To convince Charlotte Buchanan –and her husband Angus – to remain in London instead of moving to the countryside, a property needed the following things: an Aga, a big garden and a dog. Fortunately, a rundown, three-storey Edwardian terraced property in Harlesden, north-west London, provided the space for all three. ‘It hadn’t really been touched,’ says Charlotte. ‘It was in the same family for years.’
The creative duo of interior and experiential designers, who roamed the Wiltshire countryside as friends in their teens before marrying in their late twenties, bought the property in 2020 and began renovations almost immediately. ‘It was a blank canvas,’ Charlotte says, gesturing to the house’s original fireplaces, mouldings and cornicing. It would take another year before the pair and their two children could move into the top two floors, as building work continued below. (Their goldendoodle, Duffel, joined in January 2022.)
In 2018, the couple co-founded Buchanan Studio, which conceptualises and produces designs across interiors, lifestyle, fashion and events. ‘It was very natural,’ Charlotte says of the company’s fruition. For years, people had asked Angus – a former set designer who had worked with brands including Dior and Burberry – for his innovative ideas for their homes and businesses. ‘They were creatives themselves, but didn’t want an interior designer in the traditional sense,’ she says. Together, they have become ‘creative guardians’, collaborating on everything from Wild by Tart’s restaurant to the Delevingne sisters’ Della Vite prosecco.
It was a no-brainer that the Buchanans would expand into product design, and they launched their cult Studio Chair in 2021. ‘There are so many iterations of it in the house in different fabrics,’ Charlotte says, referring to the squishy pink version and maroon Studio Sofa in the living room, and another upholstered in the brand’s Checkmate fabric in the kitchen. Also present in the home is the newly launched Studio Ottoman; its shape was inspired by the first chair’s curved form and the suede straps by vintage Louis Vuitton luggage.
The Buchanans aren’t as obsessed with colour as you might initially think. ‘We haven’t gone mad with wall coverings,’ says Charlotte. ‘We wanted the house to be a backdrop to allow the products to evolve and be swapped in and out.’ She thinks one of the most common interiors mistakes is when people feel they must choose between maximalism and minimalism. ‘We like colour, pattern, print and texture, but a room needs to be balanced and calm,’ she advises.
One of the more evident examples of the Buchanans’ pragmatic approach is the kitchen and dining area – the result of a six-metre extension featuring a larder, a marble Buchanan Studio Muse Table set on solid brass casters (described as ‘party shoes’) and vintage dining chairs. In pride of place is an industrial-style stainless-steel island, with matching worksurfaces and cabinetry, all created by D&D Engineering. It was the first time the company had used the metal for a domestic kitchen. ‘It’s not a mistake they use it in every [professional] kitchen around the world,’ says Angus. ‘From a practical point of view, it’s the best.’ The marble splashback and dining table, which today is dressed with flowers and candelabras, soften the metal’s robust, angular shape. ‘We wanted something that felt modern in contrast to the rest of the house,’ Charlotte says.
It is the Buchanans’ ability to effortlessly mix old and new that sets them apart. Their home is refined, not fussy; quiet rather than ostentatious. Upstairs, you’ll find oak architraves sourced from English Salvage, a vintage sofa reupholstered in a Yarn Collective cream bouclé in the bedroom, and an aluminium canopy bed designed by Angus. ‘The tension of having both modern and vintage in a room makes the other speak louder,’ says Charlotte.
The pair’s inventive use of tiling throughout the home is also a standout feature. A Battenburg-like, pink-and-yellow colour scheme sourced from Topps Tiles covers the bathroom of their daughter and son, aged six and four, while Delft tiles frame the living room’s doorway. ‘We’d never seen it before. It’s unexpected,’ she says. So too are the beach-cabin-inspired pods (or ‘sheds’, as their children call them) that house the toilet and shower in the ensuite bathroom. Covered inside and out in pink-and-white tiles from Mosaic Factory, and entered through old bank doors, the pods ‘evolved from a necessity, before we worked out how to make them beautiful and practical,’ says Angus. The Edwardian bath, reclaimed double-pedestal sink, wall of Calacatta Viola marble and hand-aged triptych mirror help the room feel ‘a little like a living space’.
To complement items sourced from brands such as Vinterior, Retrouvius and Bettina Ceramica, the Buchanans are always on the lookout for new ways to rework materials, like using marble offcuts for coffee tables or drying out hydrangeas from local flower markets for decoration. ‘Even if you design fora living, you don’t do everything right every time,’ says Charlotte of their love of experimenting. ‘At the end of the day, paint is just paint. If you get it wrong, just do it again.’
Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.
