Unique London Home

This unique, immaculately decorated house was designed by its owner, the antique dealer and interior designer Rose Uniacke, who defined the decor theme as “monastery meets Venetian palazzo”. The house was built a long time ago with impressive proportions and a few incarnations later it was reinterpreted as a generous family house from the 21st century, but which also blurs the boundaries between stage and sanctuary, professional and private life.

The house opens into an almost stately hallway: a stone staircase, a fireplace, a work by Carl Andre that poses as a carpet.

Tangles of leaves rise to exposed wooden beams, and an invisible door is painted to match the brickwork. Another door leads into a fire-lit drawing room furnished with Uniacke’s own curvy couches and chairs upholstered with Whistler-esque subtlety in a rich palette of stone-colored monochromes offset by cream-colored walls and anchored to a black-lacquered piano. On the wall, a Gerhard Richter painting of a chandelier is reflected in the ceiling lamp. The effect is frugal, exuberant, and deeply seductive – an otherworldly environment in which contradictions thrive: austere and atmospheric; raw and luxurious; great and intimate; strict and relaxed.

My favorite place here is the dining room. Rustic reclaimed wood floors look cool with stucco and tapestry, and I love an window over the fireplace instead of a traditional mantelpiece. There’s a vintage mirror and an oversized piece of art. There’s a mid-century modern coffee table and a shabby rustic one, and a big vintage glamor chandelier is a focal point – I like the way the owner managed to mix such different things in one room!

The common decor is simplicity and strength, natural materials, muted colors, warm textures and good craftsmanship. The owner has created a beautiful and delicate room, she mixed old and new and she has such a keen eye for antiques – you can see that in every photo! Get more of those lovely rooms below!