HOUSE 7
A beautiful mix of hues – ranging from the bold to the discreet – are the stars of the show in this period townhouse that oozes character
When it comes to decor, designer Emilie Fournet has an uncanny ability to choose paint shades that look as if they’ve always been there. ‘I’m drawn to colours that feel authentic to the period of a house, but also work with more modern elements,’ she explains.
This meant that when her clients brought her on board to redesign the interiors of their Georgian Grade II-listed townhouse in London, a key part of the process involved rethinking the house’s palette.
‘The owners described the existing decor as “bankers’ grey” – and were quite happy to erase all memories of it,’ Emilie says. Alongside making the house ‘colourful, cosy and warm’, Emilie’s role included sourcing furniture and fabrics, restoring original features that had been stripped out during the house’s grey era and changing the functions of some rooms.
Working within strict planning constraints, Emilie turned a former spacious ground-floor utility room into two new rooms: a shower room and a boot room that has plenty of space for family paraphernalia.
This was just as well because, as the project progressed, the couple broke the happy news they were expecting their f irst child. Now the boot room accommodates a buggy as well as coats and shoes.
Emilie worked with Stevensons of Norwich to reinstate period mouldings and sourced a replacement antique f ireplace for the f irst-floor drawing room, which is now an elegant space with walls in a dusty pink – a colour Emilie sensed would work in this room that overlooks a private square.
‘For me, choosing paint colours is intuitive. When I enter a room, I can often visualise which colours will work. Sometimes, we try alte
