With her Indian heritage and offices in London, New York and Dubai, interior designer Shalini Misra is an expert at reconciling contrasts. “Cities bring different energies with them,” she says. “Delhi, where I grew up, has a rich visual and material culture. I was surrounded by layered architecture, handcrafted objects, colour and texture, and it gave me an early sense of how space and objects impact the way we feel.” Having initially trained as an architect, Misra now focuses on creating homes with a deeply personal feel, where craft, materiality and bespoke details respond to each client’s individuality. This project – a modernised 19th-century villa in London’s leafy Chelsea – is a case in point.
Chelsea is known for its dignified, sedate residences, often clad in white stucco and surrounded by gardens. Misra has respected the innate qualities of this typically elegant five-floor townhouse, but has also done something intriguing with it, staging a deliberate contrast between the grand façade and the layered interiors. Influences from classical Italian architecture, midcentury style and contemporary design are woven into the narrative.
Misra began by carefully restoring original features. “We reinstated the original cornices where they had been lost, and built around them with materials of real weight,” she explains. “The project sets a contemporary intervention against the existing 19th-century architecture, and the material palette was assembled to do that.”
The entrance hall and staircase set the tone: the chequered marble floors often seen in period homes have been reinvented in a custom 3D cube pattern reminiscent of the work of midcentury designer Gio Ponti, while a hand-painted iron balustrade conjures old-world glamour. A modern crystal chandelier by Mark Brazier-Jones lends an edge to traditional cornicing, and contemporary sculptures – including a metallic figure by Anthony Gormley – contribute to the dialogue between past and present. Even the bespoke lift doors – bronze with wool embroidery details – elevate a humdrum feature into a heritage-inspired artwork.
A similarly dynamic rhythm is felt throughout the house. In the living and dining areas, heritage forms are reimagined: parquet flooring is updated in an ebony tone and juxtaposed with inset panels in stone and wood, while a classic crystal-and-brass chandelier is echoed with contemporary brass coffee tables and a dining table with a reflective bronze top (the latter was commissioned by Misra from Nilufar). A grid of monochrome photographs forms a graphic counterpoint to sculptural shapes. “There is often a dialogue between contemporary design and traditional craftsmanship in our work, but it is always shaped by the context of the project and the client rather than a fixed visual language,” says Misra.
The home benefits from three light wells that illuminate the building from top to bottom, which Shalini Misra arranged to enhance every space – even the newly constructed basement floor, which houses a pool, gym, bar and media room. Everywhere is filled with light, bringing the designer’s rich material palette to life. In the kitchen, for example, sunlight dapples a monumental black-and-brass island by Officine Gullo, which sits beneath a huge circular chandelier. The floor has been transformed into an artistic statement with an irregular placement of hexagonal cement tiles, which intersect with dark timber planks. No mere utilitarian space, this room has been conceived as the theatrical heart of the home, and a vibrant meeting place for the family. Displays of art – including a photographic work by Marina Abramović and a digital installation by Turkish artist Kutluğ Ataman – reinforce this impression.
The 4,500 square-metre basement is another social space, where a mirrored wall allows the gym to morph into an impromptu dance studio for the family’s children. Shuttered concrete walls contrast with the polish of the chequered pool, while a series of mirrors made from vintage cogs adds a vintage touch. Next to the pool, a bespoke teak bar, finished with handmade Italian ceramic tiles, strikes a more artisanal note. “Throughout, the brief to our makers was the same: to bring the depth of an established craft tradition to a new contemporary form, without reproduction or pastiche,” says Misra.
The artisanal feel is perhaps at its strongest in the principal bedroom suite. Silk wallpaper and glossy ceramic tiles add interest to the walls, while a quilted leather bed and a Moroccan rug introduce softness. “We also incorporated leather briquette floor tiles that merge with sections of dark timber flooring, their brown tones forming a warm, grounded base,” adds Misra. “Embossed with delicate decorative borders and laid in a herringbone pattern, the tiles form a rhythmic counterpoint to the clean, linear floorboards.” Overhead, a slatted timber ceiling and mirrored chandeliers give an immersive feel to the space, reflecting Shalini Misra’s flair for using materials to inject comfort and sensuality.
