How did a magnificent Thurloe Square town house in London—a property bathed in lush greenery and sun-diffused light streaming from private communal gardens—become a house divided, caught between the distinct design visions of the men of the residence and that of the wife and mother? Outnumbered four to one by her husband and three growing sons, the homeowner faced a formidable household consensus. Yet, she possessed a secret weapon in her design arsenal: London-based AD100 interior designer and childhood friend Leonora Hamill. Together, they embarked on a journey that involved not only the cosmetic makeover of the 5,000-square-foot South Kensington home but also the delicate, highly nuanced art of compromise.
The resulting interior is a testament to spatial harmony, proving that there is more than enough room for everyone’s aesthetic preferences within these expansive walls. Consider, for instance, the grand drawing room, where patterned Pierre Frey curtains and a rose-velvet-upholstered Luigi Caccia Dominioni sofa engage in a lively dialogue with a pair of modernist Pierre Jeanneret chairs featuring bespoke tweed cushions, all grounded by a sculptural, stark white coffee table designed by François Bauchet.
Hamill acquired the pair of Pierre Jeanneret chairs at auction and completed them with a de Le Cuona tweed cushion. She also sourced a pair of 1950s Swedish reading lights by Paavo Tynell at auction. The Luigi Caccia Dominioni sofa is upholstered in a rich velvet by Thorp of London, while the accompanying pair of coffee tables are creations by Martin Szekely from Galerie kreo, anchored by a Scandinavian rug from Doris Leslie Blau.
The client’s initial brief was straightforward yet challenging: she wanted "blue walls." The drawing room’s striking hue is beautifully offset by a Dmitriy & Co sofa covered in Lewis & Wood Kimono fabric. "We loved the shape," designer Leonora Hamill notes, describing it as both inviting and comfortable. Additional layers of history and texture include a lamp from Christopher Butterworth with a Vaughan lampshade, and a 17th-century Portuguese cabinet from Foster & Gane centered perfectly between curtains made from Pierre Frey’s Rochambeau fabric. Danish midcentury chairs from Morentz and a 19th-century family heirloom painting by Eugène Boudin complete the space.
"The curtains were a coup," says Hamill, who acknowledges that a classical chintz pattern might have tipped the aesthetic scale too far into traditionalism. "We layered modernist elements for the husband and textiles for the wife, who wanted maximum coziness for their boys."
The children often perch on a vintage round conversation piece that Hamill and the homeowner spotted together at Puces de Paris Saint-Ouen, the world’s largest antiques market. "Leonora found me some really unusual pieces of furniture at different dealers on both sides of the Channel," the wife explains, recalling the hours spent sourcing treasures alongside the designer. Hamill subsequently re-covered the circular seating in contrasting Lewis and Wood velvets. "The room is quite wide, and the sofa is far away from the fireplace," Hamill points out. "A low piece like this helps connect the fireplace to the sofa, and it’s quite fun when entertaining."
The home’s dining room functions as a curated gallery of objects meaningful to the family’s personal history. It features a vibrant suzani tablecloth sourced during the client’s international travels, an antique French 19th-century children’s highchair that serves as a cherished family heirloom, and decorative objects found by the homeowner at the Decorative Fair in London. The table setting includes plates from OKA, bamboo cutlery from Sabre, and a rich rug imported from Maison Blaoui in Marrakech.
A daring contemporary note in the dining room is introduced by Alexandre Logé’s pendant light fixture, contrasting intriguingly with the otherwise sumptuous environment. Custom shelving houses a diverse collection of items sourced from the London Decorative Fair, ranging from Japanese baskets to Kashmiri papier-mâché boxes. While the Gio Ponti chairs commanded a powerful inclination and required a major restoration to maintain structural integrity, the colorful suzani draped over the dining table softens the room’s overall mood. "This reflects them well, a layered interior with a contemporary bent," Hamill observes. "Mixing it up is what they wanted."
Transitioning into the morning room, the space serves as the central hub of daily domestic life. "The morning room is where the family spends most of their time," says Hamill. Comfort is paramount here, exemplified by a pair of armchairs upholstered in a Thorp of London yellow chenille and a sofa piled high with cushions crafted from antique suzanis and Eastern European textiles. The windows are dressed in Clarence House fabric in Eliot Crewel, resting above a Robert Kime rug and a bespoke club fender covered in Claremont carriage cloth.
Hanging above the ikat sofa is a nod to the husband’s thoughtfulness: an oversized photograph from Hamill’s own Art in Progress series, given to his wife as a gift for the birth of their second son. A Märta Måås-Fjetterström tapestry anchors the middle of a striking gallery wall within the morning room.
"Leonora is the master of gallery wall hangs," the wife says. "I love what she did with that room—it’s so cozy." Initially, the rich green hue of the walls felt too bold for both husband and wife. "Leonora encouraged me to be brave," she recalls. "In the end, I’ve found one’s boldest choices become one’s favorites."
The kitchen remained largely untouched, preserving the vision of the previous owners executed by Hugh Leslie. "I loved the large kitchen the previous owners had chosen," the homeowner notes. "We kept it as it was. Everything was very colorful and a welcome change from all the white houses we had visited." Hamill agrees, noting that the prior designer had done exceptional work.
Upstairs, the primary bedroom offers a private sanctuary. Hamill upholstered the walls in a luxurious Manuel Canovas fabric, paired with a vintage wicker peacock chair sourced in France that features a custom pancake cushion crafted from a suzani. The room’s curtains feature an embroidered edge in Mitra by Alidad for Chelsea Textiles, framing views across the square. "The light is beautiful," Hamill remarks. "It looks onto the square." A painted glass mirror from Marrakech completes the bedroom’s ethereal atmosphere.
The guest bedroom embraces shades of pink, a tone Hamill treats as a neutral. "The wife would have done the entire house in pink," the designer confesses. "We settled on a bedroom. A client once told me to add a drop of pink into white ceilings because it’s so flattering on the skin, and I’ve done it ever since." The guest room walls and bed are upholstered in Fermoie fabric, complemented by a bedcover from Décors Barbares, a tapestry cushion sourced in Egypt, an antique bedside table from the Decorative Fair, and a 19th-century family heirloom artwork.
"Of all the houses I’ve decorated in London, I’d choose their house," Hamill admits. This sentiment extends to the marble-clad primary bathroom and the ground-floor powder room, where a rich green hue mirrors the lush landscaping just beyond the windowpane. "Leonora has a great visual memory," the homeowner concludes. "She always has the big picture in mind. I completely trust her."
