My Houzz: London Living for an Architect-Turned-Food Stylist
We tour this unconventional designer’s apartment and find out why she loves her home kitchen
Architect Francesca Sarti is one of the most original voices in the contemporary food design and styling industry. An architect by training and the founder of the Arabeschi di Latte studio, she focuses on the connections between food and design. Over the past 15 years, she has organized numerous events that reinvent the presentation and sharing of food. We visited her home in London to find out where she lives, what she surrounds herself with and, most of all, how she organizes her kitchen.
It has been five years since Sarti chose to live in London, drawn to its dynamic feel and vibrant atmosphere of cultural and artistic exchange. “I have always been obsessed with London. It seems like its energy is impossible to contain, which is the exact opposite of Florence, the Renaissance city I was used to,” she says.
Vintage dining chairs: SM05 by Cees Braakman, Pastoe; pendant light: Suspension 2, IC Lights collection by Michael Anastassiades, Flos
Vintage dining chairs: SM05 by Cees Braakman, Pastoe; pendant light: Suspension 2, IC Lights collection by Michael Anastassiades, Flos
For the past year, Sarti has lived in Hackney. The East London district with a working-class soul, which has become a new center for designers and artists, is welcoming and hosts many cultural events, including gastronomic ones.
“You can find everything in Hackney: delicious bread, ethnic restaurants” — not just, she says, more common ones like Japanese and Vietnamese, but also harder-to-find cuisines like Burmese — “and other small food-industry activities producing high-quality products, such as smoked salmon and craft vodka.”
“You can find everything in Hackney: delicious bread, ethnic restaurants” — not just, she says, more common ones like Japanese and Vietnamese, but also harder-to-find cuisines like Burmese — “and other small food-industry activities producing high-quality products, such as smoked salmon and craft vodka.”
The apartment was in good condition when Sarti bought it. “It just needed a minor cosmetic makeover,” she says.
The living area, which is larger than typical for a Victorian built about 1880, is part of the reason she was drawn to the apartment. Open and airy, this space is perfect for entertaining guests and leaves room for the owner’s natural sociability.
“I like having people over for dinner,” Sarti says. “Conviviality is not only part of my work but also my character.”
Vintage sofa: Broadway Market; pillows: by Nathalie Du Pasquier, Hay; stackable copper stool: Last, Max Lamb
The living area, which is larger than typical for a Victorian built about 1880, is part of the reason she was drawn to the apartment. Open and airy, this space is perfect for entertaining guests and leaves room for the owner’s natural sociability.
“I like having people over for dinner,” Sarti says. “Conviviality is not only part of my work but also my character.”
Vintage sofa: Broadway Market; pillows: by Nathalie Du Pasquier, Hay; stackable copper stool: Last, Max Lamb
The other thing that sold her on the apartment was the one and only custom-made piece that was already there: the kitchen cabinetry that takes up an entire wall of the living room. Modest yet striking, it features a gray smoked mirror surrounded by modular white-lacquered wood cabinets.
“I wish I’d designed it myself! I think it’s incredibly well done, and it was made by an architect — Andrew de Carteret of Studio DC — who graduated from the Royal College of Art.”
“I wish I’d designed it myself! I think it’s incredibly well done, and it was made by an architect — Andrew de Carteret of Studio DC — who graduated from the Royal College of Art.”
“I don’t have a professional kitchen at home,” Sarti points out. “In fact, after I’ve spent all day cooking in the studio, I don’t necessarily feel like spending the rest of my time doing the same at home.
I prefer to think of my kitchen as if it were my living room. Maybe that is the reason I like the design of this unit, which looks like it could be something other than a kitchen.”
I prefer to think of my kitchen as if it were my living room. Maybe that is the reason I like the design of this unit, which looks like it could be something other than a kitchen.”
Sarti says she has inherited her father’s penchant for hoarding. However, with its small homes, London forced her on a “diet” of sorts, in which she had to carefully select what she wanted to hold on to.
Among the items she kept, displayed as if on an altar over the oven and on a shelving unit, are old family heirlooms, little design classics, a sculpture by the Memphis Group (the white cylinder with a golden sphere, also a family heirloom) and, in the background, a greeting in Japanese calligraphy, which was a housewarming gift from some friends.
Among the items she kept, displayed as if on an altar over the oven and on a shelving unit, are old family heirlooms, little design classics, a sculpture by the Memphis Group (the white cylinder with a golden sphere, also a family heirloom) and, in the background, a greeting in Japanese calligraphy, which was a housewarming gift from some friends.
