English Lit

With the help of designer Beata Heuman, Adwoa Aboah transforms a London town house into a lively home bursting with vibrant color and personal touches

- By Busola Evans. Photography by Simon Upton

The front door of the Victorian-era home of model, actor, and activist Adwoa Aboah, it turns out, is brilliantly deceptive. Painted a discreet black, it gives little indication of the decor behind it but suggests, perhaps, an owner with a penchant for the pared-back. Step into the entry hall, however, and that is all subterfuge. A framed, brightly colored vintage Asafo flag showcasing symbolic African art-a nod to Aboah's dual Ghanaian and English heritage-greets you, hanging against walls bathed in soft pink, and ahead, a graphic stair runner catches your eye. Minimalism this is not. "I wanted to make a point of putting this here, as soon as you enter the house. It really sets the tone," says Aboah of the flag. "We've collected them for ages-me, my dad, and my sister."

She was with her father, Charles, and sister Kesewa, an artist and model, when she viewed the four-story redbrick town house five years ago. She had been searching within a short radius of her parents' home in West London but had yet to find The One. On paper, this wasn't it either. A worrying wreck, it had no electricity or heating and was split haphazardly into five units. "But we walked in, looked at each other, and just knew," she recalls. "It was falling apart, but I was like, 'This is my home."