{"id":10756,"date":"2022-05-04T11:00:05","date_gmt":"2022-05-04T09:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homesandantiques.com\/?p=29562"},"modified":"2022-05-04T11:23:11","modified_gmt":"2022-05-04T09:23:11","slug":"a-french-inspired-victorian-home-in-london","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/rss_feed\/a-french-inspired-victorian-home-in-london\/","title":{"rendered":"A French-inspired Victorian home in London"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Jo Leevers\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 04 May 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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French-born Emily was introduced to her family\u2019s tradition of combing small village brocantes<\/a> and larger flea markets at a young age, she says. An experience that has clearly been put to good use: her north-west London home, which she shares with her husband, Nicolas and their two sons, is filled with characterful flea-market finds.<\/p>\n

\u2018My mother taught me well,\u2019 she says, \u2018and I still love the feeling of arriving at a market and wondering what I might find.\u2019 The house is also furnished with interesting pieces that have been passed down by her French family.<\/p>\n

You might also like<\/strong> find out how Leanne renovated her Victorian terrace home<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2018When my parents come and stay it\u2019s really nice for them to be surrounded by things that have an emotional attachment for them. There\u2019s a nice circularity to keeping it in the family,\u2019 she says.<\/p>\n

A veneered chest of drawers in one of the bedrooms and a dainty lamp that belonged to her grandmother, a selection of vintage<\/a> glassware from her mother\u2019s collection and a pollen-yellow velvet 1950s sofa are among a number of pieces of furniture that have crossed the Channel.<\/p>\n

Alongside them, Emily has gradually added items bought in the UK, mostly from specialist dealers and weekly visits to Golborne Road market, which is close to Emily\u2019s home.<\/p>\n

An old cutting table from a fabric mill serves as a kitchen island, complete with its own nips, tucks and marks of wear, which the couple picked up at a car-boot sale.<\/p>\n

\u2018Nicolas also comes on trips to fairs<\/a>, markets and junk shops. We make a good team,\u2019 Emily explains. Their collecting ethos is to remain open to whatever catches their eye, rather than sticking to one narrow historical period. \u2018I think collecting in this way helps to create rooms that aren\u2019t uniform,\u2019 she says.<\/p>\n

You might also like<\/strong> the UK\u2019s best antiques and vintage shops<\/a><\/p>\n

When they moved in, the house was almost untouched and most of the late Victorian features were intact. \u2018Unusually, it had been in the same family since the 1890s,\u2019 says Emily, adding that she\u2019d never seen a house that was so unmodernised. \u2018From the first time we viewed it, we just got a really good feeling. The house had a huge amount of soul.\u2019<\/p>\n

Even though some of the bedrooms had been rented out to lodgers after the Second World War, no partition walls had been put up to divide rooms. Everything was as it had been when the house was first built.<\/p>\n

\u2018We fell in love with all the original details, but the house was also crying out to be reloved,\u2019 Emily says. They began by knocking through the two ground-floor living spaces and added an extension at the back, which gets lots of light.<\/p>\n

\u2018The garden is south-facing and with the glazed extension this space feels almost Mediterranean,\u2019 she smiles. Although the renovation included an extension, elsewhere it focused on retaining the mouldings, skirting boards and, of course, the classic encaustic tiles in the hallway.<\/p>\n

Emily and Nicolas did a lot of the work themselves and, throughout their careful restoration, they tried to retain what Emily calls the \u2018raw edges\u2019 of the house. The ceiling in the front living room was left as bare pink-tinged plaster: \u2018I think it\u2019s a lovely colour and I regret not leaving other replastered areas unpainted,\u2019 she muses.<\/p>\n

As they scraped paint off the woodwork and pulled up carpets, the couple also made an interesting discovery. \u2018Under one carpet we found a little note written by a child \u2013 a reminder that this house has been the backdrop for many stories over the years,\u2019 says Emily.<\/p>\n

You might also like<\/strong> Annie Sloan\u2019s colourful Victorian home<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2018Thinking about the lives lived here, through times of hardship and joy, war and peace, has made me reflect on our own lives. It gives one a new perspective.\u2019<\/p>\n

Pattern<\/a> is a further layer that brings warmth and personality to their home and, true to her style, Emily has mixed traditional wallpapers<\/a> by Morris & Co with a modern rework of a 1970s-style palm print by Sarah Mitchenall. But she has also consciously left plenty of uncluttered walls in between the patterns to allow spaces to breathe.<\/p>\n

\u2018As a collector, it\u2019s hard to resist bringing more pieces and patterns into your home. But I\u2019ve also learned the value of white space,\u2019 she says. \u2018It creates a calm environment for special finds.\u2019<\/p>\n

