When one fun-loving couple and their two teenage daughters wanted to create their forever home – a place fit for dinner parties, movie nights and cocktails with friends – they knew who to turn to: Linda Boronkay.
As the former design director of Soho House and now the head of her own eponymous studio recalls: ‘They were members and they loved the aesthetic. Sometimes, clients are considering a few interior designers, but with them it was love at first sight. There was a nice chemistry between us.’
The husband, Lee, is the CEO at a gaming company and his wife, Kirsten, has a background in art, so they already had an established art collection, allowing Linda insight into their preferred styles and colours.
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‘Clients might not have worked with a designer before and you have to go on that journey with them,’ Linda says. ‘But they came with quite a specific brief.’ Functionality was the main concern, but the family was also looking for a cleaner aesthetic.
The longtime Richmond residents wanted to stay close to Kew Gardens, so asked Linda’s team for a professional opinion when they found a Victorian house in the neighbourhood. It had not been touched in decades, but Linda was charmed by the original features and wanted to retain as many as possible, while adding room via a rear extension, digging down to gain ceiling height and adding skylights.
She agreed that an architectural, pared- back space would suit the bold statement pieces in the couple’s existing art collection, such as the vibrant Grayson Perry tapestry in the drawing room.
For the furniture, fabrics and lighting, Linda looked to the colours in that particularly inspirational work, scouring vintage markets in Italy for pieces that would satisfy her clients’ love of 1970s design. ‘It didn’t feel as if we needed to stay in the British style. I thought the 70s was a fun spin on things,’ she says.
One early request was a sunken seating area for the family’s film nights – also very 1970s, but a big commitment. ‘With residential clients, the conversation often goes, “But what if I get bored of it? Can I change it?”’ says Linda. ‘That’s not possible with a conversation pit – those aren’t flexible – but they loved the idea.’ Now, the TV is cunningly tucked behind a 1970s tapestry by the French artist Claude Prevost, which also adds texture and colour to the space.
Every project gives Linda new insight and a different perspective; in this case, she learnt how to embrace a more muted, quiet look than her typically colourful aesthetic, elevating the spaces with silk curtains, tactile materials and cashmere and wool rugs so they felt warm and luxurious. ‘It was a lesson in achieving a comfortable atmosphere while creating quite an architectural design language,’ she reflects.
By committing fully to their new home, this gregarious family got exactly what they wished for. ‘They were so daring, fun and open to novel ideas,’ says Linda. ‘They’ve been having parties ever since.’ lindaboronkay.com
