“Another priority was sightlines,” says Francois. “I loved the idea of creating perspectives wherever possible. In fact, you can have a straight view from the entrance to the back of the house. t contributes to the ow and makes the oorplan instinctie. e says it also echoes the enfilade oorplan of Parisian apartments, “where one room leads to another, without a corridor.” Andrea and Francois’ brief also focused on natural materials and textured surfaces, including natural stone, marble, and timber, all of which reinforce the connection to the outdoors. Upstairs, they added a new, smaller, bathroom for guests on the top oor.  room on the first oor had been diided into two small bathrooms and Francois and Andrea re-instated that as one supremely elegant bathroom.


It is now the ultimate in luxury bathing, with


a reintroduced fireplace, herringbone marble ooring and a beautiful freestanding bath by Renaissance. The room boasts a large original period window, and enoying a bath while


jan/feb 2024


looking at the trees and sky is one of Francois’ favourite things about the house. “It’s rare to be able to look at the sky in London, and you can lie there and watch the sun coming up,” he says. “Removing the partition has meant we have a nicer, bigger room. It’s all about symmetry, and it was very satisfying to reinstate the original volumes.” Working with their architect, the couple took on management of the proect. ndrea, who has some eperience in proect management, put together a tender and they considered up to twele building firms. t was a ery detailed process and Andrea did a great deal of work to reconcile the varying quotes they received. “It meant we were very prepared,” says Francois. “Andrea spent a lot of time researching the builders, including cold calling them to see if they picked up the phone. We also met ex-clients. It was a long and stressful process, but I can’t recommend what he’s done highly enough. The building firm they chose was local, offering that all-important eibility. The


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