How a spacious London house stole former Hong Kong residents’ hearts
A couple of globetrotting Australian empty nesters were planning to downsize to a small London flat ... until they walked into this 5,000 sq ft light-filled house
“We thought downsizing was going to be straightforward – simply shedding a few large items, like our grand piano, and relocating to a chic, smaller apartment in the city, but nothing went quite as planned,” says globetrotting Australian entrepreneur Gail Chapman, who recently moved from a seven-bedroom house in the Kent countryside, to southwest London.
She and husband Richard, a banker, have led a peripatetic life since 2002, when they left Australia for Tokyo. After six years in Japan, the family relocated to Hong Kong before upping sticks again, in 2014, to move to Britain. The couple’s children left the nest last year.
Plans to scale back, however, evaporated the instant they walked into a six-bedroom 5,000 sq ft house in London, perfectly located for Richard’s office in the City and Chapman’s frequent Heathrow Airport runs. She blames their uncharacteristic change of heart on the natural light that floods each room, as well as the bonus – a garden for their labradoodle, Milo.
The rental had been renovated to a high standard, with pure white walls and heated oak flooring in a simple, minimalist palette, so all the family had to do was unpack, an exercise they completed in 48 hours.
The greatest challenge was to resist the temptation to fill the large, empty spaces. Chapman, who trained as a lawyer, says she and her husband try to buy furniture and art as lifetime investments and not to suit just one house.
It is important to buy something to remember, otherwise money gets spent and later you can’t remember what it went on
“We never buy on impulse,” she says. “It makes more sense to select classics that you can live with forever, that will never look dated.”
Elsewhere are paintings by Australian artists Craig Ruddy and John Olsen, and large photographic prints of the family taken by Mark Morffew when they were living in Tokyo and Hong Kong (first in an ocean-side penthouse in Tai Tam, then a sprawling contemporary loft in Wong Chuk Hang).
An ancient ceramic sculpture from Arch Angels Antiques, on Hollywood Road, and contemporary Japanese and Chinese ceramics serve as reminders of their life in Asia.
One of Chapman’s favourite pieces is a Fritz Hansen PK61 table and PK22 chairs she bought in Hong Kong with part of an inheritance left by her grandfather.
“It is important to buy something to remember, otherwise money gets spent and later you can’t remember what it went on,” she says.
We never buy on impulse. It makes more sense to select classics that you can live with forever, that will never look dated
Purchases for their new home were limited to a modernist-style glossy white marble coffee table and a Clio armchair, both from B&B Italia.
The generously sized entrance hall leads onto a library on one side, a formal dining room on the other and a large kitchen-living-dining area directly ahead. Sliding doors close to create intimate spaces when need be.
“It’s important – especially when you have teenagers – to have a break-out area,” Chapman says. “It doesn’t need to be a huge space, but there must be somewhere, like my library, to go when I want some peace and quiet.”
The family relax together in the kitchen-living area and garden. Upstairs, the six bedrooms all have en-suite bathrooms, while a spacious gym and study take up the top floor. The only room that Chapman balked at was the master bathroom.
“We initially didn’t like the bathroom because it was over-marbleised but we added some art, fresh flowers and black towels that help to tone it down,” she says.
Despite having deviated from their original plan, the couple still consider the move a downsize, a fact Chapman reminds herself of frequently.
“In my mind, even though we’ve moved to a similar-sized house, we’re still on track to downsize our possessions,” she says.
Entrance The stained-glass door opens onto a minimalist entrance hall that leads into a formal dining room on one side and a library on the other. The pendant lamp came with the house.
Gail Chapman designed the black and white check rug for a previous home in Hong Kong. She bought the PK61 coffee table and PK22 lounge chairs, by Poul Kjaerholm for Fritz Hansen, years ago with an inheritance. The Japanese lantern next to the fireplace was bought from an antiques shop in Tokyo.
