This garden apartment in Notting Hill is a masterclass in how pattern, color and a little visual trickery can turn a pale, rather joyless space into a home with verve and heart. Reimagined by Sarah Southwell, a former artisan handbag maker turned interior designer, the three-bedroom apartment is now an elegant, feminine home that’s at once composed, characterful and faintly mischievous.
Its owner, who divides her time between London and the Swiss Alps, was keen to weave elements of both sides of her heritage into the house design. ‘I wanted this flat to reflect the homes I grew up in,’ she says. ‘In my first conversation with Sarah, we talked about my love of painted joinery and woodwork – they remind me of my family’s house in Switzerland, which dates from the 1600s.’
The owner arrived at that meeting with just two wallpaper swatches: a trellis design by Colefax and Fowler and a graceful floral by Manuel Canovas. The trellis reminded her of her late mother, a Swiss interior designer who had used a near-identical paper in their London home. ‘Sarah took that as a starting point,’ she recalls, ‘and somehow managed to bring together the two places that meant the most to me.’
The apartment required no structural work – it even came with some well-made millwork – but it was, in Sarah’s words, ‘a white box with great bones and no soul’. The brief was to create a home that felt warm and uplifting, a place for relaxed evenings and lively dinners. ‘Lighting and mirrors were key,’ Sarah recollects. ‘I wanted reflection and glow wherever possible.’
In the dining area, which opens directly onto the garden, she lined one wall with foxed mirrored tiles – a clever device to bounce light and widen the narrow room. The opposite wall is papered in a verdant chinoiserie print, drawing the eye to the garden beyond. Hidden within the mirrored wall is a secret door leading to a tiny cabin bedroom: a cocoon-like space with a built-in bed and painted trim inspired by Alpine chalets. ‘Designing small rooms is one of my favorite things,’ says Sarah.
Green became the thread that runs through the apartment – from the emerald cabinetry in the bathroom to the soft moss tones of the bedroom’s trellis – complemented by shades of aqua, teal and smoky blue. In the entrance hall, Sarah painted the millwork in pale blue, contrasting it with a runner and lampshades in punchy reds. Even the backs of the bookshelves are painted a deep radicchio tone, giving flashes of warmth between books and objects.
The living room centers on a luminous painting of a cherry tree in bloom, its gold-leaf background casting a gentle light around the space. ‘When I told the artist I was buying it because it reminded me of my mother, he renamed it after her,’ says the owner. Around it, ruffles and stripes – on cushions, lampshades and table skirts – add movement and texture without ever feeling twee. ‘Stripes are a constant in my projects,’ observes Sarah. ‘They bring rhythm and joy and keep things from feeling too polite.’
Sarah’s respect for what already existed is evident throughout. In the kitchen, she simply lined the backsplash in a striped paper by Alice Palmer & Co, sealed with Plexiglas for practicality. ‘I’m a huge advocate of working with what you have,’ she explains. ‘Paint, wallpaper, a change of hardware – they can all make a world of difference.’
In the bedroom, the owner’s two cherished prints finally come together: the trellis wallpaper and a blind in the favorite floral. The same botanical reappears in the adjoining bathroom, this time in another colorway and inset into the emerald cabinetry. ‘When I first saw the green paint, I thought it was possibly too bright,’ admits the owner. ‘Then the wallpaper went up and it all made sense.’
Her affection for the neighborhood has deepened since moving in. ‘I thought the Notting Hill Carnival would be chaotic, but it’s magical,’ she says. ‘The local steel band on the Thursday before is one of the most moving things I’ve experienced – the sound goes straight to your soul.’ As indeed does the flat itself. Once a white shell, it is now layered, glowing, and deeply personal – a home alive with color and memories.
