Claudia Kalur may live and work in Litchfield County (her firm, CFK Interiors, is based in Washington Depot), but she is an Anglophile at heart. So, when the designer’s longtime clients asked her to take on a project in London’s Marylebone neighborhood, she jumped at the opportunity. “I know the English interiors industry in the UK very well,” she says. “It was very seamless for me.”
This was her third project for these clients who also have homes in New York, Paris and Litchfield. For their London property—a two-bedroom pied-à-terre—the couple had a clear vision. They wanted a comfortable home for their family of four, as well as a place to entertain. They wanted the interiors to be chic and sophisticated, but still warm and inviting. Most importantly, they were anxious to return the flat to its Georgian roots.
Dating from the early 1800s, the original townhome had been one of many fronting a treelined square. It was turned into four separate apartments in the 1950s. “The same couple had owned it until my clients bought it in 2018. It was in pristine condition but there were a lot of funky elements,” Kalur says. “Like the kitchen cabinets, which were 50 shades of sheen.” Initially, plans called for a renovation but “the deeper we got into the project, we realized we needed to take it down to the studs.” In the process, they moved walls, added walls, created a new bathroom, built much-needed storage space in the primary bedroom, and carved out a small office off the dining area. They also crafted period-appropriate moldings, baseboard trim and radiator covers throughout.
For the floors, Kalur sourced reclaimed 200-year-old white oak from an estate in France. She also used Fired Earth black and white tiles in a checkerboard pattern for the kitchen and foyer, “which is a very Georgian thing,” she says. New glass French doors with a fanlight above helped brighten the space from the entrance hall to the living room. The designer incorporated a neutral palette using Farrow & Ball’s Ammonite on the walls and Wevet for the doors, trim and moldings. “We wanted the color to feel warm and embracing,” she says. The one exception is the powder room done in Farrow & Ball’s Green Smoke. “It’s like a little emerald jewel. People see it and they gasp.”
A new Hay sofa from TwentyTwentyOne is dressed in a marine blue velvet from Kirkby Design and vintage Venetian velvet throw pillows from the Paris antique market. The 1960s Swedish chandelier is from a gallery in Amsterdam, while the mid-century glass coffee table, white peacock and 1940s magazine rack were bought at auction. Mustard cotton velvet drapes are through Rose Uniacke, and the framed print is by Tracey Emin.
The fireplace mantel is original to the house; the antiques are from the homeowners’ personal collection. The designer found the circa 1825 mirror in an antiques shop in the Cotswolds.
A 1950s Danish chandelier by Vilhelm Lauritzen for Louis Poulsen centers above a 1960s Danish rosewood dining table and chairs. The Plain English Design banquette is finished in a Schumacher velvet and topped with silk pillows from Oka. The vintage rug is through Lilla Rugs.
The cabinets, counters, fittings, hardware and yellow stools are through Plain English Design. The brass and black pendants are through Bert Frank.
The antique clock was bought at auction in Edinburgh.
The powder room pops in Green Smoke by Farrow & Ball. A Biedermeier mirror from an antiques shop in Austria hangs above a sink, faucet and shelf from Drummonds.
Schumacher velvet curtains dress the windows in the primary bedroom, and the window bench is covered in a Perennials velvet.
Velvet plays a starring role, as does the color blue—the couple’s favorite. “The rooms have very tall ceilings, which we loved but made everything feel a little cold and echoey. So we went with something warm and heavy for the windows,” Kalur says. The mustard-yellow drapes in the living room are by a young English designer, Rose Uniacke. In the primary bedroom, the windows are dressed in a navy-blue velvet from Schumacher. Unlacquered brass, wood and leather help ground the space throughout.
When it came time to furnish the flat, the homeowners were keen to use as many vintage and antique pieces as possible. To achieve their goal, Kalur and the wife spent a lot of time on Zoom and What’s App, trading pictures they’d seen at auction and online. “A lot of the stuff she found, I found, we found together,” says Kalur. Among the key finds were the mid-century Swedish chandelier in the dining room, the tall antique bookcase in the living room, and the 1850s grandfather clock in the kitchen. The white peacock—which dates from the late 1800s—is a prized possession that the client bought at auction in Paris.
“I love the idea that she does this in all her houses, to reuse as much as possible, and not buy new unless we really have to,” notes Kalur. “There’s a story behind everything in the house. And she loves that and I love that too, which is what made this project really fantastic.”
