Words Kate Jacobs
Photography Dan Glasser
Portrait Kate Martin

There’s a sense of abundance and generosity about this house. From the moment you enter on the upper ground floor, there’s an emphasis on lofty proportions, intricate period features and joyful colour. And, of course, Lara’s fantastical “functional sculpture” – furniture and lighting. The villa is ranged over an impressive five storeys and carefully configured so that all the social spaces are on the two main floors, with luxurious bedroom suites on the floors above.

Stepping inside onto the upper ground floor, there’s an easy flow from the statement electric-blue entrance hall into a huge living-kitchen-dining space. Above this, the first floor is devoted to an impressive salon-style living room, adjoining a study-library. Finally, on the lower ground floor, there’s a self-contained apartment space with its own private entrance, which functions both as a work space and a place for visiting friends and family to stay.

Lara came to London from her native Slovenia to study at the Royal College of Art, focussing on metalwork and jewellery. She launched her own jewellery line, alongside working for luxury brands, including Gucci and a long tenure at Cartier, before making her foray into furniture, founding Bohinc Studio in 2016. Spanning macro and micro, she happily creates whole interiors, as well as making her own ceramics.

“I see myself simply as a designer,” she tells The Modern House. “I work across many different scales, objects and spaces. I’ll have a go at anything!” She lives here with her husband and their teenage daughter. The family moved here from central London five years ago, in search of a sense of peace and quiet, and a stronger connection with nature – but still in a very handy location just outside the city centre.

Lara Bohinc: “We were living in Marylebone before which felt more urban. Here it feels very, very quiet by comparison and it’s so close to the parks – Primrose Hill, Regents Park, and Hampstead Heath. We enjoy how much greener it is here, and waking up to birdsong.

“There’s a big sense of community, whereas Marylebone felt more transient. Here people stop and talk. But we didn’t know that when we bought the house – we fell for the high ceilings, the big volumes, the really long garden which we’ve deliberately kept quite wild. It’s like being in the country.

“The garden was so overgrown, but we loved that feeling and wanted to keep it, with a path winding between plum and camellia trees to the dining table.

“The house hadn’t really been touched in around 40 years and when we exposed the brick, we loved the look and decided to leave it like that. Many of the original features were lost or damaged, so we reinstated fireplaces and elaborate cornicing, carefully matching the details with similar houses in the area. We utilised the large existing mansard for our daughter’s bedroom suite which feels very contemporary.

“It was really important to us to maximise the sense of openness and space. We increased the size of the openings between the rooms on each floor and now everything is dual aspect and natural light floods in throughout the day. It’s great for flow at parties too. Upstairs, our bathroom and bedroom open onto each other via an archway with pocket doors, so I can sit in the bath and see views of the garden and the London skyline beyond. It’s a daily ritual for me.

“The house is also a showroom for the designs and we use it for shoots and events. We live and breathe what we do. It comes naturally to us to live like this.

“With my different designs coming through it means that the house is always changing. We live with all the prototype designs, testing them to see ‘should this be taller, shorter, wider?’ I tend to work in collections, creating a body of work exploring a particular idea or concept; ‘Peaches’ is an exploration of the female body; ‘Fallen Empire’ focusses on ruins, lost civilisations; ‘Anima’ meanwhile is all about dreams and subconscious symbols. It’s good to live with these pieces and see them sit happily alongside vintage pieces such as our our 70’s leather sofa, and family heirlooms, like grandmother’s armchair in the living room.

“The bedroom is my favourite space, it feels like a hotel suite. I spent a long time designing the marble panels in our bathroom. I love using stone and marble, it’s ancient and durable, and each piece is completely unique in terms of veining and colour. We’ve also used a lot of timber, such as the two-tone oak chevron floor and joinery. We added so much storage as it’s essential for living well in a home. I don’t want to see a mess, I want to enjoy beauty, art and design!”