A Georgian flat in Marylebone layered with sophistication and warmth by Anna Haines
How flattering it is for a designer when a prospective client spots one of their projects in a magazine and enlists their services on that basis? Even more flattering is when the featured project is the designer’s own home, as was the case for designer Anna Haines who was discovered by the owners of this Marylebone flat after they saw her west London house in House & Garden. ‘They brought us on board to bring colour and warmth into the flat,’ says Anna of the project, which is spread across three floors of a Georgian building in Marylebone. ‘It had been basically renovated in 2014 and was all white walls.’ It is not surprising why Anna appealed to the clients: her look is layered and elegant – a style she describes as ‘classically curated’ – and she has an excellent eye for colour and textiles. Crucially, she also creates rooms that feel as good as they look.
The owners live mainly in Edinburgh, but bought this flat in 2022 as a place to stay when they came to London to visit their 20-year-old children. ‘They wanted it to feel classic, without it being a museum,’ explains Anna. ‘Their brief to us was ‘Georgian-light’, so we’ve tried to strike a balance between heavier antique pieces of furniture and fresher elements,’ she adds.
First up it was a case of getting to grips with what was there. ‘The clients always knew they wanted to rip out the rather clinical bathrooms and kitchen, but we kept some elements, including the grey wooden floors, which we managed to re-stain in a lovely nutty oak colour,’ explains Anna. ‘That ended up being a massive budget saving.’ So too did keeping the fireplace in the living area, which, although not remarkable, worked perfectly well in the space. The layout stayed the same, with the living area and separate kitchen on the first floor (along with a sweet terrace that overlooks the wonderful gardens below) and the three bedrooms and bathrooms spread across the upper two floors. Cornices and deep skirting boards were added throughout to give each room a bit of gravitas, and half-height panelling was added in the stairway and living and dining area. ‘It creates depth, and we dropped it in height so that it was proportional to the room and didn’t feel overbearing,’ explains Anna. ‘The clients live in a typical high-ceilinged Georgian house in Edinburgh, but the rooms here are all quite modest in size so we worked with that,’ she adds.
Equally, when it came to furniture and repurposing pieces from their Edinburgh house, Anna was careful to make sure the space didn’t feel swamped. A few choice pieces of Georgian furniture were chosen; a bureau for one side of the fireplace in the living area, which already belonged to the clients, and a modestly proportioned 1790s potboard dresser for the other side, which Anna sourced from S&S Timms Antiques. Similarly, the colour palette took its lead from what Anna terms the ‘Georgian-light’ brief – a soft muddy green for the hallways, a peachy pink for the main bedroom and Atelier Ellis’s rich ‘Double Smoked Green Blue’ for the living area. ‘That colour really lets the artwork on the walls sing,’ says Anna of the living and dining area. ‘We wanted to use colours throughout that had a certain density and richness to them.’
The kitchen, by contrast, is a more monochrome affair, designed to provide something of a foil to the more Georgian elements. Anna opted for deVol’s clean-lined ‘Sebastian Cox Kitchen’, featuring stained blue-black ash doors and marble worktops, which she paired with white walls – ‘Bright Star’ by Atelier Ellis. ‘I love how it feels fresh and a little more contemporary than the rest of the flat,’ says Anna. The bathrooms, while a little more colourful, have a similarly streamlined feel – the ensuite to the main bedroom is all matchboarded soft white walls with a bespoke vanity unit in a distressed green, while the other ensuite is also white walls with the shower lined in prettily patterned rose and mauve tiles from Bert & May.
Very often patterned textiles provided the starting point for rooms. An antique Persian rug, sourced from Farnham Antique Carpets, kick-started the the living area, with its colours picked up in the blind (Soane’s ‘Qajar Stripe’ design), the bespoke charcoal scroll arm sofa and the blue and white check ottoman, upholstered in ‘Oscar’ by Octavia Dickinson. An antique Suzani, which Anna had stashed away some time ago and is draped over the back of the sofa, also picks up the colours of the rug perfectly. ‘I love the palette of blues, greens and reds in this room’ explains Anna. Similarly, the soothing tones of the main bedroom take their lead from antique rug, which Anna also sourced from Farnham Antique Carpets. ‘It’s quite a full on pattern, but the colours are so wonderful,’ explains Anna, who combined it with curtains in Penny Morrison’s pretty ‘Vine Flowers’ floral, a headboard in Claremont’s ‘Matelas de Laine’, and a lovely ‘Jasper Burgundy’ long bed cushion from Trove. ‘Our aim was to bring in lots of texture to give these small rooms warmth and depth,’ explains Anna.
