Stella Weatherall employed colour and pattern to bring her London sitting room to life.
The interior designer chose a colour palette inspired by her Hong Kong childhood when she decorated her sitting room in London’s Notting Hill. ‘I have always loved yellow, so the starting point was the sofa, the colour of which reminds me of Asia,’ she says. ‘I wanted to create an inviting feel that makes the most of the space, which isn’t huge.’
The sitting room in the Victorian townhouse features the eye-catching sofa in Craft linen in Mimosa by Pierre Frey. ‘I often begin a room with a combination of three fabrics that work well together, such as a plain, a geometric and a bolder, larger-scale pattern,’ she explains. Here, the solid yellow is combined with curtains in Theodora Indigo fabric from Susan Deliss and an antique library chair, pictured on the left, in Hawkeswood linen from Teyssier.
‘Once the three fabrics are established, I build in others to complement them,’ she says of the mix of embroidered and ikat cushions and the upholstered club fender. The antique chair in its original upholstery is a gift from her grandparents. ‘A mix of seating offers flexibility in a tight space, so we can seat six or eight comfortably if we pull up a couple of stools,’ she adds.
Walls are painted in a stone colour to create a neutral backdrop to paintings and prints. ‘I like a collection built up over time and hang everything myself,’ says Mrs Weatherall. ‘It’s nice to see things at eye level when sitting.’
‘I didn’t want too solid a coffee table in the centre of the room,’ she says of her choice of a Perspex and glass piece, set on a simple seagrass rug. ‘It grounds a room and brings in texture,’ she notes. Lamps at different heights, an antique mirror from Myanmar and a lacquered tray complete the room. ‘I enjoy being surrounded by things I love,’ she says.
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