THE LIGHT FANTASTIC

Kelly Hoppen transforms a former artist's studio from decades of dark decor into a light-filled London home

- By Jennifer Choo

The townhouse in London had all the right bones—extraordinary ceiling heights from its days as an artist’s studio, windows that flooded the space with natural light. But when Kelly Hoppen first walked through, black dominated everything: black joinery, black metalwork, a black lacquer coffered ceiling in the entrance hall that seemed to swallow the light whole.

“The property itself was in great condition, but the interiors felt heavy, with black joinery and metalwork dominating the space,” says Hoppen, the interior designer whose four decades in the industry have made her globally recognised for neutral palettes and clean lines. Her clients wanted something lighter, something that would let the building breathe.

BRIGHTNESS OVER SHADOW

Hoppen started with paint, the simplest transformation that would yield the greatest change. Little Greene's Slaked Lime Mid replaced the black throughout, while in the entrance hall, the designer removed the black lacquer ceiling and installed a larger white coffer with warm lighting that welcomes rather than warns.