Soft Scandinavian tones and curated antiques enliven the interiors of this period Georgian townhouse in London’s Kensington, which has been expertly restored by Rivière Interiors.

The Holland Street townhouse dates from 1710 and was said to have been home to one of the builders of Kensington Palace. In more recent decades, the handsome redbrick functioned as a Post Office before being bought by the current owners and given a top-to-toe renovation to reinstate its period character.

Rivière Interiors is part of Robert Young Antiques, and the studio adopted a Gustavian aesthetic for the renovation – a decorative style popular in the 1780s, considered the ‘Golden age’ of Swedish antiquity. The style is named in honour of King Gustav III of Sweden, who sought to make Stockholm the ‘Paris of the North’ during his brief reign. He was heavily influenced by his visit to the opulent Palace of Versailles and the ornate decorative stylings of Louis XV and XVI – French neo-classicism given a pared-back, Scandi twist via its signature palette of whites, ivories, light blues and soft grey tones, carved furniture and painted floorboards.

Rivière Interiors’ brief retained the building’s period details and reintroduced colours, textures and surfaces from the English Georgian vernacular, embellished with decorative elements and furniture from the Gustavian tradition.

Living spaces unravel across four levels with rooms that look weathered, especially the first-floor drawing room, which peers onto the street below.  Floorboards are bleached, and woodwork is drenched in soothing, soft shades.

Oliver Perceval designed a new glazed extension to house the family room, and there’s a dining room and study on the ground floor. The principal bedroom, meanwhile, has been modernised with a large dressing room and ensuite, with stone steps up to a large roof terrace installed at the rear.

Wilfords is the listing agent for the Grade I-listed London property. Take a tour of the gallery above.

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