House Style with Agatha and Robert Appleton-Sas
After showing us around their reconfigured Victorian flat in Bristol – currently for sale – Agatha and Robert Appleton-Sas share their house style.
How would you describe the interiors of your house?
Agatha: “We wanted to create a very calm, natural, simple home. It’s soothing to be here; it feels like a reflective space. In a way we stripped it back to absolute basics. We dreamt of a place which would encourage us to carefully consider our belongings, as a way for the space to become a presence in itself and to have no unnecessary distractions.
Robert: “I would say that
the kitchen is the real anchor at the centre of our home. Everything circles
around its gravitational pull and it is integral to the flow of the interior.
Light was also very important to us during the design process with our
architect, Paul Cannon, and it feels incredible to cook there when it’s flooded
with light.”
If there was a fire and you could only save one thing, what would it be?
Robert: “The whippet!”
Agatha: “He’s 11 years old,
his name is Horace, he’s got a passport and has travelled extensively – he grew
up in London, lived in Paris but is the happiest we’ve ever seen him here.”
Robert: “I’d also try to
save the kitchen!”
What was the last thing you bought for the house?
Robert: “A plant: string of hearts (Ceropegia woodii). We call it Glasgow as we got it on our recent trip to Scotland. We loved the energy of the city and wanted to take back home something that’d remind us of our time there.”
Agatha: “We usually come
back home with something organic. It’s that little bit more fulfilling if the
object grows or changes in some way when you bring it home. We propagated
Glasgow and now have a couple of Glasgows at home and at the office – it
just keeps on giving.”
Where do you shop for your home?
Agatha: “We don’t shop often. Most things belonged to our families for years. When we have to buy something, we love looking at what auction houses in Somerset have on offer and we like mixing antiques with contemporary pieces. It’s a conscious aesthetic choice and we also try to consider the environment and shop sustainably whenever we can, trying to avoid buying anything brand new. We prefer objects with stories attached to people or places.
Robert: “That’s definitely a
theme that we tend to repeat, mixing old (contents of our home) with the new (architectural
design) and we really enjoy this combination. We’re both quite sentimental
about the history of old objects and we love to frame them in a modern space.”
Top three coffee table books?
Agatha: “All from exhibitions we’ve been to: Barbara Hepworth: A Pictorial Autobiography (Tate Britain), Madame Grès : La couture à l’œuvre (Musée Bourdelle) and Erica Lennard’s Les femmes, les soeurs (Galerie Agathe Gaillard).
If money was no object, what changes would you make?
Agatha: “Interesting question! Strangely, perhaps, we wouldn’t make any changes indoors. We’ve always wanted a simple, understated open-plan living space filled with light and Paul Cannon has designed exactly that.
“If money and time
were no object, we would have created an overgrown, secluded garden together
with the landscape and garden designer, Luciano Giubbilei.”
Less is more or more is more?
Agatha: “Less is more.”
Robert: “Always.”
Agatha: “As little as possible, even.”
Design classics or contemporary pieces?
Agatha: “Perhaps it’s more about the quality, rather than one specific style? We’re always looking for honest and long-lasting design.”
If you’re having people over for dinner, what do you cook?
Robert: “It depends what my latest experiment is. At the moment my favourite thing to put on a table is a miso and barley broth with lapsang souchong tea infused eggs. It usually comes from a big pot as it keeps things simple.”
What are the best things about the neighbourhood?
Agatha: “The entire street is lined with trees which creates beautiful light in the house. All houses in the area are so wonderful to look at and if you want to walk to any neighbouring areas, you can be in Clifton, Redland and Montpelier in no time. It’s a nice feeling being quite central yet having absolute silence at night and also access to some incredible walks in the countryside very close by. St Andrews Park is literally around the corner too.”
Robert: “We’re on the top of the hill and if you are outside for the sunrise you can also get some pretty spectacular views.”
RELATED ON THE MODERN HOUSE
House Style with Charlene Prempeh and James Goodhead
House Style with Paul Firmin: from hot baths to handmade flatbreads
House Style with Ferren Gipson: DIY projects, DJ sets and the dream roof terrace
House Style with Gill Lambert and Geoff Shearcroft
House Style with ceramicist Andrea Roman at her modernist maisonette in Bethnal Green, east London
House Style with Jo Sindle and Kyle Stewart
House Style with Natasha Landers
Furniture dealer Mario Kardana shares his House Style at his apartment in Hackney, east London
House Style with Tatjana von Stein
House Style with Charlie Porter at his art-filled concrete home in Shoreditch, east London