Located in Kensington, the upscale Boltons neighborhood is home to stately homes unlike any other in the English metropolitan area. Known for its tranquility and comfort, the area attracts famous personalities and celebrities such as Madonna. But our star at the moment is a completely renovated Victorian house from Irakli Dawn; actually two, as the architect connected two houses into one, creating an unusually large space by London standards. The Georgian architect, art lover, has renovated apartments and villas from Barcelona to Cannes, but works mainly in London, his city of residence.
“I was lucky to work in ancient buildingVictorian home with charm often lacking in recent builds“. But the task was not easy: to unite two houses is “an exciting process, but quite difficult, because with two spaces you can’t do what you want”. At first, the houses were not at all in good condition, “but we wanted to keep the most important elements like railings and marble fireplace”– explains Irakli Zarya, who thoroughly studied the history of the house in order to restore some details as accurately as possible, “never falling into the trap of being ‘fake’.”
A house full of history
The clients are a young couple with children. art and culture lovers. Their goal when they approached Irakli Zaria was to showcase and enrich their art collection. All this in a space big enough to accommodate two kids, friends and a spa. To satisfy the first request, the architect worked with galleries and art consultants. Secondly, he was inspired by the style of his clients, “discreet, elegant and relaxed”so that every space has “his story, his charm”. Irakli Zaria describes his approach as follows: “More than a wall decoration, le piece of art live in the house and tell its story”.