Built in 1888, the Queen Anne–style house is steeped in history and Heuman cheerfully admits that she and her head of interior design, Fosca Mariani, did have to fend off some friendly competition to land the coveted job. The client—a former financier who lives with her husband and three young children—discovered Heuman’s work in a design book, and while she was instantly captivated, she initially had reservations about how the designer’s often fanciful style would resonate with a house of such august stature. Still, she invited her to view it. “So we walked around and came up with some ideas,” Heuman recalls. “From that point onward, she felt very reassured,” the designer continues. “She said afterward she thought it was amazing how the house feels very different to anything we’ve done and feels very her.”
For the owner, it was also about their personal connection. “I always say Beata understands us because she’s Swedish but has lived in the UK for a long time; similarly, we are German, and have lived here a long time,” she explains. “We have children of similar ages, so she gets that the house has to be practical, not only beautiful. It was a really good match.”
The house, while in good condition, was decorated in a more formal modern neoclassical style. Heuman was keen to engage with its history and architecture, and despite its grandeur, create a warm family home. With that in mind, she embraced its asymmetric rooms and irregular rooflines, and restored period features like decorative ceilings and fireplaces.
