Interior designer Rose Uniacke's newly refurbished villa in London is refined yet rough, understated yet impossibly grand.
Five years in the rehabbing, the Grade II–listed Victorian villa in Pimlico was built in 1859 and housed the Grosvenor School of Modern Art before Uniacke took it on as a residential project. She's described the interiors as "glamorous but raw"; the floorboards have been stripped bare, and the kitchen features a floor made from reclaimed rustic stone tiles. To see more of her work and to browse the offerings at her eponymous antiques shop, go to Rose Uniacke; also see House Call: Rose Uniacke in London.
Photographed by Simon Upton for the November 2011 issue of World of Interiors.
Above: Armchairs clad in drapey slipcovers add a note of informality to the architecturally elaborate space.
Above: The vast rooms are painted creamy white; drama is provided by the architectural details and the plaster moldings.
Above: A window is situated above a mantel; a chair covered in dark red velvet offers a dash of restrained color.
Above: A linen-draped dining table occupies a corner of the living room.
Above: The spare, pared-back kitchen is tiled in antique stone.
Above: Paleness pervades the dining area.
Above: The grand master bedroom, in shades of cream and rose (one of Uniacke's cashmere blankets is draped on the bed).
Above: An interior atrium (L) features tropical plants; a minimalist indoor pool (R).