One of the items on display is a lovingly framed piece of paper. Sarti recently found it in her parents’ house in Florence. It is the “family menu” — a weekly plan Sarti’s mother’s uncle used to draft for his private chef.
A sense of spontaneity permeates Sarti’s house. “I couldn’t have a perfect house; it wouldn’t suit my character,” she says. “That’s why every house I live in is always a mixture of vintage and contemporary design.”
Some pieces were designed and manufactured locally. They include the bright green Arnold Circus stool by Martino Gamper — “a great piece of design from East London,” Sarti says.
Another piece with East London ties is the limited-edition aluminum Spade chair by British designer Faye Toogood, which sits just to the right of the bookcase. Toogood had organized an exhibit at last year’s London Design Festival in which 50 designers, including Sarti, agreed to exhibit a signature piece for the duration of the festival and received this iconic chair in exchange.
The large world map on the wall is from Florence — it was a gift from her babbo, her dad.
Some pieces were designed and manufactured locally. They include the bright green Arnold Circus stool by Martino Gamper — “a great piece of design from East London,” Sarti says.
Another piece with East London ties is the limited-edition aluminum Spade chair by British designer Faye Toogood, which sits just to the right of the bookcase. Toogood had organized an exhibit at last year’s London Design Festival in which 50 designers, including Sarti, agreed to exhibit a signature piece for the duration of the festival and received this iconic chair in exchange.
The large world map on the wall is from Florence — it was a gift from her babbo, her dad.
Sarti paired an A’dammer console with sliding fluted fronts, designed by Aldo van den Nieuwelaar for Pastoe, with a rose-tinted Circum mirror by Aytm. She bought them especially for this apartment.
Browse round mirrors
Browse round mirrors
The private and quiet bedroom has an intimate atmosphere. Its elongated shape forced the owner into certain furnishing choices, like placing the bed under the window.
The bed was custom-designed by Sarti’s partner, Michele Salvi, to fit the space perfectly and provide extra storage. The piece was the subject of much argument, Sarti says, until they finally found a simple design they could agree on. “My partner and I are both architects: To make each other happy, we went for a clean design that would allow for optimal space.”
Next to the bed are a minimalist clothing rack and a vintage ’60s Scandinavian shelving unit Sarti bought at London’s Broadway Market.
The bed was custom-designed by Sarti’s partner, Michele Salvi, to fit the space perfectly and provide extra storage. The piece was the subject of much argument, Sarti says, until they finally found a simple design they could agree on. “My partner and I are both architects: To make each other happy, we went for a clean design that would allow for optimal space.”
Next to the bed are a minimalist clothing rack and a vintage ’60s Scandinavian shelving unit Sarti bought at London’s Broadway Market.
As with the other rooms, the bathroom was not really renovated, just slightly modified with touches like a generous addition of plants. “I would like to turn it into a small jungle,” Sarti says.
Using plants is a clever way of disguising the things they don’t like that much and, at the same time, giving the bathroom — a room that is often difficult to decorate — a lively feel.
Sarti’s approach here is therefore well-aligned with her overall recipe for successful furnishing: “You should try to make the place your own and avoid searching for the epitome of perfection.”
How to Pick a Plant for Your Bathroom
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Using plants is a clever way of disguising the things they don’t like that much and, at the same time, giving the bathroom — a room that is often difficult to decorate — a lively feel.
Sarti’s approach here is therefore well-aligned with her overall recipe for successful furnishing: “You should try to make the place your own and avoid searching for the epitome of perfection.”
How to Pick a Plant for Your Bathroom
My Houzz is a series in which we visit and photograph creative, personality-filled homes and the people who inhabit them. Share your home with us and see more projects.
More home tours: Apartments | Small Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | All
Who lives here: Francesca Sarti, founder of Arabeschi di Latte, and her partner, architect Michele Salvi, an associate at Zaha Hadid Architects
Location: London borough of Hackney
Size: About 645 square feet (60 square meters); one bedroom, one bathroom
A native of Florence, Italy, and a Londoner by adoption, Sarti, pictured, founded Arabeschi di Latte in 2002. She and her team blend anthropology, architecture and gastronomy to create events and installations for the Salone del Mobile furniture fair in Milan, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Italian fashion company Marni and The New York Times’ T Magazine, among others.