Houzz Tour: A Former Courthouse Transformed With Vintage Pieces
Bold architecture provides a dramatic backdrop to a London couple’s stunning collection of furniture and art
“You don’t always have to rip a place apart to transform it,” says designer and serial miracle worker Ebba Thott. The co-owner of Sigmar, a London firm specializing in 20th-century design, was asked by the owners of this converted 1908 courthouse to help turn their cavernous apartment into a characterful home for them and their substantial collection of art and furniture. “They came into the shop and said, ‘We love this place. If you can make our strange, vast space feel like this, that’s what we want,’” Thott says.
The huge, open-plan living and kitchen area demonstrates Thott’s skill in grouping furniture and objects. “Pieces get different identities in different frameworks. A chair could look really boring, but put it next to a certain table or with a certain desk, and suddenly it stands out,” she says.
What appears to be a large wooden cabinet at the back of the kitchen is, in fact, a witness box dating back to when the apartment was part of a courthouse. “We weren’t allowed to touch that!” Thott says.
The walls are painted in a warm gray. “It translates well between the traditional and contemporary atmospheres,” Thott says. The soft shade also provides the ideal backdrop for a beautiful group of statement-making chairs.
An elegant pair of antique green Kaare Klint sofas supplied by Sigmar flank a table by Carl Auböck. “The color is strong but very soft and perfectly offsets the coffee table, carved from a single piece of wood — my clients love that piece,” Thott says.
Paint on walls: London Cloud, Damo collection, Sigmar
What appears to be a large wooden cabinet at the back of the kitchen is, in fact, a witness box dating back to when the apartment was part of a courthouse. “We weren’t allowed to touch that!” Thott says.
The walls are painted in a warm gray. “It translates well between the traditional and contemporary atmospheres,” Thott says. The soft shade also provides the ideal backdrop for a beautiful group of statement-making chairs.
An elegant pair of antique green Kaare Klint sofas supplied by Sigmar flank a table by Carl Auböck. “The color is strong but very soft and perfectly offsets the coffee table, carved from a single piece of wood — my clients love that piece,” Thott says.
Paint on walls: London Cloud, Damo collection, Sigmar
Thott found a vintage display unit for her clients’ smaller decorative pieces.
“It dates back to a time when traveling was an elite pastime and people would use cabinets to display where they had been and what they had done with their life,” she says.
“It dates back to a time when traveling was an elite pastime and people would use cabinets to display where they had been and what they had done with their life,” she says.
A careful visual balance allows an appreciation of both the building and its exceptional contents. “We respected the architectural space by playing with light, with the colors, and by putting in things like the bespoke chandelier, which would only work in a space like this,” Thott says. “When you have dramatic ceiling heights and big spans of wall, you can be hugely creative with your choices.”
As a former courthouse, the building is in a busy central location, but there’s little sense of that when you’re inside. “The vast scale of the space and the high-level industrial windows mean you don’t get distracted by what’s outside,” Thott says.
Custom chandelier: Workstead
As a former courthouse, the building is in a busy central location, but there’s little sense of that when you’re inside. “The vast scale of the space and the high-level industrial windows mean you don’t get distracted by what’s outside,” Thott says.
Custom chandelier: Workstead
This home is designed to be a sociable place, but there are intimate spaces too. The mezzanine nestled at the top of the building overlooks the living room. Thott chose a rug and chairs in the same rich blue for a unified feel.
“Rugs are hugely important as anchor points around this apartment,” Thott says. “You can control the flow of space in a room if you use them properly, so I always advise people to create bespoke rugs if they can’t find the right size.”
“Rugs are hugely important as anchor points around this apartment,” Thott says. “You can control the flow of space in a room if you use them properly, so I always advise people to create bespoke rugs if they can’t find the right size.”
The dining room, illuminated by a skylight, is a good example of how Thott has displayed a large number of items but given them all enough space. “It’s all about finding harmony. As long as you respect the energy and identity of each item, you won’t cramp anything,” she says. “That’s essentially what a designer should offer — the experience to find harmony and balance within a space.”
Black leather armchairs mix with favorite stools by Perriand in a specially designated reading area.
“These objects represent my clients’ memories and personalities. They wanted to make them a point of conversation,” Thott says.
“These objects represent my clients’ memories and personalities. They wanted to make them a point of conversation,” Thott says.
The study area has storage and display side by side. The furniture, including a classic chair by Pierre Jeanneret, is both functional and stunning.
“My clients have beautiful things that they wanted to see every day. They’re all from different places, but we’ve tied them together so it doesn’t look too knickknacky,” Thott says.
“My clients have beautiful things that they wanted to see every day. They’re all from different places, but we’ve tied them together so it doesn’t look too knickknacky,” Thott says.
The downstairs movie room is a cozy contrast to the cathedral-like proportions of the living room. “We decorated downstairs with kilim rugs and put in picture shelving,” Thott says. The corridor leads to the bedrooms and a patio.
In the main bedroom, a chest of drawers provides an informal place for displaying more artwork. A lamp dating to the 1930s, which came from Sigmar, stands next to the bed.
“Lighting is always a big consideration. It can make or break a scheme,” Thott says.
“Lighting is always a big consideration. It can make or break a scheme,” Thott says.
A rich palette of grays creates a calming mood in the main bedroom. The fabric texture of the wallcovering adds subtle interest.
Sateen Club wallcovering in French Grey: Phillip Jefferies
Sateen Club wallcovering in French Grey: Phillip Jefferies
Warm leather and emerald green provide flashes of color against the gray walls and bed linen.
“There’s tactility, texture and vibrant color in this home as well the special pieces,” Thott says.
“There’s tactility, texture and vibrant color in this home as well the special pieces,” Thott says.
In the second bedroom, doors next to the Eames rocking chair lead out to a patio.
Thott’s recently launched Damo collection of low-VOC matte, satin, eggshell and floor paints, used throughout the apartment, are available through Sigmar. The wall color, Thott says, “has a mild lavender undertone, and it changes with the sunlight between cool and warm.”
Paint on walls: Atlantic Salt, Damo collection, Sigmar
Thott’s recently launched Damo collection of low-VOC matte, satin, eggshell and floor paints, used throughout the apartment, are available through Sigmar. The wall color, Thott says, “has a mild lavender undertone, and it changes with the sunlight between cool and warm.”
Paint on walls: Atlantic Salt, Damo collection, Sigmar
Auböck’s Safari chair, on the left, is just one of many sought-after vintage pieces found throughout the flat.
Sisal carpet: Tim Page Carpets
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Sisal carpet: Tim Page Carpets
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Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: A professional couple
Location: London
Size: Two bedrooms, two bathrooms
Designer: Ebba Thott of Sigmar
The vast historic building had been gutted by a developer and turned into four large apartments when Thott was called in to help. Fully functional with oak flooring and a kitchen, this apartment had extraordinary architectural features but lacked a certain soul. Thott’s mission was to fix that in part by “making this very large space cozy and sociable,” she says.
In addition to being huge fans of the Sigmar aesthetic, Thott’s globe-trotting clients are art collectors who bring back all sorts of pieces from their travels. “It was important to create space for display, but they didn’t want massive podiums of things you can’t touch,” Thott says. “It’s not a gallery, but it’s not designed to feel like a family home either.”
Thott got to know the space and the owners’ collection well before selecting the perfect shades of paint and then finding furniture to complement her clients’ pieces by 20th-century designers including Charlotte Perriand, Finn Juhl and Jacques Adnet. “We always start by creating the atmosphere, and then we find the pieces — that takes time,” she says.
Sliced rug by Jan Kath in Emerald: Front