\""Emily\"<\/picture><\/div>
Emily found the 1970s light for the sitting room on eBay and left the freshly plastered ceiling exposed. The coffee table is West Elm and the 1960s sofas are from The Old Cinema. <\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""Emily\"<\/picture><\/div>
A Shaker-style shelf is home to charming flea-market finds. <\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""Emily\"<\/picture><\/div>
Emily relaxes on the 1950s sofa she bought in France.<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""Emily\"<\/picture><\/div>
The beautiful fall-front cabinet is an inherited piece, brought over from France. The couple use it as a drinks cabinet. The 1950s chair with a slatted back was a car-boot find.<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""Emily\"<\/picture><\/div>
The sitting room is an intriguing mix of old, new and vintage pieces. The 1970s swivel chairs were picked up at Ardingly International Antiques and Collectors Fair, the antique mirror with the bamboo-style frame came from a French brocante and Emily made the textile collage over the fireplace from fabric and leather off-cuts. <\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""Emily\"<\/picture><\/div>
The black sofas came from The Old Cinema.<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""Emily\"<\/picture><\/div>
Emily fell in love with the original 1890s encaustic tiles in the hallway. She bought the mirror in Golborne Road and the cabinet belonged to her grandmother.<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""Emily\"<\/picture><\/div>
In the airy extension, brocante finds and family heirlooms breathe life and personality into the contemporary kitchen-diner. A cutting table from a weaving mill makes a rustic kitchen island, and is illuminated by pretty glass pendants from Anthropologie. The vintage chairs with cane webbing seats from eBay contrast nicely with the Scandi-style table from La Redoute.<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""Emily\"<\/picture><\/div>
A set of traditional French storage jars provides a splash of colour in the white kitchen and offers a nostalgic reminder of Emily\u2019s childhood.<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""Emily\"<\/picture><\/div>
The hexagonal sectional coffee tables provide an interesting focal point in one half of the sitting room. The yellow sofa came from Le Marchand d\u2019Oublis in France.<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""Emily\"<\/picture><\/div>
The Murano glass pendant was an eBay purchase and the double bed came from Selency, the online flea market. <\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""Emily\"<\/picture><\/div>
Most of the furniture in the master bedroom, including the marble-topped chest of drawers, the vintage table lamp, the large mirror and the cream rug, were inherited from Emily\u2019s French grandmother. <\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""Emily\"<\/picture><\/div>
In the bedroom, the 1970s-style Tropical wallpaper in white and tan is by Sarah Mitchenall. An antique bottle makes a comely vase when filled with pretty flower cuttings, a technique Emily uses throughout her home to add spashes of colour to her curios.<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""Emily\"<\/picture><\/div>
In the guest bedroom a vintage filing cabinet from The Old Cinema is useful storage. The 1960s blue side chair and the 1950s leather armchair came from Golborne Road market.<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""Emily\"<\/picture><\/div>
The bedside table is an old Hungarian hospital cabinet from Erno Deco on Portobello Road. The bed and throw are from Made.<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""Emily\"<\/picture><\/div>
In the bathroom, a 1900s French washstand has been fitted with a basin. The pendant lights are from Anthropologie.<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/body><\/html>\n
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By Jo Leevers Published: Wednesday, 04 May 2022 at 12:00 am French-born Emily was introduced to her family\u2019s tradition of combing small village brocantes and larger flea markets at a young age, she says. An experience that has clearly been put to good use: her north-west London home, which she shares with her husband, Nicolas […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":10757,"template":"","categories":[1,41],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"7"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2022\/05\/a-french-inspired-victorian-home-in-london.jpg",1600,1096,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2022\/05\/a-french-inspired-victorian-home-in-london-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2022\/05\/a-french-inspired-victorian-home-in-london-300x206.jpg",300,206,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2022\/05\/a-french-inspired-victorian-home-in-london-768x526.jpg",768,526,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2022\/05\/a-french-inspired-victorian-home-in-london-1024x701.jpg",800,548,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2022\/05\/a-french-inspired-victorian-home-in-london-1536x1052.jpg",1536,1052,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2022\/05\/a-french-inspired-victorian-home-in-london.jpg",1600,1096,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Jo Leevers Published: Wednesday, 04 May 2022 at 12:00 am French-born Emily was introduced to her family\u2019s tradition of combing small village brocantes and larger flea markets at a young age, she says. An experience that has clearly been put to good use: her north-west London home, which she shares with her husband, Nicolas…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/10756"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10756"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10756"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}