Inside Butter Wakefield's ever-evolving west London house

With her latest wave of tweaks and redesigns, Butter wanted to ensure that the house worked just as well for her and her dog Wafer when they are there alone as it would for her family (four grown-up children and their own offspring) when they are home. The layout, in fact, already facilitates this: like an opening and closing flower, the house is comforting for Butter’s solo life and work, but equally fit for entertaining and hosting. It helps that there is a distinct living room on the first floor, while the kitchen and conservatory are on the ground floor. “The house is very seasonal, so I’ll move with it,” she explains. “In the winter months, I love shutting myself in by the real log fire in one end of the sitting room. But in the summer I’ll migrate into the conservatory and kitchen, which are west-facing, and bathed in beautiful afternoon light. In those months you’ll always find me there with the doors open and the sunshine flooding in through the shade of the big magnolia in the garden.”

Butter has a patient approach to design and an affinity for slow decorating which is evident in the wonderfully layered interiors. She is constantly adding to her art collection, and clever gallery walls mean she can add and shift pieces as desired. Reupholstering also helps her regularly revamp. The armchairs in the back sitting room have been the subject of a recent tweak, and are now covered in a joyful combination of turquoise velvet and a floral print from Manuel Canovas. “It’s all the found objects that make a house a home,” she says. “Every room tells a little story or two, so having more time to collect and scavenge is never going to be a bad thing. The house is never truly ‘done’." She’s also a firm believer that beautiful things come to those who wait; having only just got around to redecorating the family bathroom, she appreciates its transformation into an art-filled and feminine space even more.

In the back sitting room, which leads onto the conservatory, the central green ottoman is upholstered in Jen Johnson for Tissus d’Helene ‘Jewel’ in Sapphire. The little red chair was a gift from Joanna Plant, recovered in a bold dark orange velvet and the blue armchair is ‘Kazan Prairie’ in Blue by Manuel Canovas.

Simon Brown

Another tweak has come with the introduction of orange into her distinctive colour schemes. “Orange is a colour that I've slowly gotten to grips with over the years. I started with painting the inside of the bookshelves ‘Charlotte's Locks’ by Farrow & Ball, and gradually added more fiery details.” This included the small chair inherited from friend and designer Joanna Plant and reupholstered in orange velvet, the orange lamp bases and the vibrant strip of tangerine ribbon added to the lampshades by Angela Constantinou from Cocoon Home. But at the same time Butter decided to “really maximise the monochrome”, which originated with the checkerboard flooring in the kitchen, but can now be seen all over the house, from the black banisters to the cow and zebra print furnishings. These design adjustments not only livened up the space and made it more in keeping with Butter’s taste, but they also also allowed her to feel that the house was a new version of itself. “It really is a house and a garden that soothes my soul,” she smiles.

The wallpaper above the dado rail in the hallways is Cole & Son's ‘Palm Jungle’ in Olive Green on White. The boldly decorated area is echoed in the jauntily angled doorframe that leads into Butter's bedroom.

Simon Brown

Back in 2016, Butter made her bedroom her first priority, adding tasselled linen curtains, layers of rugs and quilts to make it feel cocooning and serene. Eight years later and her bedroom has been made yet more romantic, with a smart valance in ‘Daisy Chain’ from Rapture and Wright, cushions from Colefax and Fowler, Wicklewood and Rapture and Wright, and layers of blankets from The Cloth Shop and The Tartan Blanket Shop.

She has also successfully transformed the children’s former bedrooms into sophisticated spaces, with swathes of floral wallpaper, (Nicolas Herbert in one room and Salvesen Graham in another). Now the rooms can switch effortlessly between being elegant guest rooms, comfortable rooms for kids to retreat to during long visits, and charming nurseries for lucky grandchildren. “The most important thing was making the beds as comfortable as possible. My children describe them as “the clouds,” which is no accident. I love them to come, sink into the beds and stay for as long as possible!”

“I wanted the bedroom to have a simpler, calmer colour scheme, so I could feel really calm and serene in here,” explains Butter.

Simon Brown

Designing the interiors slowly, when time and budget allow it, has created a deep bond between Butter and the house she describes as “very emotionally supportive.” She has the same slow but steady approach to garden design, and always tries to instill patience in her clients. “I remind them to get to know the plants in each different season before making any big decisions. Do you like the climbing rose even in the depths of winter when it’s not flowering? Just wait and see. Evolution is something that nobody has the time for.”

Evolution is the theme of this house. It’s an ode to her own shifting influence and confidence, and to the power of decoration to infuse a space with a new purpose and perspective. “As a garden designer this house is the best foil for me, my work, and everything I hold dearly,” she recalls. “From the light and the aspect, to all my collections of things. I need never leave!”