A Look Around This Contemporary Family Home
The Property
This Leinster Square townhouse has a stucco front dating back to 1850. The façade was retained and restored, but the building behind is essentially new. Banda Property, the company behind the design and development, reinstated the original Victorian cornicing and mouldings, and replicated original features throughout. Behind the façade, the three-storey townhouse has been transformed for contemporary family living, with organic textures and raw materials offering an immediate sense of calm.
The Brief
The three-bedroom property demanded a diversion from the more neutral palettes associated with Banda. Instead, it’s bursting with colour, pattern and earthy tones – yet retains the brand's signature use of natural materials and texture. It’s filled with shades of terracotta, burnt bronzes, navy, mustards, yellows and army greens, accompanied by a mix of bold patterns and more classical ticking stripes. The subtle zoning within the space lends itself well to modern family living and shows how, with the right design, a home can be a place to work, play and relax.
Entrance Hall
On entering the property, you’re greeted by a blend of warm colour tones. The walls of the entrance hall are painted in Farrow & Ball Shadow White, the perfect backdrop for a mix of antique, bespoke and more contemporary pieces. On the left of the entrance hall there is a French Louis XVI mahogany marble top commode layered with vintage mirrors, and on the ceiling there are vintage-style pendant lights.
Dining Room
The dining room is painted in Paint & Paper Library Masai with a statement central oval ‘melting pod’ dining table by Dirk Van der Kooij. Set around it are elegant dining chairs handmade in Brazil, sourced via The Invisible Collection and upholstered in a green suede. The Studio Synpase Pendant is from New York atelier Apparatus. Striking artwork by Alina Vergnano called 'Impatience' completes the space.
Library Office
The dining area leads through to a library with full height, in-built cabinetry and a burr walnut veneer desk with Italian fluted walnut panels. The desk chair is a Ward Bennett cane lounge chair, which sits underneath a framed artwork piece by Alexi Tsioris. Pops of terracotta come through in the fabrics. Two armchairs in the library are upholstered in a lively Dedar jacquard fabric, ‘Be Bop A Lula’ in ‘Terra Di Siena’, featuring kick pleat skirts with striking piping. This textural fabric nods to the shirt-making industry and energy-packed world of music. In the library, alabaster Eclipse wall sconces and the Monoscope chandelier were all sourced from Long Island studio Allied Maker. Each piece is hand-crafted in Allied Maker’s workshop in collaboration with the best New York artisans.
Garden Room
To the rear of the library there’s a garden room (with a vast skylight) overlooking the rear garden and terrace. This room is decorated in Paint & Paper Library 'Blue Vein' with fabric bench seating upholstered in Kirkby Design ‘Wedgewood’ blue. Kirkby is best known for its ultra-contemporary progressive colour combinations. The fabric is complemented by a Samuel & Sons Édelie linen tassel skirt. There is a bespoke Mappa oak burl desk designed by Banda, and a vintage Roosevelt desk chair, upholstered in a thick sheepskin fabric. The blue is lifted through the use of wicker storage baskets and vintage toys (sourced via flea markets) and brass Boston library wall lights.
Kitchen & Living Area
To the right of the hallway is the large open-plan kitchen living area. The statement Obumex 'Joseph Dirand' kitchen with a cantilevered island in Calacatta Oro marble acts as a dramatic centrepiece. The lower part of the island is set up as a breakfast table, surrounded by wooden vintage dining chairs. The striking Voyager pendant is also from Allied Maker – light flows from two angular openings cut into a cylindrical brass shade and a milled 13-inch slot reveals a peak of light from the top. The units are finished with antique bronze mirrors to complement the lower dark bronze cupboards.
There is also a giant antique French pine country kitchen dresser cabinet dating back to the 19th century. To the rear of the open-plan kitchen is a Sennen curved sofa from Sedilia in a cotton velvet moss fabric contrasting with a strong tiger print with walnut feet. Alongside sits a bespoke armchair and solid walnut table made by Banda. These pieces all sit on top of a Snake and Pomegranate Christopher Farr rug. The brass floor lamp is vintage, and the pendant light is a plaster piece from Nicky Haslam. Next to the reclaimed oak shelving hangs an artwork piece by Simone Polk.
The Snug
The snug includes a corner sofa in a striped classical Ian Mankin cotton ticking, and an ivory Sacco rug underfoot. There is a bespoke walnut burl side table and custom-built joinery with bianco verde marble shelving and a wall hung television. The Murano swirl glass pendant from Italy dates back to 1968, and was sourced via 1st Dibbs. The Tomo Campbell artwork 'Nudge Nudge Wink Wink' from the Cob Gallery is particularly striking.
Main Bedroom
The powder-blue main bedroom features a super-king bed with a custom scallop-edged pelmet tester with drapery in a soft wool fabric. The headboard is upholstered in a blue mohair fabric. Either side, there are retro 1940s Italian nightstands which have been painted in Paint & Paper Library ‘Blue Vein’. There is also an antique English walnut dressing table which features a leather top and gold tooling, complemented by the small fringe club chair by Italy's Dimore Milano in a custom wool fabric. The bedroom lighting includes Montreuil small wall sconces in gild with linen shades and a Garnier & Linker alabaster custom pendant with brown veins and brass metal details. There is an en-suite bathroom with marble which has a double vanity unit flanked with Square in Circle antique brass lighting.
Guest Bedroom
The second bedroom is decorated in warm, moody terracotta tones using Paint & Paper Library 'Rouge II' on the walls. The bespoke headboard is upholstered in Helene Blanche fabric and is accompanied by bespoke fluted bedside tables made from oak burl and oak veneer, set on a plinth for a floating look, designed by Banda. The dressing table is the Kuvaa, a Rosa Levanto marble piece from the Banda ‘Kwanza' furniture collection, with a blush wool rug underfoot. The central pendant light is from Gallery L7, and is finished in antique brass.
Children’s Room
There is a savanna-palm tree-safari print wallpaper from Creative Lab Amsterdam, complemented by the contrasting pea green door and skirting paint colour. The eye is drawn to the statement cream Peonia armchair upholstered in a bouclé fabric with cream bobble legs from The Invisible Collection. There is a natural white centrepiece Christie pendant, made from exquisitely hand-crafted bone china – the shape of the shade is inspired by ocean waves. Alongside it sits a terracotta petite fluted bamboo-style double chest of drawers, with antique brass drop handles, inspired by the legendary island of Avalon – the furniture collection was designed with a modern and tropical vibe in Trove's Notting Hill studio and handmade in Bali. Banda designed the handmade navy bobbin-style bed frame and bedside tables which have been painted in Paint & Paper Library ‘Kigali'.
Cinema Room
The lower-level cinema room is a generous size with solid wood flooring underfoot and an oversized u-shape bespoke cinema sofa upholstered in an Altfield velvet with fringing from Samuel & Sons. The walls are covered in an amaretto suede and includes curved brass Aperture sconces with hand-bent tube arcs from Allied Maker. The rug is a thin spun regular mohair and barley mohair wool design from Coral & Hive. There is also a bar and separate wine storage area with specialist fridges. Striking artwork – a piece titled ‘We Must Be Careful’ from The Connor Brothers in acrylic and oil – adorns the wall, along with black and white photography by David Yarrow.
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