Designed by Galuchat, this Fulham home represents a fresh start for its owner following his divorce; somewhere he could entertain and have his grown children to stay. Galuchat’s founder Marie Noelle Swiderski fully understood the significance of the project she was undertaking. ‘What I love most about our profession is how we empower our clients to rediscover themselves through their dwellings, their own taste and aspirations,’ she says.
The client collects art deco furniture, but Marie Noelle didn’t want to create a pastiche of that style within the Victorian building, so instead she looked at creating ‘echoes of the principles of the style, within a more contemporary context’. ‘We focused on detailing, texture and colour, velvets, glass, polished metals and reflective materials, geometrics, stylised florals and chinoiserie to restore joy to a tired property, enhancing how this was a fresh start for all,’ she explains.
The main living room had previously been treated like a glorified corridor, so Marie-Noelle made some bold decorative choices to give it a strong identity and make the most of its high ceiling and original features. A coral velvet scalloped sofa is the hero of the scheme, offset by the metallic iridescence of the floor-to-ceiling curtains, a pair of tub chairs in two-tone geometric fabric and a family heirloom Persian carpet.
Her team lacquered the fireplace wall and added smoked bronze mirror panels and a portrait by New York artist Maizianne to create a louche, members’ club atmosphere; the perfect setting for the client’s Nureyev nickel bamboo drinks trolley. In the evening, the lacquer comes alive, enhanced by art deco lamps and frosted disk wall lights rescued from a Parisian hotel.
Overlooking the garden, the informal second sitting room is designed for reading and watching television. Marie-Noelle took inspiration from the greenery outside – as well as the client’s collection of hunting scene engravings – to create a bucolic atmosphere in blues and greens, cocooned in indigo and pearl grey peacock feather wallpaper, framed by frosty white curtains and anchored by a Persian carpet – a family heirloom.
In one bedroom that belongs to the client’s youngest son, the studio aimed to match his charismatic and colourful personality by combining peach and burnt orange tones with taupe and chocolate accents. Textures come from a raw silk wallpaper, a glazed linen headboard and mirrored furniture.
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The downstairs bathroom is Marie-Noelle’s favourite space. Featuring a bespoke, high gloss lacquered linen storage cabinet, matt black tapware and a black concrete basin, plus the gothic swirls of a Pierre Frey wallpaper, it brings glamour and drama to what can often be a purely utilitarian space.
Marie-Noelle describes this project as ‘a joy to create’ because it allowed her team to see their client come out of his shell and rediscover ‘his own taste, aspirations and confidence in creating a space where he could be all of himself, relax, work, entertain and enjoy his family, looking forward.’ galuchatdesign.com
