Open House: photographer Sophie Harris-Taylor on the joys of a first home at her converted Victorian flat in Clapham
Step inside some of the homes we sell with our Open House series. Here, we’re meeting photographer Sophie Harris-Taylor at the flat she shares with her partner Misha, one-year-old son, Zenon, and greyhound, Jay. Read on to get Sophie’s thoughts on the joys of a first home, the role of domesticity in her work and why her flat feels like a sanctuary from city life. Check out the listing here.
“We
felt like fate was on our side that day. We’d had an offer accepted on another house
in west London that had just fallen through and then a day later we saw this.
We immediately fell in love.
“The
original flat was a fairly typical Victorian ground floor one bed. On the
street behind there was a really big garage (it could fit about six cars) which
came with the flat, along with planning permission to convert it into living
space.
“What
was really exciting was the combination of the older part, with its original
character, with the huge open space that was just a complete blank canvas.
Aside from a place to live, top of our list of requirements was a space that
could be turned into my photography studio when necessary and we could see how
the space here would allow that.
“Buying
your first home, especially with your partner, is such an exciting, joyous
time, no matter what it is. But to then also work on our first project together
and carve something out from scratch was very special.
“It
took about a year to finish. We converted the garage into the main living space
and made it the front entrance. The internal walls were knocked down and
re-jigged. So, the bathroom replaced our old bedroom and the second bedroom
replaced a kitchen and bathroom.
“We also gained the internal courtyard, right in the middle of the flat. It’s glazed on three sides and is literally the heart of the home. It provides a constant connection to nature and the plants, inside and out, play an important part in that.
“In
the main space, with the size of the rooflights, you always feel under the sky
in some way or another. And throughout the day you get these amazing pools of
light that move organically through the space and draw your eye to different
spots.
“In fact, it’s the light and openness that we value most about this place – we’ve never felt enclosed at all. A friend of ours who house sits when we go away once described it as ‘a bit of a sanctuary’ and I feel the same too.
“I
think modern living today seems more humble than perhaps in the past. It’s much
more about the simpler pleasures that make living more comfortable and truer to
yourself, and less about external appearances.
“When
buying for our home I think we used to be a bit ‘style over substance’ but
these days comfort, practicality and quality are essential. I often see stuff
that I love but know I don’t have the space for it, and it won’t serve a purpose,
so I’ve learnt to let things go.
“I
like to think of myself as a minimalist but I’m really not. It helps that Misha
and I have similar taste. Furniture-wise it’s all quite mixed, but it’s mostly
second hand and generally keeps to quite a simple natural colour palette.
“The rugs and artwork add a bit of colour, but the walls and floors are pretty simple, so nothing feels too clashy. In terms of art, we’re lucky enough to have some pretty talented friends and family who often need help ‘storing’ their stuff. Also, when we travel we often end up bringing back a couple of pieces for the walls.
“I’m a freelance photographer and have always been based at home. I shoot with natural light and although I’m usually on location, I do shoot a bit in the studio too. It was a lot more cost-effective and convenient to have this within our home.
“I
mostly work with people and a lot of my work is really about the moments
in-between the momentous, the everyday familiar and unobserved mundanity of
life. I like to capture people in the most truthful and honest way possible,
more often than not this is in their homes, be it their bedrooms, their
bathrooms, when they have their guard down. Therefore, the domestic actually
plays a really important role in my practice.
“I
work with people a lot who aren’t necessarily used to being in front of the
camera so for them to be able to come to such an informal space really helps
let their guard down and helps me capture a more honest, emotive image.
“Between
life, work, raising a child and a dog running around, the space has had to
accommodate a lot. But it’s done that seamlessly.
“We
entertained here a lot when we first did the work. Most of our friends still
lived in tiny flats so we felt massively grown-up having an actual dining table
you could fit ten people around.
“We
have had a lot of dinner parties but now we do more brunches because it’s
easier with the baby. Over the years we’ve had a few parties or larger
gatherings and Christmases too, which seem to work pretty well. I think the
openness of the space makes people feel pretty comfortable.
“And now we’re moving. Ideally, we’d like a three-bed, something with that extra bit of space where I can work and house all my stuff. We’re also going to move slightly more south-east, closer to some friends. We’re quite open but we’d love something period and a bit of a gut job, somewhere we can put our own stamp on. It’s exciting, to not know where we are going to end up.
“I
think it’s the memories we’ll miss the most. It’s our first place we lived and
bought together. We did it up from scratch, we got our dog here, and started a
family here. It really feels like the place where our adult lives started.”
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