If you’ve been on the Internet over the weekend, or watched the just-dropped new episode of For the Love of Kitchens, featuring cook spaces transformed by UK-based deVol, today’s house tour may look familiar.
Then again, it may also ring a bell if you’ve been on Instagram over the past year, when Paul West and Michelle Bower moved into their Stepney Townhouse and began documenting its transformations on their feed, @consideredthings, where we first began following along. (We later realized we’d featured the couple’s previous place, the lower duplex of a Victorian townhouse and a continued favorite: see English Translation: A Compact Victorian Gets an Eclectic but Cohesive Makeover.)
The Stepney Townhouse’s moment of fame is well deserved. Grand in stature and moody in tone, the circa-1717 East London home has been immaculately redone by Paul and Michelle. Built “spanning the Queen Anne and Georgian periods, it’s a classic London townhouse with four generous floors and a studio loft,” Paul wrote to us via email. “At risk of demolition in the 1990s, it was rescued and restored by The Spitalfields Trust, with support from English Heritage.”
The couple moved in just before the holidays in 2021, almost exactly a year ago. “In 2022, it underwent a phase of restoration and renovation, thanks to a carefully selected range of specialist brands and craftspeople, and is home to an ever-evolving collection of antiques, collectible furniture, and homewares,” Paul adds.
It’s a transformation that at last is being revealed; join us for an intimate tour, as captured by Paul.
Photography by Paul West (@consideredthings).
Adds Paul: “Each level presented a new experience, from the cozy basement kitchen to the grand reception, the atmospheric drawing room, and uplifting top floor with views to the treetops outside.” The dwelling is “currently set up as a two bed, with the flexibility to flex the layout and add more beds if needed.”
