Emma Burns brings a distinguished Wimbledon flat back to life with layers of warm colour

‘A sea of grey and chrome radiators,’ is how interior designer Emma Burns describes the previous incarnation of this flat in south-west London. It was the unfortunate work of a wrong-headed developer, who had also removed all the period details to create something she describes, in no uncertain terms, as ‘hideous and anonymous.’

‘Makeovers’ of this type are always undesirable, but they are particularly piteous in buildings of historic significance such as this. Built in 1789 it is one of the few remaining eighteenth-century houses still standing in Wimbledon.

This was a large part of the appeal for owner Andrew Galloway, who has a keen interest in historic buildings. Andrew, who had viewed dozens of potential properties, also approved of its position – the Keir’s imposing white facade overlooks the west side of Wimbledon common – and the light that streams in from the flat’s beautiful and very large panelled sash windows.

Newly divorced, it was the first time Andrew had sole responsibility for decorating his home. ‘I have always taken an interest. My father was a self-taught architect who ran a business from the south of France in his Fifties, and I am good at choosing pictures, furniture and decorative objects, but the flat was very strangely laid out and I didn’t know where to start. It was much harder than I thought,’ he confesses. ‘I spent months kicking about ideas. I expect people got bored listening to me.’

Eventually after meeting a few interior designers, a friend suggested he talk to Emma, who is managing director at Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler. Andrew knew very little about the illustrious design firm but was immediately impressed. ‘The difference with Emma was she wanted to understand me as a person, my tastes and the things that are important to me.’ To his delight she was also keen to incorporate his existing pieces into the scheme, such as the brass chandelier that now hangs over the dining table. ‘It can be useful to have certain fixed points when designing otherwise there are just so many potential directions to go in,’ remarks Emma in response. Andrew also enjoyed having the company’s antiques department as a resource, which supplied several items, including the bookcases in the bedroom and the Moroccan table in the snug.

Emma’s most important task was reconfiguring the spaces so they made sense. Key to this was creating a kitchen-cum-dining room next to the drawing room, and ‘beefing up’ the dividing wall so the opening between the two spaces could accommodate a set of folding doors. ‘Now either room can be made into a cosy space, and you can hide the kitchen if you’ve made a mess,’ she notes. To the new deep wall she added a pair of perfectly formed jib cupboards and Andrew’s Victorian terracotta roundels. ‘They have a sort of pre-Raphaelite look of which I am very fond, so I was thrilled at the ingenious spot Emma found for them,’ he enthuses. The real joy of this arrangement however is the double aspect and the glorious views, which are of nothing but open sky and the canopies of mature trees.