside was created by keeping the paving flush with interior floors, so that the inside and outside of the home feel intrinsically linked. In addition to this, the outdoor patio was re-designed to accommodate a small lounge area perfect for entertaining outside.
