Peek Inside a Historic Notting Hill Home Outfitted in Subtle, Serene Decor

By Mitchell Owens

Photography by Henry Bourne

Styled by Michael Reynolds

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Once upon a time, there was a house that had seen better days. Back in the middle of the 19th century, it had been constructed as a private residence in Notting Hill, one of London’s prettiest neighborhoods. By the 1920s, it had come down in the world, reconstituted into a “ladies’ residential club” (read: boarding house for women), and then, after the Second World War, it had become a hotel. The hotel was eventually divided into apartments, one occupied by a young magician advertising for a beautiful assistant. Today, a different type of sorcery—aesthetic, architectural, familial—has brought it to domestic life again, a life ringing with lessons taken on an upright piano in the dining room, board games in the living room, and four lively children dashing in and out of the garden.

In the drawing room, two Pierre Augustin Rose sofas in a Pierre Frey mohair and two vintage Otto Schulz chairs in a Loro Piana fabric encircle a honed-stone cocktail table from Stahl + Band. 1950s Italian tripod floor lamp; floor-to-ceiling lamp by Dimorestudio; circa 1880 Indian rug.

Pierre Augustin Rose Sofa

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Pierre Augustin Rose

Dimore Studio Abatjour Floor Lamp

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Dimore Studio

Sian Zeng Clematis Mural Wallpaper

Walnut Wallpaper

Matthias Vriens 22-Karat-Gold-Glazed Shroom Lamp for Atelier MVM

Atelier MVM

Sixpenny Zenia Console Table

Sixpenny

Mario Bellini Camaleonda Sofa for B&B Italia

BEB Italia

“Until this project, I never thought I’d be so invested in bunk beds,” says Los Angeles–based interior decorator Olivia Williams. The parents of the youngsters are Chantal Spanicciati, a former designer herself who now works as a therapist promoting mental well-being, and her husband, Mario Spanicciati, a software entrepreneur. They had met Williams back in California, but the designer’s schedule could not accommodate them as clients. Still, neither Williams nor the Spanicciatis forgot the instant camaraderie.

“I loved her simplicity and aesthetic,” says Chantal, while Williams recalls the couple’s “calm and gentle demeanor,” adding that “in this business, what’s important is to work with people you like.” A house in Montana for the growing family came into Williams’s hands, and then, when the Spanicciatis prepared to relocate to London, they knew precisely whom to call. Even if it meant having to conduct many tasks at long distance, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The couple had only visited the house once or twice before the lockdowns began, and did not set foot inside until everything was complete.

The kitchen cabinetry was fabricated by Plain English with Breccia Capraia marble countertops. Waterworks sink fittings; Roman shades of a George Spencer Designs printed linen through Claremont; Farrow & Ball paints on walls and cabinets; artwork by Mary Weatherford.

deVOL Kitchens Narrow Pleat Porcelain Light

deVOL Kitchens

Matthew Cox The Artist's Chair

Matthew Cox

Chimay Fabric

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Designers Guild

George Spencer Thistle Linen

George Spencer

Pinch Design Joyce Cabinet

Pinch Design

Astier De Villatte Victoria Footed Dish

John Derian

The house is a Grade II property, meaning that alterations would be strictly controlled, if not entirely forbidden; but the couple’s London architects, Michaelis Boyd, are dab hands at dealing with imposed limitations and making inventive insertions. That would be the underground pool that the Spanicciatis desired: a mysterious, contemplative, partly skylit amenity, clad in honed Atlantic stone and tadelakt, that was inspired by Therme Vals, Peter Zumthor’s iconic spa in Switzerland, where Chantal has family roots. “It’s a bit of a challenge to bring a house into the 21st century yet to be respectful of its heritage,” says Tim Boyd, a cofounder of the firm. The pool, for example, was built under the garden, rather than directly beneath the house, in order not to tamper with the building’s historic hierarchy. “Since we couldn’t knock out or change partitions, very little was done structurally. We were all keen to preserve the original cornicing, the baseboards, and the dado rail while also reinstating historical features that were relevant.”

The results are a lesson in how a past-perfect envelope can happily accommodate a contemporary spirit. “We’re a vibrant family, so I wanted to keep it subtle,” Chantal explains of the serene decor. Neutrals, yes, but there’s barely a bit of beige in sight. Instead, the walls of the primary rooms, including the kitchen, are largely covered in pale paints or watercolor paper that has a suede-like effect, with the architectural details painted to match or complement. It’s a color that causes the leafy views—a tree-lined square out front and a deep, luxurious, and invitingly livable garden at back, designed by Butter Wakefield Garden Design—to pop like C-prints. So does the couple’s art, a quietly provocative assemblage of works by Sam Gilliam, Ron Gorchov, and Sanam Khatibi, the last being a wall-spanning paradisiacal tapestry that brings the views into the family room. (Williams and the couple worked with art consultant Sharón Zoldan of SZ Advisory on acquiring and placing the pieces.) Additional warmth is provided by traces of polished brass and white-oak flooring. But Williams’s creative triumph is her marrying of antiques and vintage furnishings with sculpturally plump upholstered seating that looks as comfortable to nap on as it does to roughhouse on (within reason).

A Philippe Anthonioz plaster light from Ralph Pucci hangs in the primary bedroom. Custom bed covered with a Rose Uniacke spread; artwork by Heidi Bucher (over fireplace). Artwork here and throughout placed by Sharón Zoldan of SZ Advisory.

Soane Britain The Flexi Wall Light With Rattan Shade

Soane Britain

Tess Newall Herbarium Wildflower Wallpaper

Tess Newall

Rose Uniacke French Sarrancolin Side Table

Rose Uniacke

Sarah Sherman Samuel Rook Mirror

Lulu and Georgia

Morgan Peck Glassy Green Stretch Vase

The Trove

Antoinette Poisson Grenades Wallpaper

Antoinette Poisson

Call it sophistication with the comfort of a bear hug. Curving Mario Bellini sofas meet low-slung 1960s Otto Schulz armchairs in the drawing room, where board games are stored in a chic circa 1930 French cabinet-on-stand and the seating is grouped around a Dimorestudio lamp that stretches from floor to ceiling with acrobatic grace. A handblown glass light fixture dangles like a space-age hammock over the dining room’s rectilinear Mario Bellini chairs, the illuminator’s relaxed profile echoing the Victorian cornice’s undulating details. “It’s how we want to feel inside,” says Chantal, whose own former design practice was attuned to mental well-being. “Peaceful and calm and present.”

Upstairs in the bedrooms, though, color and pattern and whimsy rule. (Except for the creamy main one and its blush-pink bath: Like all parents, the Spanicciatis need a quiet after-hours escape.) One daughter’s room features a curtained bunk bed offset with a wall covering patterned with cascades of rosy clematis blossoms. Another child’s room is dressed in a hand-painted sprigged wallpaper, and the youngsters’ en suite baths are paved with identical marble-mosaic floors yet differentiated by towels with individualized borders. Add to that peals of laughter, rushing footsteps, and sing-alongs, and you’ve got rooms that are “lived in in a completely contemporary way,” Williams says. “But it still feels like a beautiful old terrace house.”

This story appears in AD’s February 2023 issue. To see this home designed by Olivia Williams in print, subscribe to AD.