Just as the finished result is beautiful and rich, the collaboration between Anna and the clients proved a happy and fruitful one, with trips to antique fairs and a back and forth flurry of messages when the clients found pieces they liked in Edinburgh. Like a few pieces in the flat, the marble table in the kitchen came from Battersea’s Decorative Fair when they all visited together. ‘The client popped off for a bit and came back with the table, which is just perfect for the space,’ recalls Anna. ‘It was a wonderful, collaborative experience doing the flat with them.’ It seems the clients got rather more than a flat that looks pretty in a magazine.
Paul Whitbread1/13The living area is painted in Atelier Ellis's ‘Double Smoked Green Blue’ – a colour, Anna says, that provides a beautiful backdrop to a selection of artwork. The scroll arm sofa is a bespoke design by Anna, upholstered in GP&J Baker's ‘Baker House Linen' in the charcoal colourway.
Paul Whitbread2/13An 18th century bow-fronted lacquered corner cupboard from Salisbury Antiques provides interest in an otherwise dark corner. The ottoman is a bespoke design by Anna, upholstered in Octavia Dickinson's ‘Oscar’ fabric. The table lamp is from Retrouvius, while the shade is the ‘14inch Cream Cotton Gathered Lampshade’ from Nushka Home.
Paul Whitbread3/13An armchair from Robert Kime is upholstered in their ‘Tynemouth Ticking’ design in eucalyptus, while the bureau already belonged to the clients.
Paul Whitbread4/13An antique Mahal Persian carpet, sourced from Farnham Antique Carpets, provided the starting point for the living area. Its colours are picked up by the blinds, which are made from Soane Britain's ‘Qajari Stripe’.
Paul Whitbread5/13The living area flows into the dining area, which features an 18th century a small potboard dresser that works perfectly with the proportions of the space. The dining table and chairs were sourced by the client, with the chairs upholstered in Claremont's ‘Sibton’ in the forest colourway.
Paul Whitbread6/13deVol's ‘Sebastian Cox Kitchen’ provides a contemporary contrast to the more Georgian elements of the space. The marble table was sourced from Battersea's Decorative Fair, while the chairs already belonged to the clients. The walls are painted in Atelier Ellis's ‘Bright Star'.
Paul Whitbread7/13The hallway is painted in Atelier Ellis's ‘Canopy’ while the stairs and spindles are in ‘Piha Green’ from the same brand. The runner is ‘Peacock Coir’ from Peter Page.
Paul Whitbread8/13The walls of the main bedroom are painted in Paint & Paper Library's ‘Desert Rose', while the headboard is upholstered in Claremont's ‘Matelas de Laine’ in aubergine. The green bed throw is a Kantha quilt, which Anna sourced from Chelsea Textiles Fair.
Paul Whitbread9/13In the main bedroom, the curtains are made from Penny Morrison's ‘Vine Flowers'.
Paul Whitbread10/13The ensuite for the main bedroom is painted in Atelier Ellis's ‘Khadi’. The vanity unit was made bespoke, with a distressed paint effect in Atelier Ellis's ‘Canopy’ and a ‘Kube X’ basin.
Paul Whitbread11/13In the guest bedroom, the walls are also painted in ‘Khadi’ by Atelier Ellis, with blinds in Vanderhurd's ‘Delphine’ in terracotta.
Paul Whitbread12/13The headboard in the guest bedroom is upholstered in Vanderhurd's ‘Linework’ in teracotta, while throw is a Hungarian blanket that Anna sourced from an antique textiles fair.
Paul Whitbread13/13In the ensuite guest bathroom, the shower is lined in Bert & May's ‘Carmona Marron’ tiles, which ties in with the purple glazed rectangular tiles behind the washbasin that are also from Bert & May. The 1950s brass Italian mirror is from B&T Antiques, while the light above is the ‘Lucia L Bracket Wall Light' from Hector Finch.
