Inside a photography collector’s Modernist marvel

Julyan Wickham was one of the most influential British architects of the post-war period. He combined bold Modernist principles with playful and colourful urban design. Wickham was best known for the eye-catching restaurants and bars he created, including the Fifth Floor at Harvey Nichols and the iconic Kensington Place with its all-glass frontage.

Visit any trendy restaurant today, and its look was likely inspired by Wickham’s work. But he also created municipal buildings, as well as several communal living spaces in North Kensington. These were partly inspired by the collectivist designs of his Dutch father-in-law, Aldo van Eyck.

Wickham sadly died earlier this year. But the architect’s legacy lives on at Southern Row, near the northern end of Golborne Road. Here he created a striking Modernist building with curving corners and coloured shutters. To this day, architecture students on tours of North Kensington will walk past this property to look at Wickham’s individual take on a London townhouse.

Since the noughties, the property has been home to Chantal Fabres. ‘A unique space in a unique neighbourhood,’ is how she describes her home. Born in Chile to a Chilean father and Italian mother, Chantal left the country while still a child. However, she has since made a career of collecting South American Art.

Having lived in Europe and New York, in the 1990s Chantal came to London with her family. As a lover of mid-century Modernism – a style that can be hard to find among London’s Victorian terraces – she realised that Wickham’s design had the potential for a perfect family home.

One of Wickham’s most important decisions was to build a continuous staircase at the side of the house. This not only creates a striking feature but gives the rooms more width: most obviously the first-floor living area, which resembles a New-York-style loft.

‘I like space,’ Chantal explains, ‘so I wasn’t going to compromise on space.’ Furthermore, it was clear that the bones of the house were strong. So, rather than make any structural changes, she gutted several rooms to redesign the interiors. As the daughter of an architect, Chantal started with the kitchen, moved onto the bathrooms, and everywhere added storage space.

Given that this was a family home, the space had to be easy to tidy and keep clean. When installing shelves or cupboards, the aim was to create functional units that would last. Chantal’s principle was to invest most in the things she used often, with the beauty coming from their simple but high-quality design.

The renovation of the house also included new heating and new floors. In addition, the living area was reoriented, moving the kitchen to the back of the room and installing a skylight overhead. This adds to the brightness of the room, which already has south-facing windows and a double aspect, meaning the space is well-lit throughout the year.

A similar effect can be seen in the upstairs bedrooms, where round-cornered windows flood the space with natural light. Meanwhile, books and photographs line the walls, giving the clean contemporary design a sense of personality. When describing the cheerful atmosphere of the house, Chantal explains: ‘Nobody is depressed coming here.’

But Chantal also loves the neighbourhood. On first moving to Southern Row, she accidentally left her car parked in the wrong place. A barmaid at the local pub not only paid for a ticket but later looked after her dog whilst she was on holiday. ‘There’s a great community here. If people don’t see you for a few days – because you are travelling or you are ill – they want to know where you’ve been.’

Over the years, Chantal has watched Golborne Road transform from Notting Hill’s scruffy northern neighbour into one of the city’s most fashionable addresses. It’s now home to numerous restaurants, bars and shops. Similarly, North Kensington has become home to a growing number of families, attracted by the spacious properties and quiet residential streets.

In the case of Chantal, her children have grown up, meaning the house is now too big. However, she’s sure that this exceptional example of contemporary living will make the perfect home for another family.