Timeless elegance in London townhouse
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E-mail shanghaidaily.com, August 8, 2016
Interior designer Rachel Laxer found her ideal home base inside a stately Georgian townhouse in the heart of St. John's Wood, one of the London's most exclusive boroughs.
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The living room is designed to reflect Rachel Laxer's core belief in timeless design and relaxed elegance. — courtesy of Rachel Laxer Interiors |
She was sold the second she walked in the house and "felt" the space. "London is typically dark so the windows and skylights opened up the house. It spoke to me with its clean lines, yet it retains its Old World elegance with the original mouldings, wide plank floors and limestone entry," Laxer said.
Laxer's objective was to create a sophisticated modern aesthetic for an active family while complimenting the classical setting and being sympathetic to the painstakingly restored Georgian architecture.
"The original state of the interior was wonderful. I changed the wall colors, added wallpaper to the chimney breast in the dining room, and replaced the floor color with a brownish/greyish tone," she said.
The biggest change was to the front garden. It was a mess so the designer cleaned it up, giving it a low-maintenance, Zen-inspired makeover with old French beams, black river rocks, boxwood spheres and wonderful handmade planters on the balcony that act as a partial screen to the interior.
Laxer's design philosophy is based on the principle of "relaxed elegance," fusing the chic with carefully curated art pieces. Her background influences her style and design panache as well.
Laxer previously worked on emerging markets and trading at firms owned by investment legends George Soros and Michael Steinhardt. This work took her to many far-flung and interesting places. It was when she relocated to Tokyo with her family that her interest for design developed.
"I love a mixture of East and West, coming from my time living in Japan and travelling in Asia," she said.
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