Interior designer Mark Smith invites us into his Kensington mansion flat and shares the journey of its makeover.
Having worked for the likes of William Yeoward and Terence Conran, featured since 2015 as one of House & Garden UK’s Top 100 Leading Interior Designers and appeared among the pages of various glossy magazines, Mark Smith of Smith Creative Design has earned his stripes as one of the UK’s most respected designers. He’s well known for his ability to skilfully cross reference various architectural periods and to manipulate light and texture to create genuine comfort in his client’s interiors.
His own London pad, a red brick Kensington mansion flat with fantastic proportions and original architectural details, telegraphs a mix of warmth and luxury and contains his characteristic mix of styles which hang together with a newfound, personalised identity. By converting the three-bedroom flat into a one-bedroom flat, Mark has thrown the rule book out, achieving the luxury of space he was after and has used some savvy tricks along the way to maintain an air of calm in his home.
Hallway: I liked that my flat has one of the few remaining tiled entrance halls, original to the 1888 building. So many London flats have corridor entrances; it’s also nice to have the square space. I’ve had the Arts & Crafts plaster statue of Joan of Arc for nearly 40 years and we’ve been through a lot together (didn’t end well for her, of course). Antique copper lantern on ‘permanent loan’ from decorator friend.
Drawing Room: Just a lovely grand room with plenty of light, a high ceiling and all round great proportions. My ’signature’ mix of old and new upholstery, modern pieces and antiques. I’m not a pattern person but I love to mix up textures and throw in a bit of unexpected colour too. Custom sofa covered in emerald green silk velvet from Holland and Sherry. Curtains and blinds also silks from Fox Linton. I ‘inherited’ the fire surround with the apartment and it’s actually much earlier than the building so must have been put in by previous occupants. Slate grey sisal area rug grounds the whole seating area and there’s an Ikat rug from Luke Irwin layered on top and a huge perspex coffee table custom made to my design by Nigel Carew Jones. Large custom-sized convex mirror from William Gulliver at English Georgian. Large portrait by Raphael Thierry.
Drawing Room (detail): A 19th Century Dutch secrétaire with ’stuff’ on top including a skull from LIM. 19th Century sofa covered in Donghia ‘Mud Cloth’, rugs as before, 1950s Iron sconce (one of a pair) from Talisman Antiques.
Kitchen: I’m slightly obsessed with green and love this Farrow & Ball Green Smoke kitchen which I designed and had bespoke made to fit the space exactly. I wrapped the sink run into the bay window so I have a view of the street.
Breakfast table area: I’ve always liked dining in booths in restaurant as it adds intimacy so I created this banquette as a seamless extension of the kitchen joinery. Since I really do only casual suppers during the week in town, this works perfectly and I can be ‘part of the party’ whilst cooking for friends. I had the table top custom made in chestnut veneer and set on a vintage Saarinen Tulip base which I had powder coated in bronze so it would ‘disappear’ under the table. The chairs are vintage Danish rosewood covered in a Chase Erwin fabric.
Floor: I’ve always loved lino and this herringbone design was from Sinclair Till using Marmoleum which works very well with the underfloor heating and is a little thicker and more ‘luxurious’ than standard lino. I also added a single tile in an odd colour, just to shake things up a bit. An old mentor of mine did that in his showroom, so I did it as a little nod to him.
Light: The flat has high ceilings so I could afford to overscale items like the copper pendant over the table which is from Paris (can’t remember the supplier’s name).
Bedroom: I had the walls lined in Holland and Sherry wool, the roman blinds are made of the same fabric and the curtains and pelmet also H&S wool. Fabric lining the walls deadens the sound completely and creates a real cocoon from the outside world. It’s an especially good acoustic if one likes watching TV in bed (as do I). Arts & Crafts oak bedside table from Patrick Rogers. Headboard and valance and embroidered velvet bed cushion again, all from Holland and Sherry.
I installed the oak parquet floor to look like a Parisian apartment as this pattern is not so common in London mansion flats – they tend to have straight boards and the existing boards were wrecked.
Dressing Room: One of the sacrificed bedrooms – a smallish single room – was converted into a rather indulgent dressing room. All the cabinetry was custom made to fit the space and finished in chestnut veneer with slide-out shirt and shoe racks. The blind in silk from Fox Linton and sisal flooring from Tim Page Carpets.
