Home tour: a Georgian townhouse in Knightsbridge, London restored with garden-inspired interiors

Enter Christian Bense, the critically acclaimed interior designer, whose studio has earned recognition for its thoughtful approach to historic properties.

“Our mission was simple–we wanted to restore the property to its former glory, and at the start of the project, we asked ourselves: how would this home have looked when it was first built in 1845?” he recalls.

“That deep respect for the house, its history and foundations, informed our thinking and every design choice we made,” he continues. “But it didn’t restrict us from modernising the home and injecting contemporary elements that felt authentic and befitting of this impressive property.”

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Working alongside award-winning Chelsea-based BLDA Architects, Bense embarked on what would become one of his studio’s most ambitious undertakings to date.

“This project has been pivotal for me as a designer,” he adds. “It took nearly two years to complete, and it has certainly informed many of the ways in which we now design.”

Spanning approximately 3,300 sq ft, the six-storey townhouse follows the classic Georgian layout with two rooms per floor and a grand staircase occupying the right side of the home.

Besides the unique challenges typical of Grade II listed properties, the restoration also required a sensitive two-storey extension to both the upper and lower ground floors.

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“Oddly, trying to add a sympathetic extension into these buildings is quite difficult, as the local authority prefers modern style extensions which allow one to see the divide between old and new,” notes Bense.

“Designing the new double-storey extension so that it didn’t feel too modern was the biggest challenge. We needed to think of various ways of softening some of the modern lines which we needed to include externally.”

Bense and the homeowners need not look any further than the picturesque garden square setting and vistas of nature from every window of the home to set the scene for the interiors–each floor coming together to create a layered, organic and lived-in home that “carries a new modern energy yet still beholds a sense of the past and historical charm.” 

“As you rise up through the house, the interiors mirror, albeit subtly, the different layers of the gardens below,” he explains. “Earthy tones and organic materials set the tone for the lower ground floor, whilst the upper floors–we imagine entering the tree canopy–have embraced lighter, more airy tones and softer fabrics.”

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Beginning at the lower ground floor that was inspired by earth, the garden room exudes a relaxed atmosphere ideal for everyday living. 

Wooden-panelled walls, painted in Farrow & Ball’s Bone colour palette, create the perfect backdrop for the earth-toned shearling seating mingling with Art Deco-inspired glass wall lights, and rustic French antiques sourced from an antique dealer in France.

Here, doors open onto a newly created patio designed to appear naturally excavated rather than overly planned.

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Moving to the ground floor–representing the garden level itself–the light-filled extension houses the kitchen, where contemporary functionality sits comfortably alongside period-appropriate details. 

“The skylight in the kitchen is actually rectangular from the outside, with the curved shape added as cladding below so that the skylight appears pill-shaped and softer from within,” elaborates Bense regarding the aforementioned challenges of blending modernity within its historic shell. 

“Similarly, externally, we over-clad the more rectangular parts with plaster columns to make them feel more sympathetic to the overall style of the interior,” he adds.

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A bespoke freestanding island, designed by Bense himself, commands attention with its ornamental frame and hand-painted tiles by artist Freyja Lee. Red leather bar stools from Ochre provide a striking contrast, whilst a pendant light from The Urban Electric Company hangs elegantly from the skylight above.

Wedged between the kitchen and the dining room, the newly created “middle room” is part of the new extension–a highly functional and stylish passage that serves as a pantry, and leads to the dining room.

The raw plaster ceiling creates a warm backdrop for Alexander Lamont’s botanical gesso pendant light, with pink and orange hues from an antique runner adding subtle colour.

Meanwhile, off-white joinery by Blakes London lines the walls, providing clever storage solutions, whilst two dressers adorned with ceramics bring about a country house charm.

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At the front of the house, the dining room is set against a palette of sunny yellow and dark green, the space presents a finely curated display of contrasting craftsmanship through dark and light timbers.

An ornate Cox London chandelier, inspired by nature, suspends above a Matthew Cox table in worn ebony, surrounded by antique dining chairs that have been sympathetically reupholstered in slubby linen.

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A Swedish kilim-inspired rug echoes the verdant views beyond the large sash windows, as custom-made burr wood cabinets, created in collaboration with Treeslounge, flank the fireplace alongside wall lights sourced from Jamb. 

Hand-painted lampshades by Álvaro Picardo and a console table from Chelsea Textiles complete the carefully composed tableau.

Ascending to the first floor–inspired by low branches–a palette of lilac, sage green, and off-whites creates a sophisticated yet feminine atmosphere in the principal living room. 

A spectacular bespoke oak branch chandelier provides theatrical drama above a brutalist-inspired coffee table by Belgian makers Heerenhuis, while also featuring a balance of traditional elements–including Howard & Sons armchairs–with 1st Dibs contemporary pieces and Art Deco accent chairs upholstered in sage mohair velvet.

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Double doors lead into the adjacent study, a space that bursts with personality and colour whilst reflecting the homeowner’s travel adventures.

Anchoring the space is an eggshell blue lacquer desk that pairs beautifully with a Rose Uniacke barrel-back chair inspired by early 19th-century theatre seating. 

Surrounding this focal point, pink-hued Tatiana Tafur grasscloth wallcovering adds texture alongside Zoffany fabric curtains that provide warmth. Art Deco chairs with bronze detailing and playful polka dot upholstery, along with an oil painting from Indonesia, showcase the client’s creative flair.

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The second level houses the principal suite, where sheer drapes in buttermilk bring about a gentle yellow glow to the room during the day–mimicking the dappled sunlight filtering through leaves. 

Carefully considered antique pieces and contemporary crafted furnishings enriched the space: a Robert Langford headboard upholstered in dark green mohair is topped with a half-tester canopy in block print fabric; sculptural lamps by Suzie Atkinson sit on antique bedside tables; whilst the Vaughan pendant light and floor lamp by Porta Romana add sophisticated illumination at night.

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A mythical forest awaits in the master ensuite, where a Watts 1874 Wolterton Verdure wallpaper brings beauty and a sense of wonder.

“The client preferred not to have built-in joinery, but as we needed to have it in the master suite to make the space work for her practically, the joinery fronts in the tapestry meant we could completely conceal and disguise the joinery,” elaborates Bense on his favourite room in the project.

Furthermore, the hidden wood and marble vanity unit is surrounded by handcrafted pearl-toned zellige tiles, with an antique mirror and Vaughan pendant lantern completing the enchanting scene.

“We designed the vanity to sit within the wardrobes with pocket doors, so when the client takes a bath, this could be tucked away, and you get the feeling that you are bathing amongst the trees in the forest,” he muses.

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